What better way to start National Parks Week then with a daddy/daughter day at Fort Caroline National Memorial. Today we’re doing a guided tour and more at Fort Caroline in Jacksonville, Florida. See what makes Fort Caroline such an important part of Florida history!
Planning our Fort Caroline National Memorial Itinerary
During National Parks Week every April, parks around the U.S. plan special events. And when we looked for local sites, we found a guided tour planned at Fort Caroline National Memorial. Fort Caroline is part of the larger Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve and the Timucuan Visitor Center is also here. So, we’ll plan to do the guided tour with a park ranger, before returning to the visitor center and museum. In preparation, we’ll apply sunscreen and pack plenty of water, snacks and bug spray.
The Timucuan Preserve also contains the nearby Theodore Roosevelt Area hiking trails. So after the guided tour at Fort Caroline, we plan to do a nearby hike. We did a similar itinerary on out 1st daddy/daughter day here 3 years ago. You can read more about it at: Daddy Daughter Day in the Timucuan Preserve. Except last time we did a self-guided tour of Fort Caroline before hiking the Spanish Pond Trail across the street. But this time we are looking forward to learning more about Fort Caroline on the guided tour. You can get directions and more at: Visiting Fort Caroline – Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve (nps.gov).
The Timucuan Preserve Visitor Center at Fort Caroline
The tour starts at 2:00PM, and there is no fee to enter the park. And once inside is the parking lot for the visitor center and the start of the trails. So we find parking in the shade under a tree and walk to the visitor center. They have information on a table out front including brochures, passport stamps and junior ranger books. I forgot her passport book, but get multiple stamps on a piece of paper for Fort Caroline and the Timucuan Preserve.
They also have multiple brochures we get as well as the junior ranger activity book. We plan to work on the junior ranger activity together during the tour. And since we have a few minutes before the tour starts, we hit the restrooms here. And when we walk out we see a park ranger standing in front of the visitor center ready to go.
Fort Caroline National Memorial Tour
There’s only another couple here, so it’s just the 5 of us. And Ranger Josh is eager to start the tour with an introduction of the Timucuan Preserve. There is a sign with a large map and he explains the area. He also teases us by saying what happened here may have been the most important event in Florida history. Intrigued, we follow him behind the visitor center to a newly built observation deck on the St. Johns River.
It’s here we learn how the French explorer Jean Ribault sailed up this river in 1562. He named it the River of May after the month it was discovered. But after erecting a monument here, Ribault left eventually heading back to France. However 2 years later, René de Goulaine Laudonnière led the expedition to establish the 1st permanent French settlement in North America. A refuge for 200 French Protestants or Huguenots, it was named La Caroline after King Charles IX. A village and fort was built in 1564 with the help of the Timucuan-speaking Mocama people.
From the river, we head back toward the visitor center and then toward the fort. Our next stop is a replica Timucua village with a carved out canoe and huts. We have to duck to enter the main hut, but find it is much bigger inside. While we’re exploring the hut, Ranger Josh is explaining the Mocama way of life and their relationship with the colonists.
Our next stop is the pier out to the river. We learn how the fort was positioned here for protection, and the hardships of the colonists living here. After the pier, we follow Ranger Josh to a shady spot in front of the fort.
Fort Caroline’s Fate
It is here Ranger Josh tells us the fate of Fort Caroline. By the spring of 1565, the relationship with the Mocama had soured. The colonists depended on them for food and now faced starvation. And some abandoned the colony and were captured by the Spanish revealing their location. However, Ribault returned in August 1565 with supplies and 600 soldiers and settlers. Hearing that Ribault was returning, King Philip II of Spain sent Admiral Pedro Menendez to Florida. Spain wasn’t going to relinquish La Florida to the French. However, seeing Ribault’s ships, Menendez sets-up base south at present day Saint Augustine.
By this time our daughter is bored, jumping off a stump and running around the grassy field. But I continue to listen to Fort Caroline’s fate. Ribault knew he had the superior force, and wanted to sail his fleet south to attack the Spanish. But he ignored warnings of impending weather. And on September 10, 1865 he set sail down the Florida coast. But his ships were scattered by a hurricane. Taking the opportunity, Menendez marched north with 500 soldiers capturing Fort Caroline and slaughtering about 140 settlers.
Menendez then hears of Ribault’s fleet shipwrecked south of St. Augustine and marches to them. The shipwrecked French surrender with hope of rescue, but Menendez believed these Protestants were heretics and slaughters them all. Jean Ribault was one of 350 massacred that day. If it wasn’t for his ill-fated decision to set sail during an impending hurricane, Florida may be very different today. If he would have waited, he may have been successful in ridding Florida of the Spanish. And what would that have meant for the history of Florida? We will never know, but Ranger Josh was right that what happened here shaped Florida and American history.
