There is a lot to see and learn about out at Fort George Island. Fort George Island is roughly 30 minutes North-East of Downtown Jacksonville. There are 3 places to to check out while you are there including Kingsley Plantation, Fairway Loop, and the Ribault Club Visitor Center.
The Parking Throughout Fort George Island is completely free, and generally plenty of parking to go around. When we were there was only 2-3 other cars at the Kingsley Plantation, and nobody else at the hiking trail or the Visitor's Center.
There is no parking or any entrance fee at the Fort George Island which is nice! The Park is a Florida State Park so if you really like what they are doing and you want to support them you can donate Here You can also become a Member of "The Friends of Talbot Islands State Parks" Here. Or follow "Friends of Talbot Islands" on Facebook
The entire hiking trail is completely dog friendly the only place we couldn't bring him were in a few of the buildings at the Kingsley Plantation, and then the Ribault Club Visitor Center. We didn't see any other dogs while we were there however there wasn't really anyone else out there. They have signs around the area requesting all dogs must be on a 6ft leash.
We started our day off at the Kingsley Plantation. We walked around the land stopping to read the signs they had posted and trying to learn as much as we could from this site. There are several stops along the Plantation where if you get a headset you can listen to the stories they have set up. The Kingsley Plantation also has a trail that leads almost half a mile one way so 1 mile total there and back. This trail runs through the planataion house past the restrooms and right on to a dock that extends over the Fort George River
After the Kingsley Plantation we went on the 3 mile hike known as the Fairway Loop. The trail was fairly wide, and was pretty easy going throughout. There were some spider webs that crossed the trail, but no more than we expected.
During the 3 mile loop there are a couple of check points including a lookout point called Point Isabel where we got on to another edge of the Fort George River. When we were out there, there were 3 small boats docked about 150 feet off the coast and the people were standing out by the boats so the water must have not been that deep. On the way to this point the trail splits in 3 different directions but each path rejoins at the top of the stairs leading down to the Fort George River.
After this lookout point, you retrace your steps and continue back on the main loop. Once we got back to the main loop we discovered a hole in the ground with a gopher turtle in it. The next cool points to check out is one of the tallest dunes on the eastern Seaboard, Mt. Cornelia. Mt. Cornelia wasn't that impressive however it was cool to look back from a decent height I guess. I feel like their website oversold it but then again after reading it over a second time they do refer to it as "a true Florida hill".
The last spot we hit before looping back to the beginning was the Ribault Club Visitor Center. We weren't allowed to bring ACE inside so we just took turns checking it out, and enjoying the AC. The visitor center was nice, and had several rooms for learning, as well as a beautiful ballroom. They also have water fountains inside if you want to refill water bottles.
