Health_Sept16

Body Works
THRIVE OUTSIDE
Little Talbot & Big Talbot Island
Adventure away from civilization
Written and Photographed by Maggie FitzRoy
The dunes framing the beach at Little Talbot Island State Park are as
natural and undisturbed as they were in the days of the Timucuan Indians.
Big Talbot Island has a rustic picnic area near the entrance and several walking trails that
meander through the nature preserve and Boneyard Beach.
Big Talbot is a unique sea island and
a magnet for photographers who are
attracted to its wild, other-worldly beach
landscape. Due to steep bluffs between
the forest and shoreline, visitors need to
hike Blackrock Trail to get down onto the
beach. A sign at the beginning of the trail
says that it is a quarter-mile long, but I
was up for it. Walking along the wooded
winding pathway, I see no other people,
and have the beach to myself.
Strolling Big Talbot beach isn’t an option,
because of all the skeletal trees. They form
a natural obstacle course which you need
to climb over, under, or find a way around
— depending on the tide.
Other trails on the island lead to other
habitats. Big Pine Trail leads to marsh, and
Old Kings Highway and Jones Cut lead
through maritime forest.
I’ve been to the Talbot islands before, in
the summer, when there are more people,
but they are great places to get away any
time of the year — whenever you want to
escape the clutches of civilization.
As I walk along a boardwalk toward the
beach, I am alone amid a vast expanse of
shrubs, wild flowers and sea oats. Stepping
out onto the beach, I see only sand, ocean
and sky. The hazy far-off silhouettes of US
Navy ships to the south at Naval Station
Mayport are the only signs of civilization.
After a relaxing stroll, I hike back to my
car and drive a few miles north to Big Talbot
Island State Park. The adjacent islands
are a beautiful study of contrasts.
On Big Talbot, soaring majestic live
oak trees grow all the way to the shoreline.
And the beach is littered with the
salt-washed silver-white skeletal remains
of oak and palm trees. The beach is famously
known as Boneyard Beach.
Big Talbot and Little Talbot are part of
a collection of seven state parks known as
The Talbot Island State Parks, which also
includes Amelia Island, Fort George Island,
Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve, Yellow Fort
Bluff and George Crady Bridge Fishing
Pier. They’re First Coast treasures, and great
places to spend a day beachcombing, viewing
and photographing wildlife, fishing,
kayaking, surfing and picnicking.
Little Talbot has five miles of white
sandy beaches, and is one of the few
remaining undeveloped barrier islands in
Northeast Florida. Its western side is filled
with maritime forest and salt marshes,
home to river otters, marsh rabbits, bobcats
and many migratory birds. This particular
day, I meet a few photographers
looking for a snowy owl that temporarily
made the beach-side dunes its home.
A full facility campground is also located
on the island, where kayak rentals
and guided paddle tours are available.
Little Talbot Island has five miles of undeveloped
beach, a full facility campground and a two and
half mile paved bicycle path.
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