Fort Caroline National Memorial
The tour took about an hour and 20 minutes, and the history of Fort Caroline is fascinating. But as soon as the tour concludes, our daughter runs to the fort. She was great waiting for the tour to end, but her pent-up energy is ready to explore the fort. We walk through the arched entrance into the replica fort. The original site of La Caroline no longer exists. But this replica exhibit was based on sketches from the 1500’s. And it’s a lot of fun to explore. And once inside, Ranger Josh continues talking to the other couple about the fort. We can see wooden panels block the fort from the river. Though the other walls are masonry with hedges grown over them.
You can climb stairs to the top of these portions and walk around or run down the hills. There is also a replica cannon on the far side. As if running around the fort wasn’t fun enough, rolling down the hills into the dirt is more fun. And we also had to have a picnic of snacks. After about 30 minutes outside, we decide to walk around the exterior of the fort.
Outside the entrance, we walk around the small moat to the river. On the way we see a lot of small blue crabs and fish scurrying around the shallow water. Once at the river we see a large cargo shipping sailing by. There is plenty of space in front of the fort to explore the riverbank before we decide to head back.
Visitor Center and Junior Ranger Badge
The trail from the fort back to the visitor center is a short 1/4 mile. And once back at the visitor center, we check out the museum and gift shop. Between the tour and the museum, we are able to complete the pages required for the junior ranger badge. Inside the visitor center is also a small store, which is where we turn in our booklet to get the badge. And we had to buy a couple stuffies!
After getting the badge, we head to our car. We had fun spending about 2.5 hours on the tour then exploring the fort on our own. But since I bought her some stuffies in the gift shop, I convince her to do a longer hike I want to do. It’s in the Theodore Roosevelt Area which is close by and also part of the Timucuan Preserve.
Willie Browne Trail
The Willie Browne Trail is a short 5 minute drive from the visitor center off Mount Pleasant Road. The turnoff is easy to miss, but we make the turn onto a dirt road. The narrow road ends at the parking lot for the trailhead. There is also some picnic tables and restrooms here. And there’s only 1 other car here, though 2 more arrive after us.
Once we start the hike, our daughter is off running again. I tell her to pace herself so she doesn’t get tired, but she doesn’t understand. We pass a couple with a dog. The trail is wide and perfect for dogs shaded by the wood canopy. But the dog doesn’t want anything to do with it. And sure enough after 5 minutes she gets tired from running. But it’s only about 10 minutes into the trail when we see a bridge over Hammock Creek. Though the creek has very little water.
The trailhead sign said it’s a 1.5 mile hike, but I’m not sure if that is one-way or round-trip. But a minute later we get to the split which is more than half way, and we’re making great time. So, I urge my little one to continue to the cabin ruins. Unfortunately all that’s left of the cabin are the blocks it was on. But there’s a sign here that explains how Willie Browne lived here his whole life. Though he was offered millions to sell his land to developers, he donated it to park system instead. He wanted to preserve this area of “Old Florida” so people would “have a place in the woods to go to.” Instead of looping back from here, we continue on to Round Marsh.
Round Marsh
We continue past the Willie Brown Cabin ruins and head toward the marsh. And it’s only a few minutes until we get our 1st glimpses of Round Marsh through the trees.
The trail then opens up where we take the last part to the observation deck. We stop by the water to check it out, before we see the observation platform.
We climb up the 10 steps to the top. Up here is a bench on one side, and straight ahead is a sign. The sign explains about the salt marsh and some of the bird species you can find here. And as I’m taking a picture, I see a bird flying toward us.
The bird lands on the water’s edge right below the platform. We identify it as a tri-color heron, and we watch as it looks for food in the water. After about 10 minutes, we decide to head back on the green Timucuan Trail. It goes along the water, and the trail starts to climb up. And we find a bench where we get a better view of the St. Johns River. After a couple minutes, we continue and find a switchback trail that takes us back to cabin. And from here we head back finishing the trail right around 6:00PM, an hour and 10 minutes after we started. And now it’ time to head home for supper.
Summary
Daddy/Daughter Day was a lot of fun. We started out at Timucuan Preserve Visitor Center. Here we began our guided tour of Fort Caroline National Memorial. Ranger Josh was very informative and passionate about the history here. He did a great job! After the tour we ran around the fort, rolled down the hills and had a picnic. She did most of the rolling. We also walked around the moat to the river before heading back to the visitor center. Inside the museum and gift shop, we completed the junior ranger activity and she got her badge. Then we drove over to the Willie Browne Trail parking area and hiked to Round Marsh and back. We spent about 4 hours in the Timucuan Preserve today.
I love our local national park, Fort Caroline. And I learned more about its fascinating history. Hiking the Willie Browne trail was also a nice walk through the woods. Though my favorite part is still the Round Marsh platform, which can also be accessed from the Spanish Pond Trail. Which is where I would start from if I did it again. But the best part of daddy/daughter day at Fort Caroline National Memorial was spending quality time together.