Free things to do in St Augustine

With its sunny seashores and sprawling state parks, it doesn’t take a belief fund to have a unbelievable trip in Florida. St Augustine, particularly, is ripe with free and low-cost experiences for nearly everybody in your crew. From instructional excursions of colonial properties and historic forts to sunbathing on some pretty seashores, the number of experiences on this coastal Florida city means your itinerary shall be something however boring.

Because the oldest constantly occupied settlement of European and African-American origin within the US, there’s additionally richly preserved historical past in St Augustine that’s price exploring. The most effective half? You’ll be able to hold your pockets firmly tucked away for many of it. Free (and really low-cost) issues might be discovered throughout the town, and so they’re certain to make your trip that rather more memorable.

Should you time your go to excellent, you’ll have the ability to take a tour of the oldest deliberate cemetery within the nation: Tolomato. Open on the third Wednesday of the month, the cemetery affords free guided excursions from 11am to 1:30pm. The burial grounds span about an acre and function a resting place for the varied set of those that performed a task in St Augustine’s evolution, together with people of Spanish, Minorcan, Irish, African, Greek, and Italian descent. The cemetery, which is over 300 years outdated, is purportedly haunted and stays a preferred spot for paranormal fanatics.

You’ll have to take a ferry to achieve the Fort Matanzas Nationwide Monument, a stone fort that the Spanish erected on a small island in 1742 to guard St Augustine from British assaults. The fort, together with Castillo de San Marco, was constructed utilizing coquina, a naturally occurring stone made up of shell fragments which might be discovered alongside the Florida coast. After taking a tour of the fort, wander by way of a few of the nature trails on the property or take pleasure in a second alongside the shore. Admission to the ferry and the fort for a ranger-led tour are free, however you’ll have to cease by the customer’s middle first to select up a move. 

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St. George Avenue is likely one of the most vibrant and well-known thoroughfares in St Augustine. This pedestrian-only street is brimming with historic buildings, retailers, eating places and bars that may simply take a full day to discover. Begin on the 300-year-old Metropolis Gates on the northside of St. George and pop into the historic Oldest Wood Schoolhouse (adults are $5.95, however youngsters below 5 are free) earlier than dipping into The Hyppo for some gourmand popsicles (suppose: candy corn poblano and avocado coconut). 

Whereas on St. George Avenue, drop into the Peña-Peck Home, the present house of The Girl’s Trade of St Augustine, a non-profit that helps girls who’ve fallen on laborious instances. Inbuilt 1752 for Royal Spanish Treasurer Juan Estevan de Peña and occupied by the Peck household descendants till 1931, this architectural standout is brimming with Nineteenth-century furnishings and artwork — all of which you’ll see throughout one of many free excursions of the property on provide Thursday by way of Saturday.

Getting contained in the Castillo de San Marcos Nationwide Monument isn’t free, however you possibly can spend a day exploring the grounds that encompass it with out spending a dime. The nation’s oldest masonry fort options an in depth greenway proper on the banks of the Matanzas River. Seize some takeout or convey a picnic lunch to take pleasure in alfresco. Should you’re touring with youngsters, they’ll get a kick out of tumbling down the hilly terrain surrounding the fort. Entrance charges to the monument are waved on sure days all year long, together with Martin Luther King, Jr Day (Jan 17), the Nationwide Park Service Birthday (Aug 25) and Veterans Day (Nov 11).

Drive about 20 miles north from the center of St Augustine, and also you’ll discover that your four-lane freeway narrows to 2 as nature envelopes the trail to Mickler’s Touchdown Beachfront Park. It isn’t simply shells you’ll spot on the lengthy stretch of pink coquina sand right here — fossilized and modern-day shark tooth are pretty frequent too. Additionally hold a watch out for the native wildlife — the 20-ft sandy dunes play host to sea turtles, shorebirds and even seashore mice. 

St Augustine takes its spirits critically — significantly ones with a good ABV. Town boasts a number of distilleries and wineries, most of which provide free excursions and samples of their wares. At San Sebastian Vineyard, you possibly can take a tour of the distillery and pattern some muscadine wine in what was as soon as Henry Flagler’s East Coast Railway constructing. Metropolis Gate Spirits additionally affords complimentary tastings of its locally-made vodka, rum, whiskey and moonshine, whereas at St Augustine Distillery you possibly can drop in for a free tour and tasting of its stills and barrels. 

A collaboration between Florida’s Division of Environmental Safety and the Nationwide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Guana Tolomato Matanzas Nationwide Estuarine Analysis Reserve covers 76,760 acres of coastal lands in northeast Florida and is one in all 29 Nationwide Estuarine Analysis Reserves across the nation. The guests middle options reveals, aquariums, an auditorium, and an amphitheater overlooking the Guana River Aquatic Protect. You should definitely take a look at the reserve’s occasions calendar for upcoming actions, lots of that are free to attend.

If destiny ought to convey you to St Augustine on the primary Friday of the month, contemplate it fairly auspicious. That’s when the native galleries open their doorways to the general public for an evening of reveals, stay music and wine through the First Friday Artwork Stroll. The occasion is free for all ages and runs from 5-9pm. Trolley providers can be found to shuttle you between galleries without charge. They cease at King Avenue, Aviles Avenue, Cathedral Place, and Hypolita Avenue.

There isn’t any scarcity of farmers markets round St Augustine — in truth, you’ll discover one open to the general public nearly daily of the week. On Saturday, head to the St Augustine Amphitheater Farmers Marketplace for some gourmand donuts and a tarot card studying session, whereas on Wednesday, the Pier Farmers Market offers a picturesque waterfront backdrop for the produce readily available. Spherical out the weekend on the Salt Air Farmers Market, the place you possibly can decide up regionally grown produce, seafood, honey, soaps, tide clocks and artwork.