Fort Clinch State Park, Amelia Island, FL, Part 2

We are mightily impressed with the State Parks of Florida.* Each time we leave one, we have regrets that we aren’t staying longer, and each time we arrive at the next, we are very pleased with the new prospects and soon fall in love all over again. Fort Clinch State Park was no exception. There are two campground options here, one wide open and near the beach, and the other, which we had chosen, another “jungle” with great separation between sites and protection from the wind. As we pulled up to Site 22 we could hardly believe the size of it and wished we had all five kids with us to share this special place. We could imagine the old days with the whole family together to enjoy the campfire. It makes me tear up to think of those times. But on to other subjects…

Upon arrival here, we promptly headed for Fort Clinch, which is part of the park. Impressive! Similar to National Park facilities, there is a small museum and an introductory film to introduce the fort to visitors. Excellent! And in touring the fort itself, we were in for a treat because a ranger was there to re-enact the role of a Union soldier and teach us about the fort. He was cleaning his musket by pouring boiling water down the barrel, and explained that if the guns aren’t kept clean by the soldiers, the barrels can corrode and weaken and they can explode. We learned much more and recommend this as great place to visit!

During a sunset walk from our campsite to the nearby Egan Creek, we lucked into seeing the second dolphin of our trip. We were anxious to see more wildlife, but that led to a funny episode for Great Husband. After dark, he could hear rustling in the dense growth around our site, but we had no idea what critter was there. Could it possibly be an alligator? We left home without good batteries for our flashlight, and Great Husband decided that it was utterly useless. He was calling it “the glowstick.” Nevertheless, we had eaten tuna for supper and didn’t want that fragrance left overnight in the camper, so a walk to the dumpster was in order. Great Husband summoned his courage and headed out to walk the significant distance with the glowstick and the leftover tuna water. I left the camper door ajar so he could jump back inside quickly if the alligator was after him! Wow, he was gone such a long time that I decided that he might actually have encountered trouble! I admit that I shut the door so the alligator couldn’t get me, too!

Jumping forward to the next evening and “the rest of the story”--we went to hear a ranger talk about reptiles. Great Husband asked the ranger about what animal might have been rustling around behind our site. “Oh, it was probably an armadillo,” he said. So, we got a good laugh about that, and have since seen several armadillos who, rather than attacking, scurried away from us quite quickly.

Fort Clinch also has a fabulous beach and I had my last chance to collect more seashells. A delightful group of shorebirds was clustered together, looking out to the Atlantic. We enjoyed watching them so much! But then some dumb humans came along and deliberately chased the birds to get them to take flight. It was especially maddening because the dumb humans were disobeying signs which said that birds should be left undisturbed now in nesting season.   

We liked Amelia Island very much and hope to return here someday. It seems a comfortable mix of vacation homes and older, likely full-time, residences. The older downtown part of Fernandina Beach (which is the name of the town) especially appealed to us, and we can recommend the Crab Trap for a moderately-priced dinner.

*The Florida State Parks, including the check-in offices for camping, all seem to be close at sunset, but after that you need to know the 4-digit code to open the gate. So don’t be a late show on the day you first arrive. We like the gate system for security reasons. It limits access to the campgrounds to only those who are registered campers.

Fort Clinch

Pollyanna (me) with a Union soldier at Fort Clinch

The Beach at Fort Clinch State Park

Waiting for the arrival of the Queen, I guess

Hiking on the Willow Pond Trail
and they are not kidding with this sign!

Site 22 at Fort Clinch State Park