HISTORY & HERITAGE
Huguenot Memorial Park
Duval County · North Florida & First Coast
A 368-acre sandbar where the St. Johns River meets the Atlantic, one of the few beaches in Florida you can still drive and camp on.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
Huguenot Memorial Park occupies 368 acres of sandbar at the mouth of Jacksonville's harbor, with the St. Johns River on one side and the Atlantic on the other, directly across the water from Mayport Naval Station. Navy ships come and go in plain view and helicopters run training patterns overhead. The ocean beach is a mile long and takes surfers and kiteboarders; the cove on the Fort George Inlet side is calm and shallow and suits families, kayaks and paddleboards. Vehicles are allowed on both beaches, though four-wheel drive is strongly advised on the soft ocean sand. The campground has 60 sites with electricity but no water or sewer connections, some on the river, some by the family beach and some inland, and they are reserved online or by telephone. The name honors the French Huguenots who came here in 1562 to get away from religious persecution at home. Birds are the other reason to come: the seabird colony here is one of the largest on the whole east coast, and sunrise and sunset are when to look. Day use runs from 6 in the morning to 7 at night in summer and 6 in the evening in winter, with an annual pass available
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