Things to Do in Jacksonville Florida
Jacksonville Florida offers plenty of things to do. Its downtown district is full of cultural sites and attractions that honor African-American artists, musicians, and authors.
The Jacksonville Zoo offers animal lovers a fun environment in which they can interact with stingrays, feed giraffes and brush pygmy goats. Plus, it hosts safari sleepovers, animal camps and other special events!
Fort Clinch State Park
Fort Clinch State Park in Jacksonville provides plenty of memories-making activities, from exploring its 19th century fort to speaking with Civil War soldiers and camping in one of many beachside campsites.
Children will love touching a stingray at Stingray Bay exhibit and learning about its efforts to rehabilitate Florida wildlife. Families can picnic, use playground equipment and stroll the nature trails that wind throughout the park for added family fun!
Riverside and Avondale are two of Jacksonville’s most bustling neighborhoods, boasting unique shops and cafes selling books, tea, desserts, antiques and souvenirs to take home with you. Plus there’s plenty of places for dining out!
Tree Hill Nature Center
Visit Jacksonville without missing out on visiting Tree Hill Nature Center, with its abundance of wildlife and stunning natural beauty. Additionally, its walkable hedge maze will provide something new and engaging to do during your Jacksonville stay.
Visitors who love the arts will find plenty of things to do in Jacksonville. Catch your favorite show being taped at the Times Union Center for the Performing Arts or enjoy a play, musical or comedy show!
Jacksonville’s historic neighborhoods boast much to offer visitors, from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s home and Charter Oak (where Indians and settlers signed an agreement) to Riverside and Avondale (home to restaurants, shops and artisan cafes), which serve as Jacksonville’s epicenters.
Kingsley Plantation
Kingsley Plantation offers an insight into Florida’s complicated history through the complex legacy of one slave owner’s dynasty. Ride horses or take an guided tour to gain more insight into antebellum Jacksonville.
Flight Fit N Fun has an intriguing name, yet is easily the largest trampoline park in Northeast Florida. Trampoline “fields” provide wide spaces for jumping and hoopsing while other areas provide space for dodgeball games as well as group activities like airslam basketball.
As your vacation comes to a close, take one last trip around Jacksonville’s riverwalk on a water taxi for one last memorable ride – this unique form of transport provides great photo ops as well!
Veterans Memorial Wall
Mussallem Galleries in Jacksonville offers an extraordinary museum experience that is sure to leave visitors speechless. Explore art, history, science and culture all at the same time in an unparalleled showcase that is sure to amaze.
Jacksonville Zoo boasts everything from large elephants to tiny lizards clinging to rocks; everyone will find something fun at this zoo. Events include safari sleepovers, camps and animal encounter programs where visitors can touch stingrays, feed giraffes and brush pygmy goats!
The Times Union Center for the Performing Arts is a cultural hot spot, drawing fans of music, comedy and theater together for concerts, bandstand performances, plays and musicals; as well as being used for taping TV shows such as Dancing With the Stars. Furthermore, this incredible venue also hosts WasabiCon annually which honors anime manga cosplay culture.
Mussallem Galleries
Windward Sailing provides an exciting alternative way to spend your vacation, offering everything from short catamaran trips to overnight yacht excursions.
Visit a manuscript museum is one of the coolest things to do in Jacksonville, Florida. Discover a treasure trove of ancient documents and letters that have been carefully stored away over centuries.
Riverside and Avondale neighborhoods boast some of Jacksonville’s greatest attractions, from museums to shopping, dining and entertainment. Take a day trip and discover these historic neighborhoods; you are sure to come away with some fantastic souvenirs.
Huguenot Memorial Park
Jacksonville offers many fun and unique activities for visitors of all ages to enjoy. Blueberry farms in Jacksonville provide family friendly ways to get outdoors while eating healthily while the Braddock Blueberry Farm provides pick-your-own options.
If you prefer more customized natural experiences, Dutton Island Preserve provides beaches, hiking trails and wildlife observation.
Catty Shack Ranch is a wildlife sanctuary dedicated to caring for lions, tigers, and leopards rescued from dangerous situations and placed permanently into “forever homes” at this ranch. Visitors are welcome day or night for guided tours through its wildlife park.
Riverside and Avondale are among the best neighborhoods to explore in Jacksonville, with countless shops, artisan cafes and historical sites to see here.
Flight Fit N Fun
Jacksonville offers urban attractions and world-class museums for kids and adults of all ages to enjoy, making for an exciting family trip or visit. Its walkable downtown district makes an excellent opportunity to soak in its architecture before visiting boutiques or eateries for shopping or lunching opportunities.
The Creative Grain Studio offers craft workshops for you and your children or spouse to paint a porch sign together or build a headboard together. They also host club and group activities so you can meet new people while working on woodworking projects together.
Pumpkin Hill Creek Preserve State Park offers a host of outdoor family-friendly activities. Visitors can explore its trails by foot, bike or jog, play on its playground equipment and splash pad during warm weather, enjoy picnicking under its shaded picnic areas or courts and grills; horseback riding/bicycling opportunities also exist on paved pathways that wind throughout.
Topgolf Jacksonville
Topgolf Jacksonville offers something exciting for every golf enthusiast or those simply seeking an exciting way to work up an appetite in Jacksonville. This sprawling entertainment venue combines food and beverages, along with golf games that are easy for beginners but challenging enough for experts.
Walk the streets of Riverside and Avondale, two of Jacksonville’s vibrant neighborhoods. These historic districts boast an abundance of restaurants, shops and bars offering everything from trendy fusion cuisine to classic American burgers.
Dutton Island Preserve may not be a flashy tourist spot, but it does provide quiet beauty and an escape from urban living. Home to various species of wildlife as well as playground equipment and fitness trails perfect for walking, jogging and cycling – the preserve is also the ideal place for families with younger children to have some fun together!
Water Taxi
Jacksonville stands out as being home to an exceptional hop-on, hop-off tour experience: Go Tuk’n offers a more personal approach.
The Catty Shack Ranch is an extraordinary animal sanctuary dedicated to big cats of all kinds – lions, leopards and tigers alike – rescued from dangerous situations and given forever homes here. Visitors can take daytime and nighttime tours of the facility to get more familiar with these magnificent animals.
Shopping malls may not seem particularly thrilling, but Beaches Town Center provides enough activities and attractions that it makes an essential stop. There are restaurants, boutiques and equipment rental shops to explore; plus there’s even a walkable hedge maze! Plus there’s the museum to learn more about local history!
Times Union Center for the Performing Arts
Creative Grain Studio of Jacksonville Florida offers numerous classes, clubs and workshops that enable participants to dive into wood design. Their easy and fun activity caters to kids, couples and friends – you could paint a porch sign or create a headboard using friendly instructors as guides.
Catty Shack Ranch is a big cat sanctuary that gives rescued animals “forever homes”. While their nighttime feeding tours can bring out lively roars from some residents, daytime tours are more suitable for kids. Plus its location near Northeast Jacksonville makes this day trip fast and simple!
