When summer strikes, I grab my SPF 30 and explore the beaches. Jacksonville Beach boasts bars, shops and restaurants that come in handy when feeling social, but to serenely soak up some sun, I head to Hanna Park in Mayport. It’s a glorious preserve of Floridian wildlife where family barbecues are held, kids’ birthday parties are celebrated and friends kayak before sundown.

It’s also a piece of black Florida history, once known as Manhattan Beach when segregation prohibited black people from visiting other nearby beaches. Entry costs $5 per vehicle, and it’s $5 well spent to play outside.

There’s the beach, over 20 miles of hiking and cycling trails, a splash playground for kids, quiet campgrounds and an outdoor shop to rent bicycles, kayaks, canoes and pedal boats courtesy of Dennis Thompson, owner of Adventure Kayak Florida, the park’s exclusive concessionaire.

Listening to the waves, the trees swaying in the warm wind, crickets chirping and the occasional ‘bloop!’ sound of fish peeking out of the lakewater, you certainly get a sense of Florida’s pre-colonial past.

This is the optimal escape into the region’s biodiversity and its combination of beach, forest, salt and fresh water means there’s an incredible array of wildlife to watch for.

“There are alligators, raccoons, armadillos, osprey, owls, woodpeckers, and hawks, just to name a few,” Thompson says.“People forget that they’re in the city and feel like they’re transported back in time.” As I look up at the sky-high, hundred-year-old palm and oak trees, each draped with Spanish moss, connecting one brand to the next, I can’t help but agree.

I head to Seven Creeks on the northside, just east of Jacksonville’s airport. The name speaks for itself – seven creeks scattered across 30 miles of natural trails, salt marshes and thick woodland.

There’s Betz-Tiger Point Preserve, Bogey Creek Preserve, Pumpkin Hill Creek, Edwards Creek, Horseshoe Creek, Cedar Point and Black Hammock Island – each with its own unique ecosystem furnished with extra bits provided by the city.

Cast a fishing line atop the wooden pier of Betz-Tiger Point or take your motorboat for a spin at the Cedar Point boat ramp, fish, crabs and turtles lurk in the brackish waters. For extra horsepower, Jim Wingate Preserve’s wider trails within Pumpkin Hill Creek’s make for adventurous horseback riding for the fellow equestrian.

I cruise to the sweet sounds of ‘Cheeseburgers in Paradise’ and park on the Big Talbot Island’s north end to make most of Timucuan Trail (yes, this entire land is still part of the preserve), a wooden boardwalk and five-mile trail that connects the Little and Big Islands via views of soft-sanded beaches, breezy palm trees and Florida woodland, grassy estuaries and salt marshes that stretch out to infinity.

It won’t belong before arriving at Black Rock Beach, an ecological and geological anomaly that was created during the last ice age. This is the only beach in these parts where you’ll find golden sand, volcanic rock and astonishing petrified trees that lay along the coast. Aside from the waves, the beach is quiet. The ambience feels eerie, but enigmatic.

As winter temperatures plunge to the 50s and 60s (10-15 °C) and mosquitoes finally give Floridians a chance to live, I’m ready to hike and the Timucuan Preserve offers 46,000 acres of woodlands, marshland and coastal shores for it. I drive to the Theodore Roosevelt entrance area off of Fort Caroline in East Arlington where 600 of those acres await with winding trails near the south bend of the north-flowing St. Johns River.

Parked off road, among shady palms and deciduous trees, I step outside, stretch and breathe. Aside from my breath, the light breeze, melodic birds and crunchy leaves, all is quiet on this southern trail. The final bushels of orange and gold leaves hang strong on bare branches, hoping to survive the rest of winter. Ducks fly south in the sky while squirrels dig underground for their emergency acorn stashes.

It’s where the French briefly settled before the Spanish took over, and as a small ode to the French settlement and Jacksonville’s Indigenous history, the Fort Caroline Memorial holds replicas of Timucua huts, crafted tools, and of course, a life-sized triangular, wooden fort along the rivershore.

Spring’s awakening brings vibrant, fuchsia blossoms, sweet-scented honeysuckles, and locals thawing in the warmer sunlight, ready to play. It’s still too chilly for fun in the water, but you can still enjoy plenty on it. I drive over the crimson Matthews Bridge towards downtown, then over the bright blue Main Street bridge to reach the Friendship Fountain at St. Johns River Park.

And if you visit in the evening, it certainly does glow. Lights of pink, green and blue colour the Jacksonville city skyline while visitors gaze in awe – especially come February when local lovebirds get cheesy and head to the fountain for Instagrammable couples photos.

If that’s not enough, a six-minute Uber ride can drop you off at Memorial Park in Riverside. Locals come to this small, but mighty greenspace for outdoor yoga classes, naps in the sun, and views of the St. Johns River where if you’re lucky, a dolphin or two may jump out for a quick ‘hello!’.

I’ve taken photos with family, picnics with friends and stolen kisses with lovers here, and though I’ve moved thousands of miles away from this little park and…