In February, we managed to snag a site at Anastasia State Park, just across the Intracoastal Waterway from St. Augustine, and we spent a couple of days exploring this charming city.
The Oldest City In The U.S.
Strolling the narrow brick streets of St. Augustine, surrounded by ornate Spanish and Moorish architecture, it’s easy to imagine that you’re in Europe. This is no Disneyesque creation, though. Claimed in 1565 by Spanish explorers, St. Augustine holds the title as the oldest permanently occupied European settlement in North America (it beats out Plymouth Rock by a full 55 years).
St. Augustine from across the bridge
The location of St. Augustine on the Atlantic coast made it appealing to many. It was first occupied by the Timucuan Indians, who used it as their summer grounds for fishing until the Spanish arrived. Reading the history of the town made my head spin. The abbreviated version is that it was occupied by the Spanish, the British, and again by the Spanish before being sold to the U.S. in 1821, with lots of wars and attacks by pirates that kept everyone busy.
Castillo de San Marcos
In 240 years of occupation, the Spanish obviously had a lasting effect on the town. The biggest thing they left behind was the Castillo de San Marcos, the fort they constructed to protect their interests.
The only building material available was coquina, a porous stone of compressed tiny shells from Anastasia Island. Lucky for them, coquina turned out to be an excellent choice because it conveniently absorbed incoming cannon balls without shattering.
The Influence Of Henry Flagler
While the Spanish left a lasting legacy in St. Augustine, Henry Flagler, the industrial magnate who made a fortune in the oil business with his partner John D. Rockefeller, had even more of an influence. Flagler fell in love with St. Augustine and set out to shape it into an American version of the European Riviera.
Henry Flager and Flagler College
On a honeymoon trip to Florida with his second wife, Flagler was enamored with the climate and the natural beauty of St. Augustine. The accommodations and transportation weren’t to his liking, though, so he decided to do something about it.
In just a few years, Flagler built the opulent Ponce de Leon Hotel (now Flagler College), followed by the Alcazar Hotel (now City Hall and the Lightner Museum), the exquisite Memorial Presbyterian Church, and assorted other grand buildings, most in a Spanish Renaissance Revival style. Flagler also started buying and linking local railroads to create the Florida East Coast Railway, making traveling in Florida easy for northerners.
Not surprisingly, Flagler is referred to as “The Father of Florida Tourism.”
Exploring St. Augustine
We explored St. Augustine on our bikes and spent hours wandering the town. If you visit St. Augustine, be sure to veer off of St. George Street. Although it has authentic brick streets and interesting historic Spanish architecture, the plethora of t-shirt and pirate shops make it feel a bit too touristy.
Don’t miss the The Hyppo, though—they offer a delicious assortment of handcrafted popsicles made of fresh fruits, herbs, and spices, with flavors like watermelon-hibiscus, mango habanero, and cucumber lemon-mint.
Strolling Historic Avila Street
Talking about food, one of the highlights of our visit was a free tour of the St. Augustine Distillery, housed in a vintage 1920’s ice plant. This very cool little distillery handcrafts small-batch spirits, all made from sugar cane. The tour concludes with a couple of small cocktails prepared with a great deal of showmanship. We timed our tour just prior to a late lunch at the Ice Plant, a fabulous farm-to-table restaurant in the same building. We also took home a couple of award-winning bottles of gin and vodka, a most excellent souvenir.
To cap off our time in St. Augustine, we drove to Jacksonville for a fun and delicious dinner with my sister. Being with her is always a good time.
Where We Stayed
Anastasia State Park is a large park with many loops—the sites in the Coquina Loop (where we stayed) are our favorites. They’re also the sites most amenable to big rigs. Access to a beautiful white sand beach is just ¼ mile away, and it’s only a three-mile bike ride into St. Augustine. Electric, water, and good Verizon for $28 per night.
Our favorite city in Florida, so much history and ambiance.
St. Augustine is definitely a gem — and worth another visit! We didn’t make it to the Lightner Museum, but I’ll bet you guys did. It’s on our list for next time.
What a great place. The popsicles, distillery and spending time with your sister. Not a bad deal.
You recognized the highlights of our visit, Debbie. ;-) Although we did also appreciate the gorgeous architecture.
We just had the same experience in St. Augustine and stayed at Anastasia and had a wonderful time! I’ve been going to Florida since I was 4 years old and had never been to St. Augustine. On our around-the-country trip I had the chance to spend a week there and enjoyed every second. And I have a couple of those “souvenirs” from the Distillery too. :-) I also purchased a shirt that says, “Let’s party like it’s 1592!” That always gets a reaction from people. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
Now that sounds like a fun t-shirt! I could imagine spending a week in St. Augustine. Especially being able to stay at the park and bike into town. I really want to go back to the distillery — our souvenirs are quickly disappearing, haha!
We always enjoy our time in St. Augustine. We try to stay at NorthBeach Camp Resort on Vilano Beach (just a bit north of St. Augustine) whenever we’re coming into Florida or leaving the state. Its a favorite destination, the campground is sandwiched between the river and the ocean with beaches on both and some great low country boil type restaurants within walking distance. The icing on the cake is being so close to St.Augustine!
That sounds like a great place to stay, Sue. We’ll have to check it out for our next trip to St. Augustine — seems like a perfect location!
Haven’t been to this area in many,many years. How nice to get some sister time:) I love when you can bike around the city.
We really enjoyed biking from the campground into town, Pam. And yes, time with my sister was very fun. :-)
What a difference a sunny day makes. When we were there it was raining and overcast. Glad your pictures brought out vivid colors of the architecture around the area.
It was nearing Christmas when we were there and joined a night tour in the city, a different perspective than what I see now on your beautiful photos.
ML, sunshine does make all the difference! We would love to return for the holiday lights display — maybe next year.
Your words paint such a beautiful picture of St. Augustine before I even get to your marvelous pictures. We’ve booked a campsite in what I think is the “other” campground at Anastasia, the one nearest the beach. Hope it turns out to be as nice as the one you show here. Love the pictures at the gorgeous college and of the churches. Tell that young man not to enlist!
Sherry, we were in the campground loop nearest the beach — I think you’ll really like it. I dragged that cute guy away before he could sign up. :-) So glad you enjoyed the post.
Love the spectacular and well-preserved architecture, it feels like a wonderful place to explore and learn history. The popsicles sound divine :-) Don’t know when we’ll get to Florida, but this is definitely a place we’d like a lot!!
I think you would enjoy the town and the popsicles, Jodee. :-) At some point in your travels, you must make the trek to Florida.
We loved those popsicles! Actually, we pretty much loved everything about St. Augustine…such rich history.
We loved St. Augustine too, LuAnn. Those popsicles were so unique — and so refreshing on a hot day!