Castaway Island Preserve — Attraction in Jacksonville

Discovered quite accidentally, Castaway Island Preserve is now visited by myself at least once a week.

As a writer, I appreciate the surroundings. They help me think, the park is NEVER crowded, the people I do meet there are nature lovers like myself, and I have never had a bad experience.

The park, trails and paths are extremely well maintained. The paths are long enough to be a moderate workout for adults, but not too long for children either.

The city has added water fountains for people and pets, and a dock for launching canoes, kayaks and paddleboards. Hungry? Enjoy a picnic lunch on the well maintained grass, or cook out on one of the dozen or so charcoal grills that are located beside sturdy picnic tables throughout the park.

Your children will love the nature trail, complete with animal tracks etched into the cement walkway. Every couple of hundred feet a new station reveals the tracks of the animal that you followed, and a new set of tracks leads to the next station. This keeps your kids involved, anxiously continuing the path to discover if they guess the animal tracks correctly.

All in all, Castaway Island Preserve totals more than 300 acres. There are no permits required, a biking and walking trail runs from the entrance of the park on San Pablo to the nature trail, boardwalk and sightseeing stations, and back to San Pablo.

Coming from in town, take Beach Boulevard (at US 90) to San Pablo Rd. Take a left on San Pablo (North), and a little more than a half mile on your right you will see the entrance to the park. There is plenty of parking available for cars and trucks, and larger tour buses and recreational vehicles.

Indoor restroom facilities are provided.

Many enjoy a leisurely lunch break from toiling at the office parked under the sheltering trees, with a cool, salty breeze relieving the stress of your daily grind.

Total mileage makes for an enjoyable, calorie burning walk while you delight to the sights, smells and sounds of marshland flora and fauna.

Trail Mileage

0.0 parking area 0.2 trail entrance / kiosk 0.3 bench @ wood stork marker 0.3 side trail to boardwalk 0.4 tidal creek 0.5 observation decks 0.6 end of boardwalk 0.6 beginning of loop 0.7 end of loop 0.75 pass the boardwalk trail again 0.8 bridge over tidal creek 1.0 parking area

If you include the distance walked from the entrance on San Pablo to get to the trail and boardwalk entrance, as well as a walk down the dock and back to San Pablo, you enjoy nearly 1 3/4 miles of beautiful, natural walkways in a peaceful, riverside environment.

Highly recommended for adults and kids, Castaway Island Preserve is a free and wonderful resource provided by the city of Jacksonville that is unfortunately undiscovered by and unknown to so many that could benefit from its healthy and enjoyable,...

Beautiful place and very peaceful. Informative and educational as well. Kayak/paddle board launch looks great and have yet to use it. Will be going back very soon!

EDIT addressing the bad reviews:

Please don’t listen to negative reviews just because it was too hot or there were many bugs. This is nature—bugs and wildlife are part of what makes the place natural. If you’re upset about the heat, consider moving out of Florida or simply refrain from leaving a review. If bugs bother you, avoid secluded nature trails where they naturally live. If you’re sensitive to certain smells, this might not be the right place for you.

Many low ratings seem to stem from frustration with nature itself. If you can’t handle the reality of nature, it’s better to stay home or visit a store. Don’t get angry that animals and bugs exist in their natural habitat. Expecting a nature reserve to be free of wildlife is unreasonable. If you can’t appreciate or tolerate nature as it is, it might be best to stay home. The people saying that there is nothing to see here needs to get their eyesight checked. People upset about the graffiti here isn’t this reserves fault. It’s humans fault. Be mad at people not the reserve. Rating this place poorly just because it’s natural is...

Okay, sit down I have a story to tell you…

Me and my fellow associates were waiting to go to play go-carts as a local club when we felt the desire to go for a jolly walk. When it comes to availability, Castaway did not disappoint! We showed up and got out of the car. The weather was 90 but it felt like 100 according to the weather app on my apple iPhone 11.

When we first got here, I noticed many beautiful sights. One of the sights was blocked by a trash can. Granted, it was conveniently placed, so I have no reason to complain. I will provide pictures to show what I saw. We (my associates and I) endeavored on the bridge of wood. Once reaching the end, we turned around with great haste. And to my surprise and sudden awe, we see a lovely gentlemen in a Chevy Silverado with dreads taking out the trash! What service!!!

However, my only concern is that there was trash left in the bottom of the trash can. Personally, I enjoy talking whopping sniffie sniffs of the trash can, but here at Castaway Island Preserve, I can’t do that. I love the effort to make this place clean though.

We also saw crabs.

I would recommend this place to my friends but I would tell them to sniff their trash cans before...