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Explore
local Nature, Eco-tourism
 One of the most enjoyable and least expensive ways to absorb coastal nature here on Amelia Island is to simply
take a walk (or fish) at Amelia's beautiful beaches.
Pictured left are wildflowers in the dunes at Fort Clinch State Park on the northend of Amelia Island.
The best time
of the year to really appreciate the peacefulness and serenity of Amelia's
beaches are the seasons of fall, winter, and spring. A truly unique
outdoor adventure is
horseback riding on Amelia's beaches, one
of the few places on the east coast where you can ride horses on the beach.
Another splendid way to
explore island nature is to do it by water. Amelia Island is surrounded
by many tidal creeks, marshes and the intracoastal waterway, all which contain a wide array of wildlife. Birdwatchers will especially take
glee in the lively bird life within the marshes.
While boating around Amelia Island,
frequently you will see marine life
such as dolphins and sometimes Manatees. There's also opportunity for an occasional sighting of an
alligator sunning itself along the marshland banks. Take a boat ride
around
Cumberland Island, GA (located just across from Amelia Island), and
you will often glimpse the wild horses of Cumberland grazing near the
shore.
You don't want to miss an excursion to
Cumberland Island to explore local nature. The island is
seclusion in its finest, and a top destination for ecological tourism,
eco-tours. A scenic wildlife habitat, Cumberland Island, measuring
about 18 miles long by 3 miles wide, is reportedly the largest
"wilderness island" in the U.S. Solitary walks on 16 miles of
tranquil beachfront await you, along with many shell varieties for
collectors.
Nature tours by boat:
Amelia River Cruises &
Charters offers nature tours on a large vessel with room for up to 49
people. Tours leave from both the Fernandina Harbor Marina downtown, and
the Downunder Restaurant. Call (904)261-9972 for further
information.
Call the
Amelia Island Charter Boat Association at (904)261-2870 for
information and recommendations on
chartering boats for nature tours as well as fishing and sailing charters around Amelia Island.
Another water adventure available to
explore local nature, is to take a kayak trip with Kayak
Amelia. Learn about our island and eco-system while you paddle
through local marshes and creeks. Kayak Amelia provides equipment,
instruction, and states that no prior kayaking experience is necessary.
Fort Clinch State Park
Located at the northward end of Amelia
Island lies Fort Clinch State Park, along with pre-civil-war brick
fortress nestled in lush, maritime forest. The fort entrance is located at 2601 Atlantic
Avenue, near the Fletcher Avenue intersection, close to Main Beach.
Construction of the fort began in 1847,
but it was never 100% completed. During the later years of the civil
war, the fort was occupied by both Confederate and Union
troops.
The vast park of 1,200 acres includes
beachfront as well as hiking/nature trails that wind through natural
maritime forest with tidal marsh and sandy dunes. Experience a
lovely, natural habitat with areas of thick overhead tree canopy, laden
with moss. If you'd rather not walk, then pedal through the park by
bike -- it's a great place to take a bike ride.
Nature Walks at Fort Clinch --
Hike through coastal hammock with your guide
and learn about native plants and animals as you walk around Willow Pond
trail. Nature tour is offered Saturdays at 10:30 am. Call
(904)277-7274 for further information.
Here's a tip: bring some bug
spray, especially if you plan to ride bikes or hike on wooded trails
within the park (or if you go to the playground/picnic area). The
park has a very nice playground area with picnic tables and barbeques,
shaded by tree canopy. However, you don't want to be there
without some repellent!
Stay the night or spend a week, if you
like, as the grounds also include a 62 campsites with restrooms and
bathhouse buildings. Both visitors and local residents enjoy casting lines
off the park's fishing pier and from it's sandy shores.
Historical re-enactments take place the first weekend of every
month on Saturday from 9 until 5 and Sunday from 9 until noon. Demonstrations include the firing of cannons, woodworking,
and the cooking of period food, with volunteers and park rangers dressed
in garb reflecting the past. A unique experience is also available
during the summer months on Friday and Saturday evenings at
the Fort -- a "candlelight tour." Candlelight tours
typically start in May on the weekends and run through Labor Day at sundown (except the first Saturday of
the month and special events). Learn the life of
soldiers, as you meander through the fort by the glow of flickering
candlelight.
The park also has a visitor's center and a gift shop. Call (904)-277-7274 for further information,
park entry fee (it's cheap at around $4 or $5 per car load up to 8
people) and
confirm tours.
