Branan Field Wildlife and Environmental Area

Great quite place to walk in the woods with safe marked trails

Nice walking trails and easy to get too.

Perfect place to experience what this area looked like prior to mass suburbanization and beltways. This mostly quiet woodland area is excellent for short to moderate walks. The vast majority of the property is dry and there are many locations in which to put a blanket on the ground for a relatively secluded picnic or hang a hammock. The property abuts to an active airfield and there were a few flights the day we visited but it was calm and quiet most of the time.

What a beautiful hiking area! Loved taking the dogs out for a walk and seeing some gorgeous scenery.

I discovered this place by accident and now it's one of my go to hiking spots in Jacksonville. This neighborhood Wildlife & Environmental area is a great place to crank out a few quick miles without having to trek too far out of the city. It being next to Cecil you might occasionally hear the odd jet spooling up but for the most part it's just you, gopher tortoises, owls, woodpeckers and a lot of neatly arranged pine land that has been replanted. On this visit I actually spotted a dead and decaying pygmy rattler smack dab in the middle of the trail, so there are these guys out here..but they're usually tucked away in a burrow somewhere. Anyway, the trail actually offers a variety of terrain with some very cool oak groves on the far western edge of the property and a few gentle rolling hills (really gentle...elevation gain is about 10 feet) to make the trail interesting. If you detour off the main trail you can meander through some tighter footpaths that are fantastic to trek through. The trails are really nicely maintained and very well marked so hiking this is pretty easy to do. This really is a great place to visit for a quick outing, putting some miles on your hiking shoes or if you have some time to kill while your Gulfstream is being worked on at Cecil! ;)