NPS unit count: 80, 81
Well, that title is quite the mouthful! Fort Caroline National Memorial is a part of Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve, but they are regarded somewhat separately at the same time. This spot was the next stop of Bark Ranger Maisy’s big summer tour!
This visit to Timucuan National Ecological and Historical Preserve included stops to Fort Caroline, the Ribault Monument, and the Kingsley Plantation. As of the writing of this entry in September, there is currently no Bark Ranger program here, though there was just a year ago in the Spring of 2023.
Our first stop was to Fort Caroline. The Ranger I spoke with here seemed very excited about our group. He asked for video of my OG Ranger Bella’s swearing-in in 2023, took pictures of Maisy in her bandana, and took pictures of my USBarkRangers T-shirt! He is hopeful they can restart the program soon. Fort Caroline is essentially where the French tried to establish their presence in Florida after Spain had already done so. The local Timucua peoples, where the name of the site comes from, numbered nearly 200,000 at the time. A few hundred years later they were essentially extinct. The fort is on the southern shores of the St. John’s River between Jacksonville and the Atlantic coast. This entire area is dog friendly, other than inside the visitor center! We walked the nice 1.5 mile loop around the area which includes the fort. It’s pretty level, save for a couple slopes and big steps. Dogs are allowed in side the fort. There is another trail across the street to the Spanish Pond which is also dog friendly and about 2.5 miles long. It was pouring, so we opted to skip. We also visited the nearby Ribault Monument nearby and then took the long side trip to the Kingsley Plantation.
North of the St. Johns River is where you find more of the Timucuan preserve area and the Kingsley Plantation. Even though I said it’s a long trip from Ft. Caroline, it should be noted that near Ft. Caroline there is a small car ferry which leaves every 30 minutes to take you much closer to the plantation site. However, I drove the long way to avoid waiting a potentially longer wait for the ferry. The plantation is pretty remote but offers a complicated history, steeped in slavery. The site is dog friendly, save for inside the structures. Be sure to check it out if you are in this neck of the woods! You do have to go out of your way to get to both Ft. Caroline and the plantation, but the fort is far more easily accessible. If you have your pup, it is well worth the side trip to do some Bark Rangering!
Next up: Fort Frederica National Monument
The Parks Adventurer 