Northeast Florida’s historical footprint makes a deep impression. From Spanish Colonial dwellings in St. Augustine—which will celebrate the 500th anniversary of Ponce de Leon’s arrival in 2013—to the vestiges of Victorian splendor in Fernandina Beach and Jacksonville’s rich antebellum and African-American heritage, visitors will find a lasting legacy of historical sites on Florida’s “First Coast.”
Yet this corner of the Sunshine State also holds its own as an outdoor recreational playground where visitors hike, bike, swim, paddle, surf, sail, watch for birds or simply watch the waves.
“What many people don’t realize is that we have 42 miles of unspoiled beaches, oceanfront nature preserves and dozens of services that provide nature programs and tours,” says Kristi Hansman, corporate sales manager for the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches VCB. “And our year-round mild climate is perfect for all sorts of adventures.”
So let the adventures begin. Here are eight ways to take your group out of the ballroom and give them the elbow room they need to enjoy the great outdoors in Northeast Florida.
1. Fishing on the Fly
Since the prolific Gulf Stream is 60 miles offshore in Northeast Florida, you won’t find much deep-sea fishing here, though near-shore waters and underwater reefs and wrecks are plentiful with redfish, sea trout, flounder, ladyfish, bluefish and other treasures.
Meanwhile, fishing often combines with ecotouring on chartered excursions through the region’s coastal waterways, creeks and fishing holes.
“Dolphins come right up to the boat, and you also see manatees, egrets and ospreys,” says Captain David Borries of Backwater Fishing Adventures (www.backwaterfishingadventures.com), offering half- and full-day fishing charters as well as night fishing excursions through local waters. “People go out expecting it’s all about catching fish, but it’s also about being part of nature.”
Backwater can handle up to 30 people at a time on multiple boats, with soft drinks and snacks provided. Your group might decide on catch-and-release fishing, but if someone does land the “big one,” nearby restaurants—including Jacksonville Beach’s Crazy Fish—can fry or grill it up for them.
2. Speedboat Thrills
Five hundred years ago, Spanish galleons lumbered into these waters, but today the going is much lighter and faster aboard the speedboat El Conquistador (www.elconspeedboat.com), which slices through the waves off St. Augustine on a 60-minute thrill ride that only slows down for dolphin sightings or to offer narration on historical sights like Castillo de San Marcos and the St. Augustine Lighthouse.
Newly launched in April, El Conquistador is available for private charters, with team-building programs available as well as expanded sailings that include lunch along the St. Johns River or Intracoastal Waterway.
“We can set up a tent for lunch and let people explore a bit before going back,” says owner/operator Philip Alia. “We can also completely tailor a program around the theme of the convention or meeting, and even customize the music we play according to the theme.”
3. Kayak Attack
The pace slows way down in the tranquil salt marshes of Talbot Islands State Park, set just south of Amelia Island, where maritime forests and desert-like dunes are home to river otters, marsh rabbits, bobcats and a variety of native and migratory birds.
Your group can take in the entire panorama—and enjoy relaxed, easy paddling at the same time—on guided ecotours with Kayak Amelia (www.kayakamelia.com), whose mission, according to lead guide George Morris, is to “make sure that people leave smiling.”
“We get a lot of groups looking to blow off steam from being in meetings all day long,” Morris says. “When people are under fluorescent lights for that long, they need to get out and get some vitamin D, and we’re set up to provide that in a really fun manner.”
In addition to the kayak tours, Kayak Amelia offers team-building activities, stand-up paddle tours, hiking treks and bicycle tours, often splitting larger groups among several activities at once.
“We’ve had 30 people in the water, 12 on bikes, another 30 kayaking and others staying behind for a beach grill,” Morris says. “You can just see people go ‘ahhh’ when they come here.”
4. Pedal Pushers
Bicycling through Little Talbot is but one of many cycling opportunities in Northeast Florida. At nearby Fort George Island Cultural State Park (www.floridastateparks.org), the ranger station rents bicycles to those who want to traverse over two miles of nature trails. Meanwhile, east of St. Augustine, Anastasia State Park offers bicycle rentals along with a four-mile stretch of sand hard-packed enough to ride on.
South of St. Augustine, bicycling is the preferred mode of transportation for many residents in Flagler County, “a really bike-friendly community,” according to Tony Libretti, owner of the Bunnell bike shop, Bicycle Doctor.
“We have more bike trails than any other [Florida] community,” Libretti says.
One of those trails, Linear Park, meanders through a natural hammock, while another, the A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway, passes through four river-to-sea parks and preserves. Your group can rent bikes at Tropical Kayaks in Palm Coast (www.tropicalkayaks.com), starting point for a number of bike paths.
5. Saddle Up
Go from two wheels to four legs and experience something truly unique—a horseback ride on the beach, offered by Kelly Seahorse Ranch (www.kellyranchinc.com), one of only a handful of beach horseback riding opportunities in the nation.
Set within Amelia Island State Park, Kelly offers five-mile tours along the island’s white-sand shores, taking up to 10 riders at a time.
“We work with the big hotels, The Ritz-Carlton and the Omni Amelia Island,” says Jim Kelly, ranch owner. “We have folks come from all over the country to take this ride.”
In St. Augustine, Country Carriages (www.countrycarriages.net) recently increased their horse power, adding one-hour private horseback rides departing daily from Surfside Park on Vilano Beach.
6. Way to Go
It may take a minute or two to get the hang of it, but riding a Segway is remarkably easy, even when traversing the terrain of Fort George Island, which is where Eco-Motion Tours (www.ecomotiontours.com) operates off-road adventures through forests and past dunes, on the trail of bobcats, armadillos, lizards and nesting turtles. Ten is the ideal group size, with everyone connected via headset so that no one misses the guide’s narration.
“To see people out here, learning from the same baseline, cheering each other on, it’s a great team-building activity,” says Maren Arnett, Eco-Motion’s co-owner. “Nature helps people reset and refocus, and see one another in another light. Whenever people can get immersed in nature, it allows creativity to come in, even if it’s just for an hour or two.”
7. Crocodile Crossing
One of Florida’s oldest gated attractions, the 118-year-old St. Augustine Alligator Farm (www.alligatorfarm.us), recently came up to speed with the addition of a new zip line that traverses the park’s tree canopy and soars over swamps that are home to hundreds of alligators and crocodiles, encompassing “every crocodile in the world,” according to the park’s director, John Brueggen.
“It’s a challenge course that includes 50 platforms, some zip lines, ladders and skimlines,” he says, but warns, “It’s not for the person who hasn’t been off the couch in five years.”
8. Parks & Recreation
A brisk walk or hike through a verdant park may be just the thing to invigorate your group. If so, you’re in the right part of the state.
“Nearly 10 percent of our island is set aside as park preserves,” says Gil Langley, president and CEO of the Amelia Island CVB,
That includes Fort Clinch State Park (www.floridastateparks.org), featuring six miles of hiking and biking trails as well as “a great mix of natural and cultural resources, including beaches and the longest pier on the Atlantic seaboard,” according to Park Manager Peter Scalco.
But Amelia Island is hardly alone. Not far from downtown Jacksonville is the Timucuan Preserve (www.nps.gov/timu), one of the last unspoiled coastal wetlands on the Atlantic Coast, while to the south, the GTM Research Reserve in Ponte Vedra Beach (www.gtmnerr.org) is home to an environmental education center and 10 miles of nature trails.
