Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park in Jacksonville, Florida: A biking, hiking, swimming, camping Park
Written: Jan 27 '03 (Updated Feb 18 '03)
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Pros: Gorgeous surrounding on a beach. Great bike and hiking trails; lake and water playground.
Cons: There is no restaurant or swimming pool.
The Bottom Line: This is a wonderful park. I would go back again when it is a little warmer.
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| jo.com's Full Review: Kathryn Hanna Abbey Park |
Note: The name is Kathryn Abbey Hanna, not Kathryn Hanna Abbey.
During our 3-week trip down and up the east coast of the United States in Dec./Jan. 2003, we stopped for a few days at Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park. Although this is their off season and not everything was in full gear, we took advantage of what was.
Where and What is Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park:
Kathryn Abbey is located at 500 Wonderwood Drive in Jacksonville, Florida. This was very hard to find, especially at night pulling a trailer so when you call, get directions. Not only was it hard to find but the signs in Jacksonville weren't clear in this area and we made a wrong turn ending up in a residential neighborhood.
The park is open from 8:00 a.m to sunset. We camped here so we had access to the park 24 hours a day.
This is a 450-acre beach front park with numerous things to do, which I will talk about in a moment. Kathryn Abbey Hanna was an educator and author of many historical books. She was an integral part of Jacksonville in the mid 1900s. An investor, who was also her friend, donated 5 acres of beach front property in Jacksonville stipulating that the park be named for her- and it was.
Admission to the park itself is only $1.00 and you will find plenty of parking, which is free. Admission to the park allows you access to everything but the campground area.
About the park and what you will find to do:
This was without a doubt one of the nicest campgrounds in terms of location in which I have been. I have seen many on the beach but this one was very nice. (One in Myrtle Beach was nice as well - so I know it isn't the only one. Feel free to tell me any you love.) You will find:
1. Bike trails: These are enormously popular and every day we saw dozens of bicyclists. There is an area to wash your bike as well as to park it. There are porta toilets at this area as well. The trails are marked as beginner, intermediate and expert. I didn’t understand before we ventured onto the trails what “all trails are technical trails, not leisure trails” meant. I do now. The trails are really for mountain bikers who are experienced in very narrow, windy trails. I realized that when my husband insisted we were biking on the beginner trail. I said it couldn’t be for beginners. The beginner trail is narrow, though not terribly windy, and totally tree root covered. It also follows hills. Unless you are experienced with this kind of biking, don’t attempt it. You can’t ride on the trails if you are under 16 unless you are with an adult. A helmet is required for trail riding. The law requires anyone under 16 to wear a helmet anywhere in the park but everyone has to wear one on the bike trails and I can understand why!
We love to bike, though and found a couple of areas where you can that I will pass along. If you get a map of the campground you will see an area that says “Non-Profit Youth Group Area.” Unfortunately although the trail maps are marked wonderfully with trail names such as Dead Dog and Switchback, the trails themselves are not. We found perhaps 3 trails marked with their names so they are hard to find. Anyway, if you don’t have a campground map you will have a trail map. You’ll see Wonderwood Drive, which is the street the main office is on. If you follow the map north the road forks. Bear to the left and you will see a sign that says Nature Trail. Follow this. On your right is a small camping area for youth groups, so the path is wide enough for cars. It is flat and easy riding.
The park is huge and the roads are well maintained. You can bike along and around the entire park and into the lake area. We were there as I said during non-peak time. I imagine during peak time (April – November) you will be fighting with people and traffic but the road is large enough for both.
2. Hiking trails: The hiking is fantastic. The hiking paths and bike paths at times parallel each other but the hiking paths are much easier to walk than to ride. The hiking trails in general are not difficult. You will find some small bridges that cross over a stream that might be unsteady and some hills. It is beautiful and worth the walk. The hiking trails are not named but as you approach each entrance it will either say Hiking Trail or Biking Trail.
