When you buy or build a new custom Florida home at Tamaya, you’re only six miles west of stunning Atlantic coast beaches.
In fact, this master-planned community on Jacksonville’s southeast side has the address — at the intersection of Kernan and Beach Boulevards — to prove it. Once you’re in residence, hop in your vehicle of choice and head east along Beach Boulevard. You’ll run right into the charming beachside town of Jacksonville Beach.
Know what else is in Jacksonville Beach aside from wide, white sand and stellar public beach facilities? The Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier. It’s one of the state’s top-rated historic oceanfront piers and is well worth the nominal entrance fee to explore it.
Enjoying an oceanfront pier is a classic experience for all Floridians, especially coastal residents and visitors. Read on to discover how Tamaya residents can enjoy their own, iconic pier.
Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier
Consider this one Tamaya’s hometown pier! It’s roughly a quarter-mile long, extending from the beach well out into the blue-green Atlantic waters.
Located at 503 North First Street, just off A1A (Florida’s Atlantic coast highway), the pier is easy to reach. If you’re driving, first check the Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier parking lot on the pier’s north side. If that’s full, check another lot for Jacksonville Beach goers in the vicinity. You also can find free street spaces if you’re willing to cruise for one.
The City of Jacksonville Beach charges parking fees on Fridays through Sundays from mid-March until the end of October (and during special events and holidays throughout that period). The fee is $3 for the first two hours and $1 for each hour afterward.
Some brief history
The Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier first opened in 1922 as Shad’s Pier. It’s been repaired and rebuilt several times during its century-long life. Yet it continues offering stunning experiences for visitors, fishing enthusiasts and folks eager for a social-media-worthy photo of the ocean and beach.
Mother Nature sometimes hasn’t been kind to the Pier. It reopened in 2022 following back-to-back bouts with Hurricanes Matthew and Irma, respectfully, and the current version was rebuilt via some serious construction by WGI Engineering. Its wooden decking is 20 feet wide and supported by stronger piers.
Note that there’s fee to access the pier. Locals working on their daily step count — that’s you, Tamaya residents — pay $1 for a day pass. A local’s daily fishing fee is $4 as of this writing. Visitors enter at a concessions building that contains restrooms, food and drink choices, and a bait and tackle shop that also rents gear.
Learn more
The Beaches Museum & History Park at 381 Beach Boulevard is located only a few blocks south of the Pier, headquartered in a 19th-century railroad building. Other structures on site — the circa-1887 Beaches Chapel, a historic railroad depot and a circa-1911 steam locomotive — add context and wonder to a day’s visit to the Pier.
Ready for your Tamaya lifestyle? Talk to ICI Homes here.