Visiting Fort Matanzas National Monument
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One of the goals for my trip to St. Augustine, Florida was to explore sites that were related to the Spanish colony that was once there. I’m very familiar with the U.S. British colonies since I’m from New England, but I’d never been to any of the U.S. Spanish colonies. While Fort Matanzas National Monument isn’t in St. Augustine, it was only 14 miles south and it fit the bill.
History of Fort Matanzas National Monument
Fort Matanzas National Monument features a watch tower that was built by the Spanish colony in 1742. It was built to defend the city of St. Augustine from British attack. It was strategically placed to stop boats traveling up the Matanzas River to St. Augustine way before they reached the city.
The watch tower is made of coquina, which is a limestone-like mix of shells and sand that are naturally cemented with calcium carbonate. As you explore the fort, you can see the bits and pieces of shells, which I thought was pretty cool.
Getting To Fort Matanzas National Monument
This park is located on Anatasia Island, 14 miles south of St. Augustine. It was a pretty laid-back drive once we got onto the island. You pretty much just follow A1A south until you see the sign for the park.
Parking is limited at the park. The main lot is paved and close to the visitor center and the bathrooms. If you can’t find a spot, you can try parking in the small grassy area next to the entrance to the park (we had to do this when we left and came back).
Visiting Fort Matanzas National Monument
The fort is located on Rattlesnake Island and only accessible by boat. The National Park Service offers a free ferry to the fort. The ferry runs Thursday through Monday, so you can’t go to the island to tour the fort on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
You unfortunately can’t get tickets ahead of time. Tickets are free and available on a first come, first served basis. We got to the park 10 minutes after it opened (9:10 am) and the soonest ferry we could take was the 11:30 am. The first two ferries were completely booked already.
We were there on a random Monday. I’m sure on the weekends, there is a chance that you might not be able to get a ticket if you get there later in the day. My advice is to get there as early as possible if you’re really looking to go out to the fort.
Since we had a couple hours to kill, we did a nature walk with one of the volunteer rangers in the park. We got to learn a bit about the plants, trees, wildlife, and more. The park offers these because they want people to have something to do if they have a ferry ride that’s later in the day. I really appreciated that they offered this.
They provided binoculars for the walk, but I didn’t take them up on their offer because I have a 150-600mm telephoto lens. During our walk, we saw roseate spoonbills, brown pelicans, ospreys, and vultures.
On our walk, we were also able to get a nice view of the fort from the bank of the Matanzas River. It was a great spot for some photos. I’d recommend you view the fort from here if you aren’t able to get a ticket to go out to tour it.
After the walk, we still had a bit of time to kill, so we chanced leaving to go find food. We went to Debra Jean’s Cafe because it was our closest option. Unfortunately, the line was really long and we were pushing it, so we only got muffins. I do not recommend leaving the park if you can help it…we were definitely stressed out about getting back in time for the ferry and parking.
After we got our muffins, we quickly headed back to Fort Matanzas National Monument. We had to park in the small grassy area when we came back because the regular lot was full. Thankfully we had enough time to walk to where everything was (not that it was a far walk). And, I had a couple minutes to enjoy my muffin at one of the picnic tables in the park.
Then, we went over to the ramp where we would be taking the ferry to the fort. We got a quick briefing of what to expect and how long we would have before boarding the ferry. The ferry ride itself was very short, since we were just crossing the river.
You’ll have about forty minutes on the island. You’ll get a brief history of the fort before getting to explore on your own. We went right to the top of the fort. You had to take a ladder up to the top, but it was worth it. There were great views up there.
Since we went up there first, we kind of got trapped up there. We spent a lot of time waiting for the ladder to be cleared so we could get back down. Anytime we would go over to the ladder, more people were coming up so we were “trapped” up there longer than I would have liked. I’m not great about confrontation, so I wasn’t going to speak up and be like, “Hey, let us down!!!”
