Headed to the Jacksonville area with the family and in search of ways to really stretch your travel dollars? There are a bunch of options. Here are some of the best:
- Every seaside city worth its salt has a pier that penetrates offshore. Jacksonville Beach possesses a particularly good one. Extending almost a quarter mile out into the sea, Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier affords folks a great view of the Atlantic. Admission is $1, and kids under six get in gratis. Fishermen ante up a mere $4.
- Take in the Tree Hill Nature Center and explore Florida’s fascinating ecosystems. The center is suffused with nature trails and has sublime butterfly and hummingbird gardens. Admission for adults is $4. Cut the price in half for kids.
- It can get hot on the upper reaches of the Florida peninsula this time of year. Take a break and head to the cool, educational environs of a trio of first-rate museums. The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, and the Museum of Science & History all let you in the door for $10 or less. There are even free admission days.
- The great thing about Jacksonville is that while it’s near the beach, it’s also on the river, the St. Johns River in this case. One of the most popular passages hereabouts is a stroll along the city’s Riverwalk. Head to Jacksonville Landing for a meal, perhaps a concert. Continue along the Riverwalk on the Northbank and meander about Riverside Arts Market, Florida’s largest weekly free arts festival.
- Tucked away in the Timucuan Ecological & Historical Preserve lies Kingsley Plantation, the oldest such edifice in the state that’s still standing. Admission is free and the grounds pay witness to an era. Gardens, kitchen, plantation house and slave houses are all well preserved so that we might understand what that era was really all about.
(Image: Javier Vidal)
