Kingsley Plantation Historic Preserve in Jacksonville

Located on the north side of Jacksonville, nestled along the river, is the historic Kingsley Plantation. Filled with rich history, this preserve is a great place National Park site in North Florida to take the kids for a visit.

Kingsley Plantation is Free to Visit

Kingsley Plantation is part of the Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve and is free to visit. Begin your trip with a stop at the visitor center. Kids can pick up a Junior Ranger book at no charge and it has lots of fun activities you can complete while you explore the grounds.

Also available at the visitor center is an Adventure Backpack you can check out for free. It contains a compass, net, binoculars, and lots of other great tools that kids will love exploring with.

There’s Tons of History to Learn About

The plantation grounds consist of many different areas. There’s the kitchen house, slave quarters, waterfront, barn, plantation house, and garden. While there is lots to see and the property is large by modern day standards, the grounds are manageable even with young kids.

You can spend several hours exploring the entire plantation. Be sure to bring drinks and snacks, as there are no concessions available at Kingsley Plantation. The plantation and surrounding property is almost exclusively outdoors, so this is a great adventure for the family when it’s cool outside.

Don’t forget to revisit the visitor center before you head home so that the kids can turn in their completed Junior Ranger books and collect their badges. If you enjoyed your visit to Kingsley Plantation, you’ll want to be sure to visit Fort Caroline National Memorial, also in Jacksonville.

Looking for other favorite parks in and around Jacksonville?

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Shannon is a former Special Education teacher, turned stay at home mom that doesn’t spend a lot of time staying at home. Mom to Cole & Kiley, she loves cheering on the Gators, early morning visits to the beach and traveling with her family. She blogs about her family travel adventures at The Beckham Project and hosts the podcast, Jacksonville Momcast, where she chats with Jacksonville moms about motherhood and more in the 904.