3. The Lake: There is a 60-acre freshwater lake for fishing, kayaking, paddle boating and canoeing. The lake is on one side of the campground and the beach is on the other side. You do not have to be a camper to use the lake. It is a wonderful area but there is no swimming in the lake. When we were there a sign was up saying that use of the boats could be made by going to the office. The area was almost deserted, the boat rental area wasn't open. It was too cold so we passed that up. The lake has tables and grills around it, which are in excellent condition. The whole park is clean and really well maintained.
You will be amazed at the 1/4 acre water playground. Although the water wasn’t running, we could tell how much fun for children this is. The water playground has colorful fountains, all sorts of water devices and sprayers that anyone would have fun in, under and on.
4. The beach: The beach is gorgeous with a couple of different entrances from which you can enter. There is plenty of parking including handicapped parking. It is 1.5 miles long and the sand is very soft. There is a lot of beach – it is wide so you shouldn’t have to fight for a place to put a chair. Lifeguards are on duty from Memorial Day through Labor Day from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The concession stands are only open during their summer months. There is no restaurant in this park. That was one flaw I saw. I don’t mean one open during the winter, I mean there isn’t any in the park so you want to make sure to bring food or be prepared to buy at the concession stands. There are restrooms and showers at both the beach and lake.
5. Camping: This is truly one of the nicest campgrounds I have been to. It may not have organized activities like you will find elsewhere (Strawberry Park in Connecticut is fantastic!) but the sites are private and surrounded by trees. On top of that the price is $18.00 – that includes tax with a 10% discount if you are an AARP member, disabled, over 62, active duty military or a member of the Florida Campers Association. This is for RVs. If you are tenting you will pay $13.50 per night.
There are trash receptacles on each row and along with that are recycling bins which were nice to see. When you check in to camp you get a code which changes once a week. You can only get your car or vehicle through the gate to the campground with the code. You can also only use the bathhouses (Which were fine – but one reason I wanted a travel trailer was so I would have my own!) if you have a code.
There are laundry facilities but they are outside. They are covered but when it is in the 50s I wasn’t doing laundry here. The campground gives you information on where to find stores and other laundry mats.
There is a building called Lee Hall for campers only. There was coffee there every morning. They also have game nights, potluck dinners, and games you can borrow or play there.
Campers only can rent picnic shelters at the beach. There are very nice. This is an area with 6 picnic tables for $25.00 a day and a $25.00 clean up fee. You can rent chairs if you have someone who is uncomfortable on a picnic bench for $.65 each and additional tables for $6.50.
You can also rent cabins that are 12 by 18 feet. That is not very large but it is one step above a tent since it has electricity, reverse cycle air-conditioning, a ceiling fan. You have to bring your own cot or mattress and any other equipment. These are very, very cute but they are really shelters for up to 4 people, they are not a motel!
The cabins and campsites all have a picnic tables, a fire ring, a grill and electric and water hook ups. We had sewer as well. These cabins cost $33.90 a night. We probably won’t go here next winter, though we might again but if you go, our site was #20 and it was really nice. We could walk to the beach. It isn’t a pull through site, though. The pull through sites are nice as well but not as secluded.
There is a store at the campground. They were not fully supplied and their hours were flexible. During peak season they serve a limited amount of fresh food. It is a large store, though, and we got what we needed (ice cream). There is a small area next to the store with a couple of arcade games.
My final thoughts:
We had a wonderful time at Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park. A restaurant would be nice, as would a swimming pool. Although these might be luxuries in a park like this, the water playground is as well, so I am rating it 4 stars and when they put in the swimming pool I will change my rating. (Just kidding – there are no plans to.)
This area will be buggy so be prepared for that, especially if you go hiking or biking. In addition, a family of raccoons greeted us. Although they won’t bother you if you don’t bother them, I would and did stay out of their way. They live here so they walk around freely. We never saw one except at the main office.
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.
There are many sites to find out more information. This is one of them:
http://www.gocampingamerica.com/kathrynabbeyfl/
You may be interested in reading reviews of other sites in southern Florida if you are headed that way:
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
Windley Key Fossil Reef State Geological Site
Recommended:
Yes
Best time to go: June-August
Recommended for: Anybody
Review Topic: Overview
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