News Release

Operations Update for Castillo de San Marcos & Fort Matanzas

Date: October 11, 2017

St. Augustine, FL – The Visitor Center area of Fort Matanzas National Monument has reopened today, as hazardous tree limbs have been removed from public areas. This area consists of the main park entrance, the visitor center and restroom facilities, and the park’s Coastal Hammock Nature Trail.

Trips to historic Fort Matanzas on Rattlesnake Island are still unavailable due to damage to the Park ferry boats and dock system. There is no expected reopening date of the ferry system to Fort Matanzas at this time.  

For updates, please check park websites at www.nps.gov/casa and www.nps.gov/foma.  Follow us on social media at www.facebook.com/CastilloNPS and www.facebook.com/FortMatanzasNPS or www.twitter.com/CastilloNPS and www.twitter.com/FortMatanzasNPS.

Built by the Spanish in St. Augustine to defend Florida and the Atlantic trade route, Castillo de San Marcos National Monument preserves the oldest masonry fortification in the continental United States and interprets more than 450 years of cultural intersections.  

Fort Matanzas National Monument preserves the fortified watchtower, completed in 1742, which defended the southern approach to the Spanish military settlement of St. Augustine, and protects approximately 300 acres of Florida coastal environment.

-NPS-