Jacksonville Arboretum & Gardens

We visited this beautiful and breathtaking botanical garden and it was so peaceful and relaxing. We walked the trails and took in all of the beautiful sounds of nature. The birds were singing and the weather was perfect for an early morning walk. There were so many flowers and trees to read and learn about all throughout the trails. I love that they had every different species of plants carefully labeled. FYI, there were also safety reminders all throughout warning you about not to feed the wildlife and especially, the gators. I thought it was cute that they mentioned No Foraging” shrooms!! Only take pics. If you’re interested in taking your lunch there’s a nice picnic area with tables and great views of the lake.

Very nice place to hike! Well kept trails. Various signs posted on the trails identifying plants and trees. Be aware there are many roots to step over on portions of trail. Not a problem for us but not recommend for anyone not steady on feet. My kids and I enjoyed the adventure. Well mapped trails with paper map at entrance - recommend grabbing a map because it is confusing if you're not familiar with the layout.

What a great experience! They have lovely trails of varying lengths and a lot of loops. Don't let the short lengths in the trail descriptions fool you - a friend and I got in a solid 2 hours of walking without seeing the same sight twice. The ID markers next to the plants were very helpful and my friend, a professional horticulturist, saw some plants she hadn't heard of before.