Hiking Historic Kingsley Plantation and Ribault Club, Fort George Island

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many people came to Florida. Some, like Zephaniah Kingsley, sought to make their fortunes by obtaining land and establishing plantations. Others were forced to come to Florida to work on those plantations, their labor providing wealth to the people who owned them. Some of the enslaved would later become free landowners, struggling to keep their footing in a dangerous time of shifting alliances and politics. All of these people played a part in the history of Kingsley Plantation.

At Kingsley Plantation you can explore the grounds, which include the slave quarters, barn, waterfront, plantation house, kitchen house, and interpretive garden.

For more information, visit the official website: https://www.nps.gov/timu/learn/historyculture/kp.htm

Ribault Club was built in 1928 and is a monument to the resort era on Fort George Island. It has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places and is listed as an Historic Landmark by the City of Jacksonville. The Fort George Island Visitor Center is run by the Florida Park Service and the National Park Service through the Timucuan Trail State and National Parks partnership. For more information, visit the official website: http://www.theribaultclub.com/

We will start off at Ribault Club, hike over to Kingsley Plantation, and then back. The total distance of the hike is about 3+ miles. You can see the trail map here: https://www.nps.gov/timu/planyourvisit/upload/map_fgi_hiking_sketch.pdf

PLEASE READ:

1. Stay to the right at the Y, on the long winding road to the Ribault Club. We will meet at the Ribault Club parking lot.
2. Get driving directions here: https://goo.gl/maps/6EPUZuvRMnC2
3. Bring bug spray, water, and maybe a snack.

If we want, we can take the ferry to Mayport for lunch.