Typical surf is 1-3 feet on the ocean. This location also has a tidal pond on the inland side of the beach, known as 'The Pond'. The water in the Pond is typically flat. There are now posts with ropes between them all the way around the pond. They have made a driving only lane from the family beach area (campground) all the way to the north point. These posts are not seasonal. At high tide there may be less than 2 feet above the water. Kiting is allowed in the pond but be careful of the posts/ropes.
Driving on the beach is allowed at Huguenot Memorial Park, so watch out for cars. Oceanside beach is soft sand. There is typically enough space for launching, since there is a large open area of powdered sand at the point (north end of the beach, oceanside) where most cars can't travel. Inland beach at the pond is a mix of sand and crushed shells, but when the tide is out, it's very soft and muddy. When tide is high, there isn't much room to even drive around the pond, so launching in that area must be done with great caution.
The park is physically located on the North side of the Mayport Jetty. Entrance is located off A1A North (Hecksher Drive), just before Fort George Island. Park on the beach.
No dogs. Don't kite in the surfer's area. During the migration of the Red Knots birds please stay off the wide sand flats at low tide on the point. This is not really an issue for us. The conditions that would bring a kiter in conflict with these birds are NE or E, SE wind, dropping or rising tide with uncovered sandbars, daylight hours AND Red Knots in the park. These birds are only in the park for a few weeks in the spring and fall as they pass through. They feed on coquina clams in soft wet sand near the edge of the water or around the tide pools left by the out going tide. To keep clear of them is easy. When sand bars are exposed Site a line up the beach from HP to Little Talbot Island beach to the North and stay east of that line. At high tide just watch out for them along edge of the water and give them a hundred yards or so. If you plan to land board or buggy stay out front along the edge of the surf. The Critical Wild Life Management Area (dunes) has been expanded a bit on the point. The hope is that the Black Skimmers will nest there. They tend to be near zone 12 and right inside the ropes in plain sight. While kites by themselves do not seem bother the birds much, sudden movement or close proximity will. Please set up your gear, flip, launch, land or fly your kites away from the ropes and dunes. A distance of 60 feet or so should be enough. A note to buggyers and landboarders: The park management is very tolerant of us and is happy to have all sorts of beach users in the park. Years ago we agreed to a guideline for land boarding/buggying. During low use times all of the park is fair game. In the summer and busy weekends there may be thousands of visitors in the park. Please do not buggy or landboard in and around traffic or people. DO NOT fly kites over people. This can generate a complaint and result in a hard rule about when and where we can buggy or landboard. We do not want the manager to even think about that. Its easy to do and after the migration is over the low tide flats are fair game!
08-11-20 Unknown: Any special environmental conditions or natural resources to be concerned about in the park or nearby?
06-08-17 Matt: Watch for cars and park your kite and lines where it can't get run over! People here like to drive within a few feet of your equipment, even when the beach is 50 yards wide. We had a kite drug down the beach after a line caught on a guy's truck. He saw us running next to him for 20 feet before he decided to stop.
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