Fort Matanzas National Monument
Fort Matanzas National Monument preserves the fortified coquina watchtower, completed in 1742, which defended the southern approach to the Spanish military settlement of St. Augustine. It also protects approximately 300 acres of Florida coastal environment containing dunes, marsh, maritime forest, and associated flora and fauna, including threatened and endangered species.
About 1 hours from Jacksonville by car.
Alerts
- InformationFort Matanzas Only Accessible by Ferry Service
Fort Matanzas may only be accessed by our free ferry service. The boats operate Thursday through Monday; we do not operate the ferry on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. For more information about tickets and times, please visit the "Plan Your Visit" tab.
Fees & passes
| Type | Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Tours & reservations | ||
| Fort Ferry ServiceOct–SepAll areas of the park are free of charge including the ferry to the fort. However, you must stop in the Fort Matanzas Visitor Center (NOT the St. Augustine city Visitor Center) to get your free boarding pass for the… | Free | |
All areas of the park are free of charge including the ferry to the fort. However, you must stop in the Fort Matanzas Visitor Center (NOT the St. Augustine city Visitor Center) to get your free boarding pass for the ferry. Family members of all ages must have a pass to board the ferry. Passes are Free.
Hours
| Operating Hours | Daily · 9:00AM - 5:30PM |
| Ferry Service to Fort Matanzas | Varies by day ▾
|
Operating Hours: hours by date. Standard hours apply on every date not listed.
| Dates | Hours |
|---|---|
| Standard hoursNow | 9:00AM - 5:30PM |
| Nov 26, 2026Area Closed | Hours not published |
| Dec 25, 2026Area Closed | Hours not published |
When to go
July draws the most visits here and November the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Visitor centers
- Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
Welcome to Fort Matanzas National Monument. Our site is located at 8635 A1A South, St. Augustine, FL 32080. Upon arrival at the park, you will circle the picnic area and see our visitor center.
No campgrounds, no fee schedule or webcams in Park Service data. What is here comes from the official page. The rest lives there.
Checked nightly. Modules appear as soon as the Park Service publishes the data.
Explore
Things to do
- Ferry to Fort Matanzas30-45 Minutes
Here's what you need to know, to take the Ferry ride to historic Fort Matanzas.
Opens on the Park Service site - Junior Ranger Programs
This page describes how kids can download and participate in activities while at the park, or at home
Opens on the Park Service site - Coastal Hammock nature trail
Take a few minutes to walk this half-mile boardwalk trail and discover some of the plants and animals who do find homes here at Fort Matanzas National Monument and find out how, in spite of seemingly harsh living conditions, they manage to survive…
Opens on the Park Service site - Fishing
Fishing options at Fort Matanzas National Monument
Opens on the Park Service site - Virtual Tour
This page links you to a virtual tour of the historic watchtower.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
Events
- The Feathered Friends of Fort Matanzas10/2010:00 AM · free
- Mangroves in Motion: Ripple Effects and Underwater Secrets10/2110:00 AM · free
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
Historic landmarks nearby
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Guidebooks for the South
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthOsprey 8× · Bald Eagle 3× · Indian Peafowl 2× · Brown Pelican 2× · Peregrine Falcon 1× · Eastern Screech-Owl 1× · Barred Owl 1× · Great Horned Owl 1×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 212 birds, 35 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Barn Owl · American Kestrel · Bald Eagle · Barred Owl · Black Vulture · Cooper's Hawk · Eastern Screech-Owl · Great Horned Owl · Merlin · Northern Harrier · Osprey · Peregrine Falcon · Red-shouldered Hawk · Red-tailed Hawk · Swallow-tailed Kite · Turkey Vulture
Waterfowl & wadersAmerican Coot · American White Pelican · Black-crowned Night Heron · Blue-winged Teal · Brown Pelican · Canada Goose · Clapper Rail · Common Loon · Common Merganser · Double-crested Cormorant · Glossy Ibis · Great Blue Heron · Great Egret · Green Heron · Green-winged Teal · Hooded Merganser · Horned Grebe · Little Blue Heron · Pied-billed Grebe · Red-breasted Merganser · Reddish Egret · Snowy Egret · Tricolored Heron · Virginia Rail · Western Cattle-Egret · White Ibis · Wood Stork · Yellow-crowned Night Heron
Shorebirds & seabirdsAmerican Oystercatcher · American Woodcock · Black Skimmer · Black Tern · Black-bellied Plover · Bonaparte's Gull · Caspian Tern · Common Tern · Dunlin · Forster's Tern · Glaucous Gull · Great Black-backed Gull · Great Shearwater · Greater Yellowlegs · Gull-billed Tern · Herring Gull · Iceland Gull · Killdeer · Laughing Gull · Least Sandpiper · Least Tern · Lesser Yellowlegs · Long-billed Dowitcher · Long-tailed Jaeger · Magnificent Frigatebird · Marbled Godwit · Piping Plover · Ring-billed Gull · Royal Tern · Ruddy Turnstone · Sanderling · Sandwich Tern · Semipalmated Plover · Semipalmated Sandpiper · Short-billed Dowitcher · Solitary Sandpiper · Spotted Sandpiper · Stilt Sandpiper · Western Sandpiper · Willet · Wilson's Plover · Wilson's Snipe
