Picnicking at the Beach
How do you make a meal experience even more special while in Ponte Vedra, you combine wholesome foods with an amazing beach view and have a beach picnic. You can choose an in-town location like Mickler’s Beach and take advantage of its pavilion and picnic tables, or take in an often times less crowded and less developed option like Guana River Preserve’s North Beach. With either, you can get natural beach environments that Ponte Vedra is known for, while embracing the wellness theme by nourishing your body.
To choose the ingredients for that special beach outing, there are a variety of grocery options you can choose. There are easily accessible large grocers like Winn Dixie and Publix centrally located in Ponte Vedra. For more of a specialty take, The Fresh Market is an idea. They bill themselves as a premier fresh-focused specialty food retailer and was voted USA Today’s Best Supermarket in America in 2022. In addition to high quality fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meats, and crackers, they also offer a range of prepared platters to make the process even simpler. Whether fruit and cheeses, a charcuterie antipasti, a crudité, or mini-sandwiches, they can likely provide what you desire with little effort on your end.
If you happen to be in town on the third Saturday of the month, consider picking up unique, locally sourced picnic items at the Nocatee Farmers Market. It’s held from 10am to 2pm at Nocatee Station Field and the more than 80 vendors offer a mix of locally grown produce and herbs, baked goods, jams and jellies.
If you are one of those that is looking for a little more of a catered option, refer to the webpage describing options to “Indulge in Salads and More…”
Tips From Experts
- To embrace sustainability, bring a refillable water bottle to use at the beach to eliminate any plastics from accidentally entering the water.
- Take advantage of the water bottle filling station to refill reusable water bottles at Mickler’s Landing Park.
- Use the trash station to discard garbage and visitors and residents are encouraged to recycle—look for recycling bins at Mickler’s Park.
- Enjoy the beach by wearing a hat and ocean safe sunscreens. Stick to sunscreens that are free of oxybenzone and octinoxate, two of the most common ingredients found in chemical formulas
- When purchasing picnic items, use your own reusable grocery bags.
- Visit the Ponte Vedra Visitor Information Center at 200 Solana Road in Ponte Vedra Beach to learn more about the area’s experiences.
Grocery Locations
Publix GreenWise Market at Nocatee Town Center
250 Pine Lake Dr
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32081
904-826-3356
Winn Dixie
290 Solana Rd
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
904-543-8668
Publix Sawgrass Village
220 Front St
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
904-280-5440
The Fresh Market
840 A1A N
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
904-273-8450
The New York Butcher Shop
240 A1A N #4
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
904-656-5083
Trader Joe’s
4180 S 3rd St
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
904-241-1770
Whole Food Store
2050 3rd St S
Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250
904-685-7370
Nocatee Farmers Market
120 Marketside Ave
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082
904-924-6850