Green Cove Springs, Florida in Clay County is centrally located between Jacksonville and St. Augustine in Northeast Florida. By water you will find the municipal pier on the St. Johns River convenient for mooring with water and electricity near Mile Marker 19. Walk from the water to dine in Green Cove Springs and spend the night at River Park Inn Bed and Breakfast. Known as the Saratoga of the South in the late 1800's Green Cove Springs was frequented by wealthy travelers who came by paddle-wheelers on the St. Johns River to partake of the "medicinal spring water". Lee Field a Naval Air Training Station and the home of the "Mothball" fleet made Green Cove Springs a Navy town until the early 1960's. Today Green Cove Springs offers boatslips, a fishing pier, park, playground, pool and ofcourse, the spring as well as warm hospitality and a unique retro flavor from the 50's. Nearby attractions include the Rienhold Agricultural Fairgrounds featuring frequent equestrian events. It is located 5 miles west of Green Cove Springs and River Park Inn Bed and Breakfast on SR 16. It is home not only to the Clay County Fair in early April but also the host of around 40 horse-related events. It boasts a new 110,00 square foot Cattlemen’s Arena that seats 4,000 people and which 8 different associations utilize for horse shows, clinics and rodeos. Riders travel from places as far away as Europe and South America for the Winter Series Horse Show in January and early February which is televised on Fox Sports Network. About eight miles west of Green Cove Springs on SR 16 is Penney Farms. Retail mogul J.C. Penney founded Penney Farms Retirement Community in 1925 originally for retired ministers, church workers and their families. Admission is now open to general applicants. For nature lovers, hikers, horseback riders and bird watchers a 10,000-acre preserve at Bayard Point Conservation Area, 1 mile southeast of Green Cove Springs on SR 16, was once a part of the Timacuan Indians’ homeland. A Spanish fort was built on the site in 1735 and the site’s extensive wetlands along the St.Johns River hide the wreckage of two WWII aircraft and a baptistery built in the 1930’s. One mile southeast of Green Cove Springs, a former World War II naval station for the Atlantic Reserve Fleet boasts 6,000 feet of bulkhead along the St. John’s River. Since about 1963 the 13 piers have sat almost completely vacant. This is soon to change with plans to develop the Reynolds Park Yacht Center that will accommodate yacht owners and brokers and offer a venue for large outdoor events.