One of the greatest joys at North Florida Land Trust is seeing a family choose to preserve the land that shaped their lives—a place filled with memories, meaning, and a legacy that stretches across generations. Bogey Creek Preserve, NFLT’s first publicly accessible preserve, is one of those special places.
The story begins in the 1950s, when the Spencer family purchased the property and the family matriarch lovingly named it Bugtussle. Her wish was simple: that this beloved place would be protected forever. We are honored to have helped fulfill that wish and to share this remarkable landscape with the community.
Nestled in North Jacksonville off Cedar Point Road, the public preserve is a place of serenity. When you step onto the trails of Bogey Creek Preserve, it is like stepping back into a piece of old Florida. The 85-acre preserve features cypress swamps, salt marshes, pine-oak forests, and maritime hammock, and protects nearly one mile of critical marsh front on Clapboard and Bogey Creeks. It is both a refuge for wildlife and a living testament to the family’s devotion to a place and a community’s belief in the power of conservation.
Twenty years ago, we took the first steps to preserve the property by acquiring 6.5 acres from Robert Spencer. Over time, we nurtured our relationship with the Spencer family and built a trusted partnership. Eleven years later, with funding from the State of Florida and generous community donors, we purchased another 67.5 acres from the family.
In the years that followed, we made environmental improvements to Bogey Creek Preserve and created trails, a kayak landing, and picnic areas. Bogey Creek Preserve officially opened to the public in 2019. In 2021, we expanded the preserve by adding 11.6 acres that we acquired from the neighboring McGehee family. Today, we are close to adding another 4 acres and are expecting to complete the acquisition of the additional parcel from the Spencer family later this month.
This preserve exists because of the generosity and vision of many supporters, including the Edward F. Hicks Family, the Delores Barr Weaver Fund at the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida, the River Branch Foundation, the Chartrand family, an anonymous donation in the name of Robert P. Milam, Jr., the Timucuan Parks Foundation, and several other individuals. The new addition to the preserve is being funded in part by Beaches Go Green. We are grateful to every partner who helped make this public preserve a reality.
In late 2020, Bogey Creek Preserve became a part of a collection of parks and preserves known as the 7 Creeks Recreation Area, a partnership among NFLT, the City of Jacksonville, Florida State Parks, the National Park Service, Timucuan Parks Foundation, and Visit Jacksonville. It was created to showcase the thousands of acres of natural habitat and expansive salt marsh that is home to seven parks and preserves and the seven creeks that run through the area: Bogey Creek, Clapboard Creek, Cedar Point Creek, Edwards Creek, Fitzpatrick Creek, Horseshoe Creek, and Pumpkin Hill Creek.
Bogey Creek Preserve is open daily from sunrise to sunset. Stop by and take a walk along the Bugtussle Loop trail, where you will wander through diverse ecosystems home to gopher tortoises, frogs, turtles, the eastern indigo snake, and more. Our Bogey Creek Preserve Herpetology Field Guide is available on our website and highlights many of the species you may encounter.
It is a beautiful place to experience nature, restore the mind and body, and connect with a landscape protected for generations to come.
