Cradle Creek Preserve
Nature preserve
38 acres0.6 mi of trail
Cradle Creek Preserve
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Quintin Soloviev · CC BY 4.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Jacksonville Beach
Jacksonville Beach has 8.7 miles of mapped trails, 1.2 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Cradle Creek Preserve (0.6 mi). 101 acres are parks and preserves, 4.3 per 1,000 residents. 75% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns · #281 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
94 acres · of 7.3 sq mi of land
Trails
8.7 mi
1.2 per sq mi of land
Park land
101 ac
4.3 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
75%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
4.1 mi
3.8 mi lanes
Lakes & rivers
1
2 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Jacksonville Beach?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Jacksonville Beach have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Jacksonville Beach is ahead of 54% of U.S. towns, #281 of 638 in Florida. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Jacksonville Beach’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%C+Trails1.2 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (9 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land4.3 acres of park per 1,000 residents (101 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13CParks close to home75% of residents within a half mile of a park · FL 70% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 54%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 56%
Water is more than half of Jacksonville Beach’s area (15 of 22 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 1%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Cradle Creek Preserve, with 0.6 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
South Beach Park and Sunshine Playground
Park
8 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
All 12 parks & preserves
Cradle Creek Preserve38 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsSouth Beach Park and Sunshine Playground8 acres · 0.4 mi of trail
DirectionsLatham Plaza1 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsWingate Park22 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsSeaWalk Pavillion1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
DirectionsHuguenot Park & Tennis Center5 acres
DirectionsGonzales Park4 acres
Directions12th Ave South Park3 acres
DirectionsPenman Park2 acres
Carver Recreation Center2 acres
DirectionsTall Pines Park2 acres
Rotary Park1 acres
DirectionsWho protects it
94 conserved acres
2% of Jacksonville Beach’s land. Water is left out: Jacksonville Beach has 7.3 square miles of land and 14.6 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Jacksonville Beach’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city86 ac
County7 ac
Local Park · 57 acLocal Conservation Area · 34 acLocal Other or Unknown · 2 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cradle Creek Preserve Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Wingate Park Local Park | Town or city | 26 | Open |
| Huguenot Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| South Beach Park And Sunshine Playground Local Park | Town or city | 8 | Open |
| San Pablo Elementary Playground Local Park | County | 7 | Open |
| Gonzales Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
| Carver Park/Recreation Center Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Intracoastal Boat Ramp Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Tall Pines Park Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
Things to do
24 places to go in Jacksonville Beach
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Jacksonville Beach
The Eye of the Storm
DirectionsThe Wave Pool
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Jacksonville Beach
Splash ParkIn South Beach Park and Sunshine Playground
DirectionsPlus 17 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Jacksonville Beach
2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Fishing spots in Jacksonville Beach
2 fishing spots without a name on the map.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.0 mi
Cradle Creek Preserve0.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
4.1 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
3.8 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.3 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
12Baseball
12Beach volleyball
9Tennis
8Basketball
3Golf
3Football
3Soccer
2Pickleball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Jacksonville Beach: April and May
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.4 | 11.1 | 11.9 | 12.9 | 13.7 | 14.1 | 13.9 | 13.2 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 10.2 |
| High (°F) | 64 | 67 | 72 | 77 | 83 | 88 | 90 | 89 | 86 | 80 | 72 | 67 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 6.8 | 5.4 | 6.8 | 7.1 | 4.7 | 2.4 | 2.9 |
November is the driest month (2.4 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 7.1 inches fall in September, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Jacksonville Beach →
Next door
Jacksonville Beach and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Beach | 2% | 1.2 | 4 | 75% | B− |
| Jacksonville | 18% | 0.6 | 45 | 62% | A− |
| Neptune Beach | 1% | 1.2 | 2 | 90% | B− |
| Palm Valley | under 1% | 1.2 | 2 | 54% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Jacksonville Beach
Where can I hike in Jacksonville Beach?
The longest trail networks: Cradle Creek Preserve, 0.6 miles; South Beach Park and Sunshine Playground, 0.4 miles; Latham Plaza, 0.3 miles; Wingate Park, 0.2 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Jacksonville Beach is conserved land?
2% of its land, against a typical 3% for a Florida town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Jacksonville Beach’s trails?
Cradle Creek Preserve and South Beach Park and Sunshine Playground don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Jacksonville Beach?
4.1 miles of bike routes are on the map: 3.8 of painted or protected lanes and 0.3 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Jacksonville Beach?
15,583 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Jacksonville Beach or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 101 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Jacksonville Beach have?
Ahead of 54% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #281 of 638 in Florida. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Jacksonville Beach neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →