Fantastical Blackrock Beach, Big Talbot Island SP

Driftwood at Blackrock Beach, Big Talbot Island State Park

So much to share about this weekend but little time. While it’s fresh on my mind, want to share my impressions about a place called Blackrock Beach (or Black Rock Beach, or beach at the end of Black Rock Trail or Dead Tree Beach) in Big Talbot Island State Park, Florida. It’s fantastical yet, eerie.

Accessible at the end of a .5 mile hiking trail in the park then stepping down a wood ladder, Blackrock Beach is unlike any other Florida beach I’ve visited. It looks as though it has dark rocks yet, these pseudo rocks are made from highly compressed sand. It’s not necessarily sandstone, sand can be scraped away pretty easily.

“Bones” are scattered across the beach up to the water. Well, not real bones but salt washed live oak trees, stumps and driftwood. At first glance, the landscape seems barren of life but upon further look, little critters are scattering along the logs. I find a tidal pool and see crabs and sea anemones but the most intriguing part was the “pop” sound. Every 30 seconds or so, a loud “pop” cracked from one end of the pool to the other. Were these clams closing for cover? I like to think so.

Buoy at Blackrock Beach, Big Talbot Island State Park, Florida

Further down the beach there was a rusted out round buoy along with a log stuck with hundreds of oyster shells. These made for great photography and I experimented with some black and white effects. Find photos from my trip to Blackrock Beach on my Flickr account.

The tide created intriguing sand ripples and gradually leads into the saltwater sound. I resisted temptation for a swim during the brief time I had the beach to myself. Soon, a band of teenagers arrived and bee lined it for the water. A family later arrived and all splashed with laughter in the warm water.

Enjoying the peacefulness of Blackrock Beach was precious and wish I could find this type of serenity in my daily life.

Blackrock Beach and Big Talbot Island State Park is located in Northeast Florida, about 30 minutes northeast of Jacksonville. The beach is accessible from the Black Rock Trail which is an easy .5 mile walk through mostly packed sand. The pull off is located on Heckscher Drive, about 3 miles north of the Little Talbot Island State Park entrance on the right-hand side.

Jenn

Jennifer A. Huber is an award-winning travel and outdoor blogger and writer in Southwest Florida. Originally from Buffalo, N.Y., a hiking trail led her to a career path in the tourism industry for more than 30 years. She spent a decade with a park management company in Yellowstone, Death Valley, and Everglades National Parks. She founded the travel blog, SoloTravelGirl.com with the goal of inspiring others to travel alone, not lonely. The unexpected death of her former husband in 2008 reminded her how short life is. His passing was a catalyst for sharing her experiences with the goal of inspiring and empowering others to travel solo. Jennifer holds a Travel Marketing Professional certification from the Southeast Tourism Society, is a certified food judge, member of the NASA Social community, and alum of the FBI Citizens Academy. When not traveling, she is either in the kitchen, practicing her photography skills, or road tripping with her dog, Radcliff.