Spanish Pond Trailhead — Attraction in Jacksonville

Make sure to leave yourself time for this trail! Spanish pond is where Pedro Menéndez from Spanish st Augustine camped (during a hurricane) and attacked unprotected fort Caroline - killing almost all the settlers “bloody massacre” - the Spanish and French settlements were only 40 miles apart from each other and Pedro Menéndez HATED Protestants (Huguenots). Make sure to keep walking to “round marsh overlook” both the French and Spanish written records of them observing meteor strike 1564 “A miracle from heaven” - “A stroke of lightning that, consumed about 500 acres and burned with such a bright heat that the birds which lived in the meadows were consumed. — The fire burned for three days. The river seemed almost to boil. — Enough fish died to fill 50 carts.” Miracle because the French were starving and filled carts of cooked fish which they ate. You can also see Willie brown cabin - he lived in these wooded areas until he died age of 80years and donated the land with promise that no hunting or development ever. Willie browns family escaped yellow fever epidemic in New York City (both his sisters died) this is where the family ended up and Willie stayed and lived off the land. You also will see oyster mounds - archeologists site - ancient men ate these oysters and discarded them. They...

Just across the street from Fort Caroline National Park this trail system has a good amount of elevation change for a Florida trail. It is 1.7 miles from the entrance to the Theodore Roosevelt entrance taking the shortest route. There are some beautiful trees along the route with plenty of benches for a 'ponder'. The signage and amount of maps along the trail make it very helpful to find your way. Red is Spanish Pond, Blue is Theodore Roosevelt, The Black trail is the scenic loop that takes you out and back onto a peninsula at the water with lookout platform. The black trail is a loop so it will take you back to where the red and blue meet. The trails make sense. I did a total of 4.1 miles but I didn't do the entire black trail so could probably get around 4.5 miles in total. I walk fast but this took 1 hour and 20 minutes including a short bathroom break at the Roosevelt entrance.

There is not a bathroom at the Spanish Pond trailhead. Only...

This simple hike is varied enough for anyone, novice to expert. You can hike as little or as much as you like. You can put about 6 miles of hiking in without very little repetition, or you can just cover a short hike to the observation deck and relax. Wildlife is varied but dangerous encounters are extremely rare, if at all. Rabbits, owls, hawks and a large variety of other birds can be seen throughout. This is one of my favorite places to go when I don't have the time to go out of town for a hike. Do be aware that during the typical Florida months, bug spray is likely a necessity, and sometimes the trails get a little wet here and there. Dogs on leashes are allowed, and aside from hiking, it's also a good jogging trail and parts of the trail are...