Guana-Tolomato-Mantansas National Estuarine Research Reserve Review

Always nice every time I go.
No trash near path but some along the beach area.

Amazing park. Bring a boat, some running/walking shoes, or a fishing pole. If you go to the trails come with time to spare for a leisurely walk, and if you want the scenic trail use the red trail.

Great place to take my dog.
Hiking the trails to the river and back
is a good work out for me and Rusty

The trails lend themselves more to hiking than biking, as in zero elevation changes. But, it is a very nice and clean park that is well maintained.

Natural beauty abounds! This is a First Coast treasure to be preserved for future generations to enjoy.

Excellent trails, just be mindful of ticks and other bugs. Sometimes there is trash around the beaches on the trails, but for the most part it is very clean.

A unique saltwater lake north of the dam creates a great fishing spot when the conditions are right.

Great place to hike and see nature.just make sure you have your bug spray.

Downfall is crossing the busy road from the parking area, but other than that, it's a nice beach if you're looking for less of a crowd. It also has a lookout point on the wooden bridge that you take down to the beach itself. Not as many shark teeth as years past though due to some erosion.

Easy to follow map and trail signs . Lots of scenery and wildlife . We didn't fish but the area looks really nice . Saw two wild pigs . They ran from us .
Take plenty of water , more then you normaly take . Loved it !

One of Ponte Vedra/Jacksonvlle's best kept secrets. If you're willing to drive a little further and pay the couple dollars to park you get a beach almost completely to yourself even in the summertime! The sand is a bit different here and has something like a South Florida feel. There's also a nice lookout and a nearby boat ramp for fishing

Love this place. Great trails. Beautiful. Highly recommend.

I attended the annual Florida Bird Festival here and just loved it. Excellent photography classes, and the grounds and buildings are beautiful. Enjoyed hiking some of their wonderful trails.

Great park to walk the dogs and just have a relaxing time

This is a wonderful place to go for a hike and experience nature. The paths are very easy and give you various perspectives on the nature that is around. There are opportunities to see all sorts of wildlife, from butterflies, hermit crabs, armadillos to alligators.
If you are even mildly into photography, this is a great place to go and capture nature .
Bring a lunch and you can picnic in one of the pavilions or near the river. Bring your fishing pole and you can fish riverside or lake side.
Overall, it is well worth the $3 a car and is a good family outing if you want an easy hike or just a day out and about in nature

Lots of interesting birds and miles of trails with no hills and great woods and water views.

Great place for hiking, biking and kayaks. Only wish we had more time to explore!

Beautiful easy trails in varying lengths with plenty of benches to rest on and take in the scenery

This is one of the areas best kept secrets. Located on A1A between Ponte Vedra and St Augustine, the research and education center is hidden just off the highway so that it is easily (and often) missed. This is well worth the stop,... especially if you have kids. The life-sized Humpback and Right Whales were awesome! Check out my pics

The research reserve is interactive & informative. Beautiful nature walks and beach access and several points.

Great learning center, bring biks and canoe of a day of fun.

Nice hiking/biking trails. Close access to the river and ocean.

My wife caught a flesh eating Bacteria here. "Vibrio Vulnificus" she spent 4 months in the hospital. Be careful. The water is NOT dirty it is a natural bacteria that lives in salt and brackish water and becomes active when the water is warm. don't go in the water if you have any cuts.

This is the most beautiful place to mountain bike in the area! Many distinct and divers micro-environments due to the coastal location and immediate proximity to the intercoastal waterway. Lots wildlife and the occasional alligator can be seen and enjoyed. Lots of yellow flies and ticks in warmer months.

There are MILES of trails at this park. I used the trails there to train for a half marathon. This is a great location for a family outing or a romantic walk.

Biking and hiking trails that are convenient from NE St. Augustine

Plenty of trails to hike, which is what we did. Well marked and none are very challenging. Be sure to bring lots of water and bug spray. It is Florida....
The one thing that kept the 5th star out was the wild pigs. We saw one on the east side or the loop and a pack of 7 on the other side. All piglets and my wife thought they were the cutest. Ferrell pigs are invasive and can be quite aggressive. So just be aware. .

Beautiful been 20 years
Many improvements

Beautiful place lots to do. Fishing, hiking, kayaking, geocaching and tons of wild life

My wife and I love hiking the trails here! There's plenty of biodiversity here to keep you interested, no matter which trail you take.

