Jacksonvilles Beaches Info Blog

Every couple of weeks or so our family likes to venture out and cruise around the town to see what has changed and what is the same. Personally, I like to go to the beaches area and spend a few hours at one of the parks or ride the ferry from Mayport to the Northside or vice versa. The ferry at Mayport has been in operation for a lot of years and is a great way to go from one side of to the other. On the Mayport side is the little town of Mayport that use to be a town all its own but has been incorporated into the Jacksonville city limits. Most of the homes there are owned by families who have lived in that area for generations. That is where the shrimp and fishing boats dock. There is a restaurant, a little convenience store, a seafood store and even a haunted house. Now-a-days there is a gambling cruise line docked there as well as a Coast Guard Station. Mayport Naval Station takes up most of the penisula. There is a boat yard that sells and stores boats as well. The little school is now a Marine Science Center and is visited by every 5th grader in the county each year. The school has regular students as well but they are sent there when they don’t fit in any of the other schools.

You and your vehicle can ride the ferry every day for $5 a car or truck with pedestrians and bicyclist paying a little less. The trip across the St. Johns only takes a few minutes but it is a thrill to get out of your car and stand by the railing and watch as the boat cruises across the waves. And whether you start the trip on the Northside on Hecksher Drive or the Mayport it is worth the fee.

The small village of Mayport in 1852 and hasn’t really changed all that much. However, from the last time we went there most of the little buildings along the river have been torn down. That usually means that someone will be building new stuff there soon. There is a nice little park located across from the ferry entrance for kids to play in and there is another one located to the north of the ferry entrance for boaters to launch their boats. If you get a chance to go there don’t forget to stop into the seafood shop and get some shrimp!

Here are some pictures we took in Mayport. Hope you enjoy them.
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