Photo Credit: @jerianflows

If you haven't been to Dutton Island Preserve in Mayport, you're missing out! Sitting amongst Mayport's suburban neighborhoods and mom and pop restaurants, Dutton Island Preserve feels like a hidden gem waiting to be explored. 

Prior to becoming a park, the island was owned by Don Bartolome de Castro y Ferrar, who then called it, "Pine Island." 100 years later, during the real estate boom, real estate companies planned on purchasing the land and developing single family homes on the island, destroying the nature surrounding it. When local organizations and Jacksonvillians heard of the destructive plans, they began to put in effort to preserve it. The land was eventually sold to the City of Atlantic Beach in 1984, and for the next four years the City of Atlantic Beach and other dedicated organizations and citizens worked to preserve Dutton Island. The island was named after Walter "Wally" Dutton, the most recent owner of the island before the City of Atlantic Beach purchased it. Now, Jacksonville locals can fully enjoy their little slice of nature, Dutton Island Preserve, for everything it has to offer.

Did you know that Dutton Island Preserve is the largest park in Atlantic Beach? The preserve has 9,000 feet of nature trails, a fishing and viewing pier, a canoe/kayak launch, picnic areas, pavilions, camping areas, and parking. The preserve is the perfect spot for paddle boarding or kayaking in the Intercoastal Waterway, and makes for some insane pictures at sunset! The park is free for anyone to enjoy and is open everyday from sunrise to sunset.