Fort Clinch State Park

Fort Clinch State Park protects a major Third System coastal fort begun in 1847 at the mouth of the St. Marys River. The fort was designed to defend Fernandina's deep-water harbor and the eastern end of Florida's cross-state railroad. Although no battle was fought at Fort Clinch, it was occupied during the Civil War, garrisoned again during the Spanish-American War, and later used for naval surveillance and communications during World War II. Civilian Conservation Corps crews began restoring the abandoned fort and developing the surrounding park during the 1930s.

Inside the fort, visitors can explore bastions, barracks, guard rooms, storehouses, kitchens, a hospital, prison spaces, gun galleries, and other rooms furnished to evoke a Union garrison in 1864. Daily living-history interpretation and periodic cannon demonstrations add context to the architecture. Beyond the fort, the roughly 1,400-acre park offers beaches, maritime forest, hiking and bicycling trails, fishing, wildlife viewing, camping, and views across Cumberland Sound.