When we finally got back down, we were able to explore the other parts of the fort. Since it was more of a watch tower than a full-blown fort, it was pretty small. There were only a couple of other spaces for us to explore inside.
After the inside, we went out to where the canons were. I had to be very patient and do close crops to try and keep people out of my photos here. This is where most of the people were hanging out since there were benches to sit on.
When it was almost time to go, I patiently waited for everyone to go over to the ferry so I could get a photo of the fort without any people. I had to wait quite a while, but it was worth it to get a photo of the fort in all of its glory. The ranger was impressed by my patience.
Then, we took the short ferry ride back to where the visitor center is! Since we were already here, I wanted to check out a little bit more of the park. We walked the nature trail that features a boardwalk. It was nice and shady with a lot of trees. We also saw some lizards as we walked.
There was also a historical marker along the trail as well for a massacre that happened in 1565. There was an informational sign as well for those that are interested in that kind of thing.
After our quick little walk, we called it a day because we had more things we wanted to do that day.
Is It Worth A Visit?
I think it’s definitely worth a visit, especially if you’re interested in history and forts. The ranger we had gave us great information about the fort itself and its history. For me, the coolest thing was getting to go inside this piece of history.
I will say, it can be a bit crowded out on the island, especially because the tour out to the fort is in pretty high demand. It can make it a little hard to enjoy because of all of the people they bring to the small fort at a time. We had issues with getting stuck at the top for a bit because of the influx of people coming up to the top and it was just hard to enjoy some areas because people crowded in them.
There were also some spots where I patiently waited for people to be done, and then someone would rush in even though I had been waiting. I honestly just got frustrated and walked away when that happened because I’m not one to speak up for myself. A lot of people just aren’t aware of their surroundings…or at least that’s what I tell myself because the thought that they’re just rude is worse.
What To Know Before You Go
- There are no bathrooms out where the fort is. Thankfully, there are bathrooms by the parking area. So, just make sure you do your business before you get on the boat because the whole trip takes about an hour with the ferry trips and time at the fort.
- Try and get there early. For parking reasons and ferry ticket reasons, I’d recommend getting there when they first open. Once you do get a parking spot, I’d recommend not leaving like we did. We knew it was a gamble to leave, but we were unprepared in the food department, and we needed to eat something.
- Pack food and water. I wish we had packed food when we went. We thought we’d be able to get one of the first boats out since we got there around when they opened, but we ended up having to wait around for two hours just to board the ferry. We had planned to grab breakfast after the tour so we could make sure we got to the park when they opened. But, not getting tickets for the first or second boat threw a wrench in those plans. Thankfully, we did have water. But, I wish we had packed food for ourselves so we didn’t have to leave.
- Pack bug spray. I got eaten alive here. The bugs down in Florida are no joke. Don’t be like me. Pack yourself some bug spray. I’m itchy just thinking about all of the bug bites I got while I was here.
- Wear closed-toed shoes. If you’re looking to go out on the ferry, you should wear closed-toed shoes. The ranger checked everyone’s shoes before we boarded the ferry. I didn’t see this mentioned on the website, but she did check. It’s probably not required, but it seemed like it was highly recommended and preferred. It makes sense because of the steps to get up to the fort, stone surfaces, and the ladder to get up to the top. Just the safest option.
Other Things To Do In The Area
When we finished up at this park, we headed to St. Augustine Lighthouse. But, that was back closer to St. Augustine and where we were staying, so not necessarily in the area of this park.
However, we did take a trip back down to this area during our trip because we wanted to actually dine at Debra Jean’s Cafe and I wanted to check out Washington Oaks Park.
Debra Jean’s Cafe was definitely worth going back to. Everything they on their menu (that isn’t in the display case) is made to order. We got breakfast sandwiches that were great and I also got a chocolate croissant. My breakfast sandwich was on a New York bagel, which was delicious.
Washington Oaks Park has two sections. There’s a beach where you can see natural coquina rock formations and a historic district that has gardens, river access, historic buildings, and ponds. Both are worth a visit.
