Top 5 Things to do with Kids in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida is a city filled with things to do with small kids. It is located on the most northeast corner of Florida, there is a mix of state parks, shopping, beaches and exploration.
Check out our list of top 5 things with do with small kids in Jacksonville. You will be booking your trip to Jacksonville as soon as possible.
The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens
This was a perfect place to visit for the day. We splurged and bought the Total Experience Tickets. We loved these because we got on the train right when we arrived at the zoo. This allowed us to see the entire zoo from the train, and then we decided what animals or areas we wanted to talk through. This was perfect for our 2 year old, because we didn’t have to walk the whole zoo to see it. The kids also loved the unlimited carousel rides that came with the tickets. You can also feed giraffes and manta rays. I think I loved the Bamboo gardens the best, just so fascinating to walk through.
Tree Hill Nature Center
This was a hidden gem. It’s set back amongst giant oak trees with spanish moss, which is magical! When you are at the nature center you have the option to go to the museum, see all the animals, or walk the trails. The kids loved all three. The museum is a hands-on natural history museum. Touching the turtles was a highlight along with the rattlesnake that was shaking its rattle at us! (It was in its tank, of course!) Outside of the museum we saw goats, alligators, butterflies and chickens. The trails were an enjoyable walk that were also stroller friendly! You can stay busy for hours and it was fairly inexpensive.
Fernandina Beach
Fernandina Beach is the northernmost city on the Atlantic Coast side of Florida. The town is located on Amelia Island, and it is adorable! There are many access points to this beach, so we went to Seaside Park. One thing we loved about this beach was how simple it was! All we had to do was drive our car onto the beach and unload. What a dream for any parent! We went at sunset and had an incredible relaxing picnic. There was also a restaurant almost right on the beach, along with other cute restaurants and shops all within walking distance. (Obviously not in Jacksonville, but if you are staying on the northside of Jax, this is an easy drive! You can also head north from the beach to explore Fort Clinch State Park.)
Amelia Island State Park
We went to Amelia Island State Park to bike, but if we had known we could have packed a picnic and spent the whole day there. The parking lot was right by the beach, along with an overpass that many people were fishing from. The bike path went north out of the state park. We stopped at the beach at Burney Park, but if we kept going north there were some cute shops and restaurants. Great for lunch before heading back!
Riverside Arts Market
This market was so cute! Picture a farmers market mixed with food trucks and amazing vendors! And you can go each week! We were able to grab some produce for the week. We were able to grab some amazing products from The Legacy Beard Brand for my husband. He still orders those products online after finding them at RAM! We also bought the cutest stuffed fox from Fox in the Pines Design as a gift. One of my highlights was the coffee cart! You can never go wrong with sipping your coffee and shopping at the same time! It was hard to not buy everything. One tip would be to be patient with parking! Especially with a dually truck we had to search a bit, but we were used to that after coming from Chicago. If you are in Jacksonville you need to check it out Saturdays 10-3 rain or shine! https://riversideartsmarket.org/ (You can also make a day of it and visit the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, it’s just down the block!)
