Guide to an Amelia Island Summer

The summer is truly an ideal time for Amelia Island vacations, although every season is enjoyable here. During this summer, you’ll always have pleasant enough weather to swim at any of the island’s numerous beaches.

Explore Amelia Island

Whether you want to experience beach horseback riding, boating, fishing, scenic nature parks, waterskiing, kayaking, historic sites, community events and more, you’ll find it all on Amelia Island in the summer.

Whether you want to experience beach horseback riding, boating, fishing, scenic nature parks, waterskiing, kayaking, historic sites, community events and more, you’ll find it all on Amelia Island in the summer. Golfing opportunities are plentiful here as well, with some of the best pro-designed courses in Florida overlooking the ocean and perfect golf weather every day.

Keep your schedule filled with these exciting Amelia Island things to do in the summer:

Be sure to hit the beaches

It’s no surprise that the summer is the best season to visit Amelia Island’s many public and undeveloped beaches. The island has a total of over 40 public beach access points and several other undeveloped beaches along 13 miles of coastline.

The weather will be nice and warm and the ocean water will be pleasant to swim in. You’ll definitely want to dress for the weather, but you’ll have nice sea breezes to keep you cool during some of the warmer days, as well as refreshing Atlantic waters to swim in. Average high air temperatures hover around 88-90 degrees in the months of June, July, and August.

You also don’t need to deal with parking if you would prefer not to. Jump on a bicycle and head to one of the nearby beach access points or walk to one right from your Amelia Island vacation rental. With so many access points throughout the island, there’s sure to be one near you.

Check out the nature parks

Visiting these parks is one of the top Amelia Island things to do, as they offer incredible maritime scenery and forests, fishing opportunities, pristine beaches, shell and shark tooth hunting, miles of trails for hiking, salt marshes for wildlife viewing and so much more.

Even though the public beaches can be busy during the summer, you can find undeveloped beaches throughout the island, especially at Fort Clinch State Park on the northern end of the island and Amelia Island State Park on the southern end.

Visiting these parks is one of the top Amelia Island things to do, as they offer incredible maritime scenery and forests, fishing opportunities, pristine beaches, shell and shark tooth hunting, miles of trails for hiking, salt marshes for wildlife viewing and so much more.

You can easily spend much of your vacation at these nature parks with the remarkable scenery and wildlife that you’ll get to photograph and view. Be sure to bring plenty of water bottles with you, maps, GPS and portable food if you plan on hiking or biking.

Visit downtown Fernandina Beach for community events throughout the summer

You can bet that the downtown Fernandina Beach area will be bustling with community events during the summer. The Sounds on Centre Community Concert Series is just one of the many local events held in the area during this season. This is a fun-filled music event for all ages that is held once per month in downtown Fernandina Beach on Front Street to 2nd Street.

The Jacksonville Triathlon Olympic & Sprint Series is also held each month at Main Beach Park. You can catch one of the local downtown food and beverage tasting tours that are held on a weekly basis, along with frequent mixology tours. Guided or self-guided tours of historic sites are available including the Museum of History, Fort Clinch and the dozens of other historic structures in the area.

4th of July activities in downtown Fernandina Beach

Of course, you can’t miss the 4th of July activities on Amelia Island if you’re visiting during this time. You’ll get to enjoy a beautiful free fireworks display in the downtown Fernandina Beach area that draws visitors from all over with live entertainment and vendors. Sunset and fireworks cruises are available so you can see the show from the ocean with live music, beverages, great food, and entertainment right on your boat.

Try horseback riding on the beach for a unique experience

Riding horses at sunset on beach in the summer on Amelia Island

Amelia Island is one of the only places where you can experience horseback riding on the beach. You can choose to ride with Amelia Island Horseback Riding at Peters Point which is more centrally located on the island. If you’re at Amelia Island State Park you can book a sunset horseback ride at
Kelly Seahorse Ranch.

Just about everyone who has tried an Amelia Island beach horseback ride has said they absolutely love it and many refer to it as a “bucket list” item. The horses are very tame and you’ll be able to ride them with a bit of basic instruction no matter what your experience level is. Rates are reasonable and it is certainly one of the most unique things to do on Amelia Island.

Plentiful outdoor sports to enjoy

No matter what time of the year you visit, you’ll be able to fill your schedule with exciting outdoor and ocean sports, but the summer is truly perfect with some of the best weather and water temperatures of the year.

Local service providers offer kayaking, paddle boarding, boat tours, beach volleyball, tennis, fishing charters, sailing, waterskiing, and jet skiing. The warm weather and clear waters around Amelia Island are perfect for experiencing these outdoor adventures. You will find several companies where you can rent your own sports equipment or simply hire them to take you on guided tours and outdoor adventures.

If you golf you’ll love Amelia Island in the summer

Amelia Island is home to several expansive and famous golf courses.

Amelia Island is home to several expansive and internationally famous courses including The Golf Club of Amelia Island, Omni Amelia Island Plantation (three separate courses), Fernandina Beach Golf Club, Amelia River Golf Club, and the Golf Club at North Hampton.

Any golf enthusiast will love golfing on any of these scenic and professionally designed courses with their gorgeous ocean backdrops. Choose the golf experience that you want with dramatic natural landscapes, rolling fairways, dunes, and water hazards challenging the best of golfers.

These are just a few of the many activities and attractions to experience on Amelia Island during the summer. You’re sure to have the time of your life during a summer Amelia Island vacation, so start planning things now!