Discover Orange Park

Orange Park offers several ways to shape your stay: natural lakeshores along Doctors Lake, local history, guided tours, and art and crafts. If you’re looking for a hotel in Orange Park, these themes can help you decide what to focus on during your trip.

Doctors Lake and natural lakeshores

Rob Bradley Conservation Park at Nelson Point is a 10-acre nature preserve with a natural shoreline along Doctors Lake. The park is intended to remain largely in its natural state permanently. Protecting the shoreline is the focus here.

Orange Park also offers easy access to Doctors Lake for boating, fishing, and kayaking. These water activities offer a different focus from the nature preserve: they center on the lake as a destination for spending time on the water. If you’d like to combine nature and activities in your travel plans, the lakeshore and the activities available at Doctors Lake offer different ways to enjoy the area.

Local history and historic buildings

Orange Park was founded in 1877 by the Florida Winter Home and Improvement Company. Some of the headstones in Magnolia Cemetery date to 1845, predating the town’s founding. The cemetery is also the traditional site of the annual Memorial Day commemoration.

The T.C. Miller Community Center and Recreation Park was built in 1938. The Clarke House in Orange Park dates originally to the early 20th century and was built by William Clarke; it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The dates place some headstones before the town’s founding, while the building histories date to the 20th century. For a historical overview, you’ll find both an older connection to the cemetery and specific stories about local buildings and the town.

Tours of Orange Park

A guided tour of historic buildings in Orange Park visits 23 historic buildings. The Orange Park History Tour is a one-hour tour covering 1 mile in the heart of Orange Park. These details offer different planning reference points: the number of buildings for the guided tour, and the duration and distance for the Orange Park History Tour.

Reservations are required for the Orange Park History Tours. Tours can be scheduled by appointment seven days a week. Arrange your preferred time before traveling and check the tour details.

Art, crafts, and visiting hours

The Gallery & Club at the Thrasher-Horne Center is open to the public free of charge during the ticket office’s regular hours. As opening hours can change, check them before your visit.

The Orange Park Farmers' & Arts Market offers access to fresh, locally sourced produce and crafts by local artisans. The Orange Park Fall Festival is an arts and crafts festival. These offerings complement the historic sites and tours with a focus on art and crafts.

Getting there and planning your trip

Orange Park offers easy access to I-295. If you’re planning to travel by road, you can use this connection as a general reference point. The area’s varied attractions can also help you plan your stay: the lakeshore and activities at Doctors Lake, historic buildings and tours, as well as crafts. When planning, be sure to account for the applicable requirements for tour times and the Gallery & Club’s opening hours.

Explore more destinations: Lakeside, Middleburg, Frostproof, Green Cove Springs, Fleming Island, Keystone Heights.

For the broader travel overview: Clay.