There's a variety of trails that give you plenty of options for how long you want to hike. If you want to put several miles of hiking into your day, you'll get what you're looking for here. If you want just a short walk through the woods, you can get that here too. You'll walk through woods, around/through marshes, along rivers, and more. Plenty of opportunities for pictures to preserve the memories you make!

And they allow animals to come along for the adventure!

Very nice trail system. Well laid out. Huge, long beaches great for long walks or just relaxing with the sounds of crashing waves.

This place was the best part of visiting St. Augustine!

Quite and unassuming. The perfect beach to relax at. No vendors of any kind. Nothing but sand, water and dunes as far as the eye can see.

Awsome trails friendly people got to see some wildlife

Beautiful facility, very small exhibit for the public. Lovely location. Great birding and hiking

Natural beauty. Deer, egrets, blue herons, good fishing. Access to remote areas of Ponte Vedra beaches. Must see.

We absolutely LOVE this strip of beaches! Large enough that you can find your "own" spot of beach. Good shells and you can even find shark's teeth! Sand is not white and is coarse. Cost is $3 per vehicle (cash only) to park.

This beach, no matter which parking lot, is quiet. The normal crowd here is mainly fishermen and surfers.

Such a wonderful place to get outdoors and fish, kayak, and hike.

Pleasantly surprised. Quite the adventure, especially after living in the area for over 30 years and not even knowing it existed.

This is a wonderful slice of unspoiled Florida. I'm a birder and this is a fantastic place for birding, both along the intracoastal and along the beach. The environmental center is small but packs in a lot of information. My grandkids enjoy visiting it. If I lived closer I'd probably be there every day, or at least once a week, but since it's a 100-mile round trip from my house I don't get there nearly as often as I would like.

You have to pay small fee to park worth the views best beach in the area

Stunning. Great place to walk and enjoy the Florida weather

Gorgeous hikes, did about 6 miles and had a great time.

I love the hiking; I think the trails should be better marked.

Very scenic and nice facilities. I take my mountain bike here often!

I like going fishing here. You can actually walk out in the water up to waist high. It is a great place to paddle boat, canoe. A great place for bird watching too.

Get outside and enjoy real Florida. You can walk the trail straight through to the Intracoastal.

Great remote beach. Day use is $3/car. Well worth it to have some beach time away from the tourists.

The trails are wonderful here - many great pictures - and dogs welcome. We greatly look forward to going again!

One of my favorite places to paddle. This is a beautiful place.

Complete natural experience.
Education, exercise, trails, fishing, and serious research.
Ocean to estuary.
A local gem!

Love this place, great wildlife, good fishing, good crabin, Great place

Great place to fish parking very close to water no long walks carrying your stuff when fishing is good it is GOOD shrimp also. Kid friendly also and restrooms available gas station right at gate also and it sell basic tackle and frozen bait.

What a great place to look for wildlife. Very nice trails

Great place! Ran here today, on the trails, and they were very nice. They are pretty well marked and kept, and there are many options to choose from. Other than the paved sensory loop, the other trails are dirt or gravel, including a boardwalk. Would definitely recommend to any runners looking for some soft surface running, also great for walking and biking!

My friend and I hiked 9 miles here and really enjoyed it. The trails are beautiful.

This National Estuary is a great place to visit. The Education Center is open to the public and is a great insight into the ecosystems in the area.

The water quality in the preserve is something to be proud of and work to keep.

While the nature is beautiful and it's peaceful, trail markings are very poor. I lost a track and ended up walking two hours trying to get out. No cellphone signal and GPS doesn't work either. Very scary and unpleasant, and no people around.

Great for training on CX or MTB. Long fire road trail....really long. Bring hydratation backpak. No thorns so is ok to go on tubes. Wildlife: turtles, Coyotes(if your are lucky) Deers, pigs, Racoons, Possums, snakes, and birds. Start from More

Wonderful place to get some exercise with the pooch in tow, beautiful area, picnicking, biking and fishing as well as horse back riding!

Not a difficult hike at all. Several different blazes you can take to make the hike as long as you want. Easy to follow trails.

Very nice place. Beautiful. Great for trail walking and biking.

Beautiful, but remember to bring mosquito repellant. The educational area was quite good. Surprisingly so.

great place to decompress. So close to home and far away. Lots of different wildlife

Took our horses, parked and rode for hours in some of the prettiest trails and landscape I've ever seen!! Going back again !!

This park is great for hiking. Lots of wildlife. You can kayak here as well.