Fort Caroline National Memorial - Jacksonville (FL)

5 /5 Joshua Andrade: Beautiful little loop with a surprising amount of elevation change for Florida. Some very old oaks along the walk as well. The first part of the trail runs along the water and has some scenic views of the river. My walk was 1.52 miles walking to all corners inside the fort and doing the full loop. Not the longest trail but the Spanish Pong Loop trail system is just outside of the park entrance and is a literal 20 second drive if youre looking to add more miles.

5 /5 Alex Inglet: This place is so good for hangouts. You can walk around & see a semi-jungle area, with some swamp & wildlife there. There is an old replica of a fort with historical facts, & there are a few other things to look for. It’s a good place to hang out with friends. & wildly enough, there’s not that many people there!

5 /5 George Farah: Visiting Fort Caroline National Memorial was really cool! The visitor center is great and the rangers are really nice and helpful! I walked the short trail to the fort which is a reproduction of the original but still really cool. You can really sense the history here. The views of the water are also amazing. I saw a dolphin!

5 /5 Misty Lizarralde: Beautiful day hiking the trails at Fort Caroline. The ranger we spoke to was very helpful. She talked with us about the various trails around the Fort and even took time to say hello to Finn. The fort trail was wide and well maintained. I loved this park because we saw beaches, saw grass, and a variety of beautiful trees. The highlight was watching the tiny crabs scurrying back and forth on the beach while the tide was out. Parking was a little tricky but we eventually found a space. Overall, gorgeous day!

5 /5 Alex Vane1: Historical background In June 1564, French Huguenot colonists, led by René Goulaine de Laudonnière, established Fort Caroline on the banks of what is now the St. Johns River cn wikipedia.org In September 1565, Spanish forces under Pedro Menéndez de Avilés attacked, capturing and massacring most of the French settlers, renaming the site San Mateo en.wmikipedia.org The French briefly reclaimed it in 1568 under Dominique de Gourgues, but the Spanish reasserted control and abandoned the site by 1569 They do have a dog bowl and garden hose at the visitor station