EcoMotion Tours

EcoMotion Tours is a Segway tour group that works in partnership with the Florida Parks Service. EcoMotion Tours guides visitors through Florida’s state park trails, running through both Fort George Island Cultural State Park and Little Talbot Island State Park, protected nature reserves near Jacksonville.

The Segways used for EcoMotion tours are battery powered, travel at about five miles per hour, and run quietly while allowing tourists to enjoy the nature around them. Because Segways are easy to operate, and training is provided, they are ideal for Segway novices as well as experts. They are also environmentally sensitive, as they are very lightly impactful to the tour area.

What to Expect

EcoMotion Tours offers three separate Segway tours for interested parties. Visitors have their choice of one or two hour trips on Fort George Island, or two hour trips on Little Talbot Island.

Each island tour allows visitors to experience the natural beauty of northeast Florida firsthand in a convenient and relaxing fashion, but each tour offers its own unique components. The one hour tour of the maritime trail to the Fort George Inlet guides tourists under arching trees and past the ancient sand dunes of the area. Tourists experience natural fauna and flora, including ferns, Spanish moss, orchids, giant magnolias, gopher tortoises, and a wide variety of bird life. Attendees of this tour will also see Point Isabel and Ribault Club, a clubhouse dating from the early 20th century.

Those taking the two hour Fort George Island tour take part in all of the activities of those on the one hour tour to the Fort George Inlet. The two hour tour of Fort George Island takes the maritime trail to the Kingsley Plantation, a late 18th century home that still hosts such intact structures as slave cabins made from oyster shells. The Kingsley Plantation tour includes visits of the plantation’s gardens and sea island cotton.

The Little Talbot Island Tour is a two hour tour that takes visitors on a trail that varies in terrain from sand dunes to hills, takes tourists past aerial fern gardens and allows visitors to see water animals, including crabs, ospreys, and pelicans. Experienced Segway riders can opt for the customized Little Talbot Island Tour, which goes throughout the interior of the island as well as an undeveloped beach, where the Segways are parked and visitors can relax.

EcoMotion Tours also offers a pre-arranged one hour walking tour of the Kingsley Plantation Complex for groups of 10 to 50.

Tips for Visiting

If you are visiting the Jacksonville area and are interested in taking part of one of the EcoMotion Tours, there are some tidbits of information you may need in order to be best prepared and to make the most of your tour.

All EcoMotion Tours require advance reservations. The company only issues refunds if reservations are cancelled 48 hours in advance, so if it appears as though you may not be able to join, it is best to cancel as far in advance as possible.

Due to the restraints and safety measures required for Segway tours, all riders must be age 13 and older and all children under the age of 18 must have parental signature in order to ride. All riders on Segways must weigh between 100 and 250 pounds.

Riders are not allowed to use cell phones while on the Segway, and all must complete training. If tourists are late and miss any portion of the training, they will not be allowed to join the tour and will not receive a refund. It is advisable to plan to arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the tour.