Gamebirds & dovesCommon Ground Dove · Mourning Dove · Northern Bobwhite · Rock Pigeon
WoodpeckersDowny Woodpecker · Northern Flicker · Pileated Woodpecker · Red-bellied Woodpecker · Red-headed Woodpecker · Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Hummingbirds & swiftsChimney Swift · Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Also on the checklistAcadian Flycatcher · American Crow · American Goldfinch · American Redstart · American Robin · Anhinga · Bachman's Sparrow · Baltimore Oriole · Barn Swallow · Bay-breasted Warbler · Belted Kingfisher · Black Scoter · Black-and-White Warbler · Black-necked Stilt · Black-throated Blue Warbler · Black-throated Green Warbler · Blackburnian Warbler · Blackpoll Warbler · Blue Grosbeak · Blue Jay · Blue-gray Gnatcatcher · Blue-headed Vireo · Boat-tailed Grackle · Bobolink · Brown Thrasher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Brown-headed Nuthatch · Cape May Warbler · Carolina Chickadee · Carolina Wren · Cedar Waxwing · Chestnut-sided Warbler · Chipping Sparrow · Chuck-will's-widow · Common Grackle · Common Moorhen · Common Nighthawk · Common Yellowthroat · Connecticut Warbler · Dark-eyed Junco · Eastern Bluebird · Eastern Kingbird · Eastern Meadowlark · Eastern Phoebe · Eastern Towhee · Eastern Whip-poor-will · Eastern Wood-Pewee · European Starling · Field Sparrow · Fish Crow · Grasshopper Sparrow · Gray Catbird · Gray Kingbird · Gray-cheeked Thrush · Great Crested Flycatcher · Hermit Thrush · Hooded Warbler · House Finch · House Sparrow · Indigo Bunting · Limpkin · Loggerhead Shrike · Louisiana Waterthrush · Magnolia Warbler · Mallard · Marsh Wren · Nanday Parakeet · Northern Cardinal · Northern Gannet · Northern House Wren · Northern Mockingbird · Northern Parula · Northern Rough-winged Swallow · Orange-crowned Warbler · Orchard Oriole · Ovenbird · Painted Bunting · Palm Warbler · Pine Warbler · Prairie Warbler · Prothonotary Warbler · Purple Martin · Razorbill · Red Knot · Red-eyed Vireo · Red-winged Blackbird · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Roseate Spoonbill · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Saltmarsh Sparrow · Savannah Sparrow · Scarlet Tanager · Seaside Sparrow · Sedge Wren · Snow Bunting · Song Sparrow · Summer Tanager · Swainson's Thrush · Swamp Sparrow · Tennessee Warbler · Tree Swallow · Tufted Titmouse · Veery · Vesper Sparrow · Whimbrel · White-crowned Sparrow · White-eyed Vireo · White-throated Sparrow · Wood Thrush · Worm-eating Warbler · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-billed Cuckoo · Yellow-rumped Warbler · Yellow-throated Vireo
Small mammalsANASTASIA BEACH MOUSE · ANASTASIA ISLAND COTTON MOUSE · Black Rat · Eastern Gray Squirrel · Eastern Mole · Florida Mouse · Hispid Cotton Rat · House Mouse · Marsh Rabbit · Short-tailed Shrew
Marine mammalsBottlenose Dolphin · Caribbean manatee
PredatorsAmerican Black Bear · American Mink · Bobcat · Common Gray Fox · Common Otter · Coyote · Red Fox · common raccoon
Hoofed mammalsWhite-tailed Deer
BatsBig Brown Bat · Brazilian Free-tailed Bat · Eastern Red Bat · Evening Bat · Northern Yellow Bat · Seminole Bat · Southeastern Myotis · Tri-colored Bat
Also on the checklistDomestic Cat · Feral Hog · Marsh Oryzomys · Nine-banded Armadillo · Virginia Opossum · domestic dog
Activities
Activity guides for this park Fishing in the national parks
Weather & climate
Summers are hot and humid with afternoon thundershowers. Sunscreen, a hat, UV protective sunglasses, and are recommended. Drink plenty of water. Winters are cool to mild with some cold spells, especially with wind from the north or off the water. Fall and spring are temperate with temperatures around 70F-80F (21C-26C). During danger of lightning, the fort will be closed and ferry service will be suspended. June-November is hurricane season so check for tropical storms before visiting.
Questions people ask
What are the hours at Fort Matanzas?
Standard hours are 9:00AM - 5:30PM, every day. Dated exceptions are listed under Hours.
Source: National Park Service
Is anything closed at Fort Matanzas right now?
1 active alert as of October 14, 2026: Fort Matanzas Only Accessible by Ferry Service.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Fort Matanzas?
653,152 recreation visits in 2025, number 99 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
Is there cell service at Fort Matanzas?
At the park's reference point, FCC coverage maps show Verizon 4G LTE and AT&T 4G LTE. No reported coverage for T-Mobile. Coverage inside the park varies by location.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
When was Fort Matanzas established?
1924.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at Fort Matanzas?
Summers are hot and humid with afternoon thundershowers. Sunscreen, a hat, UV protective sunglasses, and are recommended.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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