Fort Caroline National Monument

500 Spanish soldiers from St. Augustine marched four days through marsh, forest tangle, fierce wind, and heavy rainfall to an encampment near here. Exhausted and hungry they rested in a downpour; at dawn they attacked and captured France's Fort de la Caroline.

In 1565 Spaniards, slogging through wetlands like Spanish Pond to overtake Fort de la Caroline, saw an inhospitable environment. Today we see backyards. An open, pristine pine flatwoods once surrounded this spot; today, a fragmented forest with thick underbrush exists. Pristine or backyard, nature is still alive at Spanish Pond.

Spring peepers, cricket frogs, and bullfrogs make choral sounds that our ears tune out. Small alligators and mud turtles laze near lily pads. Wood ducks dabble, great egrets gig frogs, and woodstorks fish, clapping bills blindly through shallow water. Sunrise after sunset the pond is here - but will it always be?

From this poitn take a quiet stroll along the edge of Spanish Pond or venture a more strenuous hike into the thick woods of the Theodore Roosevelt Area. Well-marked trails intersect, leading you through a variety of habitats - pine flatwoods, oak hammock, and tidal marsh. Sturdy shoes, ample drinking water, and insect repellent are recommended.

One way trail distances:

Spanish Pond Trail: 1 mile

Timucuan Trail: 3/4 mile

Willie Browne Trail: 1 mile

Bycycles are allowed only on the Willie Browne Trail and pets must be leashed on all park trails.

Marker is on Ft. Caroline Road, on the right when traveling east.

Courtesy hmdb.org

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