Boneyard Beach (Big Talbot Island)

Boneyard Beach, on the Atlantic side of Big Talbot Island State Park, is one of the more dramatically photogenic places in Florida. The beach is covered with enormous bleached oak and cedar trunks, their roots exposed and sculpted by salt and wind into shapes that resemble giant hands or driftwood sculptures. It is genuinely strange and beautiful in a way that is unusual for Florida, where most beaches are simply long, flat, and sandy.

Big Talbot Island is about 40 kilometres north of downtown Jacksonville, past Mayport. The state park charges a small admission fee per vehicle, and the walk to the beach from the parking area is short. Go at low tide and in the morning for the best light. Swimming is possible but the beach has no lifeguards and the currents can be strong. The island is part of the Sea Islands chain and the surrounding waters and marshes are excellent for kayaking and birding.

things to do sight
A story
The beach gets its name from the hundreds of bleached, salt-sculpted tree trunks and root systems that lie on the sand and in the surf. These were once part of a maritime forest that extended to the waterline, but erosion — accelerated by development on nearby Little Talbot Island — has pushed the shoreline inland, killing the trees and leaving their bones on the beach. The same process continues: the beach retreats a little each year, and new trees fall.