I love that Florida has so many state parks to explore! Today we made our way north so we could visit the Fort Clinch State Park on Amelia Island. This is a favorite destination for a lot of people and I can see why. It is full of wonderful walking trails that weave through the trees. And it is a perfect place for bike rides through the winding roads and on the many paths. If you don’t have a bike, then you can rent them here. There is a marina to park boats and a number of camping spots all throughout the park.
Our first stop was at the one of the beaches. There a bunch of beaches and all of them are beautiful. Amelia Island is known for being one of the best beaches for shark tooth hunting. Just be sure in your hunting that you do not disturb the sea turtle nests. A lot of them are marked, but some of them are not. The sea turtles are protected so if you happen to see one you can’t touch them or hold them and in general you are not suppose to dig too deep in the sand during the nesting season (about May through October).
After the beach we went to check out the actual fort of the state park, Fort Clinch. This was a Civil War era fort surrounded by the beautiful beaches of the northeast coast. It was built as part of the country’s three tier seacoast defense system. The rooms have been recreated to match the time period so it is interesting to take a walk and look through the windows into the rooms and imagine what life in the fort must have been like. And taking a walk along the fortifications with the views of the ocean is lovely. And be sure to talk to the people clad in Civil War attire for a short, interesting history lesson about the fort and the area.
{Know if you go:: There is a cost to get into the state park- $6 dollars per vehicle. And then to get in the fort itself is another couple dollars per person. To rent bikes, or reserve a campsite then you will need to first go to the visitor center. And be sure to get a map of all the many trails for walkers and bikers alike. }