Amelia Island Plantation has a Nature Center and extensive
nature program with resident
naturalists and books available to the public, offering a wide variety of
educational programs and tours both on and off the Plantation. Some
of the off property tours are a Cumberland Island excursion, a Fort Clinch
tour, the Okefenokee Swamp, the Kingsley Plantation, the Egan's Creek
Greenway, and Beaks/Talbot Island State Park.
Other nature programs offered by Amelia
Island Plantation include the following: Birds of Amelia, Bird Watching
101, Back Porch Birding, Shell & Shark Tooth Hunt, Beachside Naturalist
Walk, Crab Grab, Wind, Water, & Sand, Flora & Fauna, Nature Photography,
Woodland Walk, Children's Discovery, Critter Talk, Amelia at Night,
Stargazing, Naturalist Kayak, Nature Bike Hike, and Edible Plant. For
further information on the Nature Programs, call toll free 888-261-6161 or
(904)261-6161. Egans Creek Greenway
The
Egans Creek Greenway is 238 acres of
"environmentally-sensitive" property along Egan's Creek.
The greenway is toward the center of Amelia Island, extending between
Atlantic Ave. and Sadler Road. It's a place to take a hike an
explore island nature. Egans Greenway is open sunrise
to sunset, and you may prefer to hike with a partner, as you may find
yourself to be the only soul around. (You can take along your dog, on a leash.)
To enter the greenway, go to the Atlantic
Avenue Recreation Center, 2500 Atlantic Avenue, where you'll find the
entrance behind the auditorium. This is a good place to park to
enter the Greenway, as you can utilize the Recreation Center's public restrooms.
There is a 2-mile trail called the Blue
Heron Loop. Hiking the Greenway in the early hours of the morning or
toward the end of they day, is when you might best glimpse various types
of wildlife. You'll have the opportunity to spot bird life such as
red-shouldered hawks, downy woodpeckers, purple martins, wood ducks,
turkey vultures, belted kingfishers, Carolina wrens, red cardinals, blue
jays, herons, brown pelicans, wood storks, egrets and more), and other
animals such as marsh rabbits and a possible bobcat. Alligators do
live in Egans Creek, so stay alert.
Coastal
State Parks At the south end of
Amelia Island is the Amelia Island State
Recreation Area, then just off the island, other parks are Big Talbot Island State Park, Little Talbot Island State
Park, and the Fort George State Cultural Site (see more info below). The
Amelia Island State Recreation Area (State Road A1A just before the
bridge that takes you off Amelia's south-end), contains over 200 acres of
untouched land, beaches, salt marsh, and forest -- a wonderful natural
environment. It is open all year long, with a
bargain admission price of only $1. For further information call
(904)251-2320. Several miles
off the south
end of Amelia Island is Big Talbot Island, offering a boat ramp,
fishing, canoe trails to explore the marshes, plus hiking trails.
Admission is $2 per vehicle, and park hours are 8 am until sunset,
year-round. You can also explore native birds and
other wildlife by visiting BEAKS, a sanctuary and wildlife
rehabilitation center for native Florida birds, located on Big Talbot.
For further information, call (904)251-BIRD. Admission is free. Call for
exact operating hours. Little Talbot Island
contains five miles of beaches with sandy dunes and marshes. This
island offers camping as well as hiking, swimming and fishing. Admission
is $3.25 per vehicle, and park hours are 8 am until sunset, year-round. Fort
George Island State Cultural Site is several miles to the south of
Little Talbot. Admission is free, park hours are 8 am until sunset,
year-round. A vendor at Fort George Island is now offering Segway tours. Fort George Island,
with towering oaks dripping with Spanish moss, is also the location of the
Kingsley Plantation, the state of Florida's oldest remaining antebellum
plantation home. Built in the early 1800's, this historic
plantation contains the original plantation home, slave quarter's ruins,
and barn. Admission is free, call (904)251-3537 for daily hours. The
area sits within the 40,000 acre Timucuan Preserve, where Timucuan Indians
inhabited the area over 2,000 years ago. Amelia
Island is the most northern point of what is called "the historic
Buccaneer Trail," which continues through the Talbot Islands,
Fort George Island and south on A1A through Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach,
Jacksonville Beach, and Ponte Vedra Beach. The trail which follows
the path of French explorer Jean Ribault, as well as Spanish settlers and
even pirates, ends in St. Augustine, "where continuous European
settlement of the New World began." Stop
by the local Tourist Council office, located at the foot of Centre Street in
Fernandina, next to the railroad tracks, to pick up a wonderful Amelia
Island Nature
Guide, plus lots of other informational brochures.
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