Mandarin Park

My first experience with Mandarin park was a friend's Let's Flamingo party. What a beautiful park! My friend reserved the pavilion beside the boat dock. This was a perfect location for the day's festivities! She had been there for hours decorating.........flamingo style.Debbie also hired Captain Jack to give us sailboat rides on the St Johns River. What an amazing experience. I also took a kayak ride. It was my first time for both of these nautical experiences. My friend said I was a natural at kayaking. I can't wait to try it again;)There was also a huge playground nearby and a newer clubhouse type building with restrooms. There was a little water on the floor but other than that the restrooms were clean. After dark I walked to the end of the dock and sat on a bench and enjoyed the breeze blowing through my hair.Mandarin park is now one of my top picks for Jacksonville parks. It has everything your looking for in a park, a playground, reservable pavilions and a boat dock. Check them out!

In this time of Covid I looked for a perfect spot to have a small celebration for some of my closest friends in appreciation of them being in my life. This was the winner. It was close to a beautiful dock over looking a nice marina. The water views were exceptional and activity on the river was boasting..They offer 3 covered pavillion areas to reserve. One has 4 tables and alot of open ground for kids or games and the other is single tabled but next to the playground. The one I choose was single tabled but more private surrounded by trees and next to the dock. FYI.. No electric and the light didn't work after dark. The bath house is newer and seemed pretty clean in the 4 trips I was there.The playground was great..grandson approved. If you have water toys its a perfect landing site. I now have great memories made here and will share it a place to go...

Mandarin Park is a great park in the Mandarin section of Jacksonville. It has a nice nature trail, some great water views, a playground for the kids, and cats, lots of cats.There must have been a hundred of them. One cool thing when I pulled in was to see about a dozen of them and a few racoons all hanging out in the early morning. It is not something you see every day.A friend mentioned a concern that the racoons might be rabid, that you don't see them out when the sun is up, but it was early morning and if there was a concern about the racoons being rabid, I thought that they would not be able to mingle peacefully with a bunch of cats. Not that I am an animal expert, but that was just my logic. Plus, as far as I know, racoons are opportunists and there are people who take it upon themselves to feed the felines.I enjoyed my time here in this park. If you find yourself, do yourself a favor and come on by.

The park itself is great and has a lot of potential! There's a huge playground for kids, recently updated bathroom building with large porch and nature posters detailing wildlife and plant life that can be seen in the area. Lots of boat ramp parking for the small boat ramp which sits on Julington Creek. There is a nature trail that is quite narrow that runs through the woods and around the pond (new signs say beware of gators!). Lots of secluded benches throughout to take a rest and a nice long pier to walk out on with lovely views of the bay, creek, and adjacent marina. The people I've encountered while walking my dog have not been exceptionally friendly, a strange change of pace for what I've experienced in other parks and areas of the city.The big problem here is the cats, and the people that feed them. The park is literally crawling with them. It's disgusting and disheartening. I'd like to think the people responsible for feeding them are also trapping and fixing them so they do not procreate, but given the number it doesn't seem to be the case. There were many more there today since my last visit about a year ago. The piles of cat food and Tupperware littering the trails and around the main bathroom building and playground also draw out raccoons who enjoy eating the cat food. It doesn't seem sanitary nor safe. I wish the park manager would put a swift end to this.

I absolutely love this park. There are two area for the kids. A toddler park and one designed for slightly bigger kids. There are bathrooms right next to the play area and plenty of benches for the parents to grab a seat while the little ones play.In addition to all the awesomeness for the ninos- there is also a dock and a boat slip as well as plenty of parking. This is an exceptional park. I was a little upset that the bathrooms had no changing tables in a park clearly designed for small children - but it wouldn't have been an issue if there wasn't - code brown involve.

I usually bike to this park about 2 times a week and really love the place. there is a lot of older growth with older trees. There is a playground with three Pavilions that have picnic benches. There's a boating unloading dock along with a regular doc that Fishers end up using quite a lot. Overall this is a really nice place for anyone to relax and/ or bring a family. the only negative is that I would say the facilities could use a little bit of an upgrade overall but it's not that bad.

I love parks, being outside and water! This park has trails, pavilions you reserve, playground, nature center and boat launch. I was at this park for a party/picnic with friends. Debbie planned a fun, adventurous day complete with a feast! She reserved a pavilion close to waterfront and had kayaks and a small sailboat available for guest to take out on the river. It was a windy, but gorgeous day. The pavilions are small and only fit one picnic table. The playground looked to be huge and there were plenty of kids out there playing. The nature center is huge, include bathrooms with motion sensor lights- which go off while you do your business- just a heads up. The boat launch was busy too- be careful in that area with all the vehicles dropping and picking up boats. There were a few spots with caution tape- one near the bathroom was for an underground wasp nest- again pay attention to the areas taped off. All in all- it's a beautiful park on the Julington Creek and has plenty to do!

What a wonderful park! Lots to do here for children of all ages. They have many pavilions that you can reserve for parties, lots of great walking trails/paths, tennis courts, play equipment for kidS to romp on and a great boat ramp for heading out on the St Johns River. Good place for a picnic or to drop a line off of dock for fishing. Check it out, you'll love it!

This is an amazing park to relax and enjoy the beautiful river! Has a picnic area and playground for the kids.

This is one of my most of favorite parks in Jacksonville. My kids really like the playground and we like the dock where we can enjoy seeing turtles and sunsets. I really like this park .