From the Spanish fort in St. Augustine to the Kennedy Space in Cape Canaveral, northeast Florida offers unique attractions that capture the imaginations of winter visitors.
Snowbirds have always been captivated by Florida’s beaches. But winter visitors bound for Florida’s northeast coast can also explore nearly half a millennium of human history and development, from the Spanish fort in St. Augustine, the oldest colonial settlement in U.S., to the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, where the most advanced aerospace technologies of the 20th and 21st centuries are on display. And that’s just a sampling of the historical sites along Florida’s northeast coast, which also includes a Civil War era fort on Amelia Island, about an hour’s drive north of St. Augustine.
“Regardless of whether your interest is in history, technology, or simply the beautiful coastline and scenic state parks, northeast Florida certainly captures people’s imaginations and continues to be a favorite destination for Snowbirds year after year,” said Bobby Cornwell, president and CEO of the Florida RV Park and Campground Association, which hosts CampFlorida.com, the travel planning website.
Indeed, for Snowbirds in particular, northeast Florida offers an endless variety of attractions, including historical sites, scenic beaches, state parks, festivals and other attractions that provide plenty of things to see and do during the winter months.
Here’s a sampling of attractions along Florida’s northeast coast, including several upcoming festivals, along with listings of nearby RV parks and resorts that can be used as base camps:
Amelia Island
— Amelia Island offers everything from tranquil beaches with desert like dunes to maritime forests and saltwater marshes. Local activities include hiking, biking and kayaking. Historical sites include Fort Clinch State Park, which has a fort that came under Confederate control at the start of the Civil War. The fort, which was never completed, was later used by the U.S. Army as a barracks and ammunition depot during the Spanish-American War of 1898.
Amelia Island and neighboring Jacksonville also have their share of festivals, including the Right Whale Festival, Nov. 4-5, in Amelia Island. This festival celebrates the annual return of endangered North Atlantic right whales to northern Florida’s warm coastal waters with ocean-themed activities and exhibits that emphasize education and environmentally responsible adventures and products. There will be live music as well as exhibits promoting marine conservation with onsite marine mammal scientists, kid’s activities, art and unique gifts, a beach clean-up, and food trucks.
Other upcoming festivals include the World of Nations Celebration, Feb. 24-25, in Jacksonville. This festival celebrates the increasing cultural diversity of Jacksonville with the sights, sounds and tastes of people from different nations, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Italy, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Spain, Turkey, Venezuela, the U.S. Virgin Islands and, of course, the United States.
Campgrounds that can be used as base camps for Amelia Island excursions include:
- Crosslake RV in Jacksonville
- Flamingo Lake RV Community in Jacksonville
- Fleetwood RV Park in Jacksonville
- Pecan Park RV Community in Jacksonville
- Sunny Oaks RV Park in Jacksonville
- Thompson Mill RV Park in Jacksonville
St. Augustine
Established by Spanish explorers in 1565, St. Augustine is the oldest permanently occupied European settlement in North America. It predates the establishment of the English colony in Jamestown, Va. by 42 years and the Pilgrims’ landing at Plymouth Rock, Mass. by 55 years. The city’s historical attractions include:
` — America’s Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse: Built over 200 years ago, while Florida was under Spanish control, the two-story schoolhouse was made of red cedar and cypress and held together with wooden pegs and handmade nails.
— Fort Matanzas National Monument: This monument, roughly 10 miles south of St. Augustine. preserves the fortified coquina watchtower, completed in 1742, which defended the southern approach to the Spanish military settlement of St. Augustine. It also protects approximately 300 acres of Florida’s coastal environment containing dunes, marsh, maritime forest, and associated flora and fauna, including threatened and endangered species.
— Castillo de San Marcos: Built in 1672, the Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fortress in the U.S. and was originally used to protect St. Augustine and Atlantic commerce. Medieval in appearance with notched openings along the top for cannons, the fortress is unique in that it is made with coquina limestone, which proved to be unusually long-lasting because it could actually absorb or deflect cannonballs rather than gradually disintegrate under cannonball attack. Activities at the fortress include historic weapons demonstrations. Rangers and volunteers wander about the fort period attire. They’ll pose for pictures, answer your questions, and share stories about the lives and experiences of the colonists who lived in St. Augustine hundreds of years ago.
