What are some nice nature places near Jacksonville

I am a photographer and I'm going to the GA-FL game. After the game I'd like to take a day to explore some of the nature around northeast Florida and get some shots of the wildlife. Any wilderness areas or botanical gardens? What are the Florida State Parks in the area like.

Look up Huguenot Park in Jacksonville Beach on a Google search. Good place to hike, bike, near the ocean etc etc. Might be what you would like and close by too.

If you want to head an hour north you could always check out Jekyll, and Sea Island.

What are your main shooting interests? Birds, Mammals, Scenery, Flowers, etc... I am a photographer as well and if you would like to give me a bit more information maybe I could help you out a little. What is your travel limit? Are you returning to Ga on Sunday evening? I probably wont check this before Monday so feel free to email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Nature/Still life/landscape is my passion but I end up having to shoot people to afford those types of wildlife trips! :P Nice to see another Dawg Fan/Photographer here. Here are some samples of my recent trip to Wyoming and Montana.
s151.photobucket.com/albums/s160/The_Wright_Touch/wyoming/

ChemDawg, you have lots of nice choices.
wlayton mentioned Hugenot park for ocean and beach scenes. Here's one possible trip scenario: Leave Jax and drive 40 min south to St. Augustine (the oldest city in the US). SA is a beautiful, scenic, touristy place with many interesting photographic possibilities. Leave St. Augustine and head back up Hwy A1A north toward Jax Beach. Go through Jax Beach to Mayport and take the ferry north toward Hugenot park and Amelia Island (by the way you can get some of the best seafood in the world in all of these areas at very good prices). Ferry ride is short and only costs about $4. You are still on Hwy A1A headed toward Amelia Island which is a beautiful ritzy, resort area with golf courses and big hotels on the beach. Continue north toward Fernandina Beach. On your right all the way is the ocean and miles of beaches. Turn left to go to the quaint village of FB. You now must go west to get back on a north-south highway (either Hwy 17 or I-95). For speed, of course, take I-95, for a little more scenery, Hwy 17,
but there is not much on 17 until you get to the Brunswick, GA area. About 40 minutes from the GA-FL state line will be signs for Jekyll Island. From south to north, Cumberland, Jekyll, St. Simons, Sea Island, and a couple more form the incredibly beautiful Golden Isles. These islands have stunning beauty in terms of landscapes, seascapes, beaches, marshes, trees, magnificent oaks with spanish moss, waterfowl, boats, marinas, etc. As you may or may not know, just prior to and during the turn of the 20th century, the richest people in the world built incredible mansions on many of these islands. These included the Carnegies, the Vanderbilts, the Kennedy's, etc. (just a few of my good friends; . No way you could do that trip in a day. You could spend a day and a half or a week enjoying that area and shoot pictures until your camera burned out. Good luck and enjoy the scenery!

Double posted...