A new tourism website touting outdoor adventures in St. Johns County has launched.
PonteVedraNaturally.com focuses in on hiking, bicycling, kayaking, birding and fishing opportunities in the Ponte Vedra Beach and Palm Valley areas.
Launched by the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce, the goal is make sure visitors know about experiences beyond golf and history in an effort to get them to extend their stays.
“Our research shows that 81% of overnighters visiting our region are at the front door of Ponte Vedra but never make it to the destination, and only 13% of day visitors coming to St. Johns County experienced Ponte Vedra,” said St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Isabelle Renault in an email sent to WJCT News.
A working group decided on the themes and direction of the site.
“After more than a year of stress and isolation, now is the time to explore the outdoors. This area is not defined by busy highways, but by the many planned pockets of natural paradise. The region features miles of ocean shoreline, acres of intracoastal waterways and lakes, a wildlife management area and one of the country’s protected estuarine reserves at the GTM Research Reserve,” said Renault.
The website includes what are billed as “25 unique, natured based experiences in Ponte Vedra,” ranging from mountain biking the Guana Peninsula to launching a kayak from Mickler’s South Lot.
The site’s stakeholders include the GTM Research Reserve, the St. Augustine/Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau, the St. Johns County Tourist Development Council, St. Johns County Cultural Council and the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org, 904-358-6349 or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
