Castillo de San Marcos & Ft. Matanzas

When I first decided that we would try our hardest to get to all the National Parks units in the United States, of course the first ones we would visit would be the ones closest to home.  St. Augustine, Florida is only about 75 miles from where we live; I had been to the Castillo de San Marcos several times, but had never even heard about Ft. Matanzas until I started looking for National Parks units to visit!  I am quite glad that we found this little gem.

Castillo de San Marcos
Players:  Jenny & Jackson 
Date of Visit:  February 2010
Website:  www.nps.gov/casa
Location:  Florida
Entrance Fee:  $6 per person for adults ages 16 & up; kids free
Type of Trip:  Daytrip from home
Park Passport Stamps Available:  1
Trip Report:  Castillo de San Marcos is one of the truly old structures still existing in the United States today.  It is a fort begun by the Spanish in 1672; it is the only 17th century fort still standing in the US.  The fort is built from coquina, a limestone including phosphate most often in the form of shells.  It was the only material available to the Spanish; the Castillo is one of only two buildings in the world made of coquina (the other is Ft. Matanzas, 14 miles south).

Entrance Sign for Castillo de San Marcos

Castillo de San Marcos is located on a strategic waterway, and was used to defend the Spanish settlement from pirates and invaders.  Its cannon (replicas of which are still on display) were capable of firing rounds up to a mile away.  On our visit, Jackson was particularly impressed by the soldiers' sleeping quarters (dark stone rooms with rough wooden beds) and decided to ask the ranger where the soldiers went to the bathroom. He was shocked to find out that they had only a wooden board with a hole cut in it (which you can still see in the fort) instead of a modern toilet.

Jackson ducks from the enemy

Cannon firing demo

One of the other things that Jackson really enjoyed was the cannon firing demonstration.  Every weekend, the Castillo does at least a couple of these demonstrations.  Park employees and volunteers, dressed like 17th century Spanish soldiers, demonstrate the firing of one of the cannon on the wall of the fort.  They explain the process of readying the cannon, loading it, aiming it and firing; then the entire demonstration is done in the original Spanish commands ("Fuego!").  The only thing that is different is that they shoot a blank round, instead of a live one.  Afterwards, people can ask questions from the cannon crew.  Jackson thought this whole demonstration was very interesting, and commented on the rotten-egg/sulfur smell left behind by the gunpowder.

Jackson poses near the coquina wall

He thought the boy dressed as a soldier was just too cool

A wider shot of the Castillo de San Marcos

The fort also has a small museum and some interesting displays; all in all, it takes a few hours to see fairly thoroughly.  The only drawback to the Castillo de San Marcos is the very limited parking -- which is all metered.  Arrive early if you want to grab a space!  After you are done visiting the Castillo, you can head 14 miles south on the A1A highway to....

Ft. Matanzas National Monument
Players:  Jenny & Jackson 
Date of Visit:  February 2010
Website:  www.nps.gov/foma
Location:  Florida
Entrance Fee:  Free!
Type of Trip:  Daytrip from home
Park Passport Stamps Available:  1
Trip Report:  Ft. Matanzas is one of the small hidden gems of the National Park Service.  It was built by the Spanish as a watchtower fort along the river to defend Spanish St. Augustine from the British. 

Oak trees in the parking lot

The first thing you notice upon entering the parking lot is the huge oak trees, dripping with Spanish moss.  There are several picnic tables, flush toilets and even a nature trail which winds 1/2 mile through the forest.  This would be a great, shady place to have a picnic lunch before (or after) touring the fort. 

The Visitor's Center houses a very small gift shop/museum.  Here you can watch a short film about the Fort, and of course, get your park passport stamp.  The fort itself is a short ferry ride away, across the river.  The ferry holds about 30 people at a time, and departs on the half-hour all day long.  There is no charge for the ferry. 

Ft. Matanzas

The ferry ride over to the small fort is quick, and can get chilly in the summer.  Your tour guide, a ranger, will introduce him/herself and then you're on your way.  Once arriving at the fort, there are some benches where you will listen to the ranger give a short talk about the fort and its uses.  The ranger we had was excellent!  He really knew his stuff and gave a very entertaining talk about life in the military in the 17th century.  Jackson was especially interested to know about how the soldiers had to have at least two teeth to be in the military.  After the talk, you have about 15 minutes to look around the fort, including climbing up a steep ladder to the lookout point.

View of the river from top of Ft. Matanzas

All in all, it takes about an hour to see the fort, including the ferry ride to and from.  It's a great short stop to stretch your legs, and you could easily turn it in to half a day with a picnic and a walk on the nature trail.  On the day we were there, an owl's nest held some hatchlings...very cool for Jackson.  Jackson wrote in his park diary about our day at Castillo de San Marcos & Ft. Matanzas: 

I like the boats in the harbor.  We saw lots of cannon. We asked the ranger where the soldiers went potty and she told us they went on the ground in a room.  I think that's pretty silly.  We went in the sentry box.  The cannon are going to shoot soon.  We went in some rooms and saw the beds where the soldiers slept.  We saw lots of soldiers.  We walked on the fort wall.  We saw the lighthouse.  Everything is really old.  The sun is shining but its really cold.  We also went to the little fort [Ft. Matanzas].  We saw a big owl in a tree.  We rode on a boat to the fort.  I climbed up a big ladder.  We could see for 13 1/2 miles.  The ranger told us about the soldiers at the fort, that they only needed 2 teeth to be soldiers.  Now we will get our stamps.

Ft. Matanzas & the Castillo de San Marcos are a great day trip from the St. Augustine area.  As with all NPS units, they are staffed by helpful rangers & volunteers that really know their stuff, and will help you learn about something you didn't know anything about to begin with!