Fort Matanzas, FL

We were due for some history lessons, so we decided to head out to Fort Matanzas National Monument. Located near St. Augustine at the mouth of the Matanzas Inlet, Fort Matanzas is a historical fort which had a significant impact on the founding of Florida. 🌴

The fort is amazing to visit and the admission is free, but you are welcome to make a donation if you would like. When you get there, you first need to go to the visitor’s center to get your ferry ticket. 🎫 I suggest going early in the day as they can fill up rather quickly. (Also, since we went before hurricane Milton, it would be a good idea to call to make sure the ferry service is available.) While we waited for our ferry reservation departure, we decided to take a walk on the boardwalk nature trail. It’s a peaceful walk among the beautiful saw palmettos, ferns, and trees. We saw quite a few lizards, birds, frogs, and even a gopher tortoise. 🐢

When it was our time to go to the fort, we lined up and boarded the ferry. 🚢 The captain gave us an interesting lesson and although many times during the ride you can see dolphins in the inlet, we didn’t see any. No worries, we were still super excited to get to tour the fort! 😄

When we arrived on Rattlesnake Island, we got an incredibly fascinating history lesson about the fort. We all loved being able to go into the fort and step back in time. 😊

We explored the main level which holds the soldiers quarters. Then we went up to the next level which housed the officers. Although I’m not a fan of heights, we did climb the ladder to get to the top level which has an amazing viewing area. 🪜

On the aptly named Rattlesnake Island, the construction on the fort began in 1740. It was built using coquina stone, which is rock that was made out of seashells. It is one of the most amazing uses of the natural resources the soldiers found! 🐚

Soon it was time to go back to the mainland, so we loaded back onto the ferry and did some more dolphin watching on the way. 🐬We had an amazing day and were very grateful for the staff that made it possible for us to have such a wonderful visit. 🥰

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