— Flagler College, the former Ponce de Leon Hotel: Flagler College is housed in the former Ponce de Leon Hotel, which was built in 1888 by Henry M. Flagler, the famous railroad tycoon and co-founder of Standard Oil Company who transformed St. Augustine, Palm Beach and Miami into resort communities in the late 1800s. Tours of the historic building are still available, even though it now houses Flagler College. The former Ponce de Leon Hotel is considered to be one of the finest examples of Spanish Renaissance architecture on the East Coast. The hotel was built by New York architects John Carrère and Thomas Hastings, the architectural duo who later designed the New York Public Library and the U.S. Senate Office Building.
— Lightner Museum: This museum is housed inside the former Hotel Alcazar, which was also commissioned by Flagler in 1887 as part of his effort to transform St. Augustine into a resort community. The museum highlights artifacts from America’s Gilded Age with costumes, furnishings, mechanical wooden instruments, Victorian art and stained glasswork from the late 19th century.
— St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum: Although the current lighthouse has been in operation since 1874, the maritime museum traces the histories of its lighthouse predecessors going back to the days of the Spanish explorers in the mid 1500s.
Other unique attractions in St. Augustine include:
— Whetstone Chocolate Factory: Established as a family business by Henry and Esther Whetstone in 1966, the factory offers tours that introduce visitors to the history of chocolate making as well as the Whetstone Chocolate Factory’s growth from a small ice cream shop to a wholesale supplier for numerous retailers, including Nestle, Hershey and M&M Mars. The factory’s website says its tours are “decadently delicious” and are “designed for the chocoholic with a discriminating palette searching for the subtleties that that define artisan chocolates.”
— St. Augustine Alligator Farm and Zoological Park: This attraction showcases every living species of crocodile, as well as other animals, including exotic birds and reptiles from around the world. The park also offers daily wildlife shows.
— St. Augustine Distillery Company: This distillery produces whiskey, rum, gin and vodka. While the distillery has been family owned and operated since 2013, the distillery is housed inside Florida’s first ice manufacturing plant, built in 1907. Self-guided tours are available.
Campgrounds that can be used as base camps for St. Augustine excursions include:
- Bryn Mawr Ocean Resort
- North Beach Camp Resort
- Ocean Grove RV Resort
- Pepper Tree RV Resort
- Smiling Gator RV Park
- St. Augustine Beach KOA Holiday
- Stagecoach RV Park
- Sun Outdoors St. Augustine
Daytona Beach
About an hour’s drive south of historic St. Augustine is Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, which boasts the most diverse array of racing events in the world.
Campgrounds that can be used as base camps for Daytona Beach excursions include:
- Beverly Beach Camptown RV Resort in Flagler Beach
- Encore Bulow RV Resort in South Flagler Beach
- Encore Rose Bay RV Resort in Port Orange
- Encore Sunshine Holiday Daytona in Ormond Beach
- Nova Family Campground in Port Orange
- Palm Shores Mobile Home Park in Port Orange
- Sun Retreats Daytona Beach RV Resort in Port Orange
- Treasure by the Sea Mobile Home and RV Park in Flagler Beach
Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral is home to the world-famous Kennedy Space Center, a Smithsonian affiliate that provides opportunities for visitors to view artifacts of NASA’s Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs, the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame and other attractions. The center also offers visitors opportunities to participate in four-to-five-hour astronaut training programs and opportunities to speak with current astronauts.
Port Cape Canaveral is also the site of the annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, Jan. 24-28, 2024: This festival, one of the largest birding festivals in the U.S., features a variety of classes and field trips of interest to birding and nature photography enthusiasts. Other upcoming festivals include the Cocoa Reggae and Rum Festival, March 9, in Cocoa. This festival provides live music, international cuisine as well as tastings of the finest rum brands in the world.
Campgrounds that can be used as base camps for Cape Canaveral excursions include:
- Manatee Hammock Campground in Titusville
- Seasons in the Sun RV Resort in Mims
- The Great Outdoors RV Resort in Titusville
- Titusville / Kennedy Space Center KOA Journey in Mims
- Whispering Pines Manufactured Home and RV Community in Titusville
About the Florida RV Park & Campground Association
Based in Tallahassee, the Florida RV Park & Campground Association is the trade association for Florida’s privately owned RV parks and campgrounds. The association provides business services, advocacy, and promotion for the industry and their members. The association also publishes free printed camping guides for Florida. For more information, visit the association’s website at CampFlorida.com.
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