A Weekend in St. Augustine, Florida (Family-Friendly)

St. Augustine, the oldest city in the U.S., is home to the fabled Fountain of Youth said to be discovered by Juan Ponce de Leon. Ponce de Leon came from Spain and was the first European to land in Florida in 1513.

When I was 25, I had the idea to go to St. Augustine, Florida for my 30th birthday. I joked that I wanted to drink from the Fountain of Youth so that I could stay forever young. Well, my 30th birthday happened to fall on a weekend, so my husband, my daughter, and I were actually able to make a trip to St. Augustine happen.

With St. Augustine being about 7 hours from my home in Alabama, we left about mid-day on a Friday and came back on Sunday evening, giving us about 48 hours to spend in St. Augustine. Here’s how we spent those 48 hours.

Saturday

Saturday was a very busy day for us, as it was our only full day in St. Augustine. We crammed so much into one day, but it was absolutely worth it for all the things we got to see and do.

The Beach

Florida is obviously famous for its beaches, so we couldn’t go to St. Augustine without going to the beach at least once. Our hotel was about two blocks from the beach, so we just got up on Saturday morning and walked across the street to a beach access point. We went in February, so while it was warm in St. Augustine, it was too cold to go swimming. We just walked on the beach for a little while in the morning and took some pictures.

St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum

After the beach, we drove to the St. Augustine Lighthouse. I love lighthouses, so if there’s a lighthouse on one of our trips, I have to visit it. The St. Augustine lighthouse is one of the prettiest lighthouses I’ve seen, and I could see why it’s the #1 destination in St. Augustine according to Trip Advisor. We climbed the 219 steps to the top of the lighthouse and saw amazing views of Downtown St. Augustine, Anastasia State Park, and the Atlantic Ocean.

In addition to the lighthouse, there is also a really cool maritime museum located in the old Lighthouse Keeper’s home, as well as other historic buildings around the property to check out. So, even if your child isn’t yet tall enough to climb the lighthouse (the minimum height requirement is 44 inches), there are still plenty of fun things to do. The Pirate Ship Playground is fun for small kids, and there is also a scavenger hunt and a station where you can learn to tie knots.

Pets are also welcome on the property, but they are not allowed in the lighthouse or the historic buildings.

Castillo de San Marcos National Monument

Another thing we try to do on our trips is visit as many National Park Service (NPS) sites as possible. The Castillo de San Marcos is one of the most popular things to do in downtown St. Augustine, so we headed there about mid-day Saturday after the lighthouse.

Castillo de San Marcos is a fortress that was built by the Spanish to defend Florida and the Atlantic trade route. At over 450 years old, it is the oldest masonry fort in the continental U.S. We spent a couple of hours there, exploring the fortress and learning about its history through the exhibits and signs. There are also musket and cannon demonstrations on the weekends.

Overall, I thought this fortress was just beautiful, and so were the views surrounding it. It was definitely one of the favorite parts of our trip so far.

A Note About Parking in Downtown St. Augustine

Parking in downtown St. Augustine can be tricky, especially on the weekends and if a festival or other event is going on (as was the case when we went). Get there as early in the morning as possible to secure a parking spot, and be prepared to pay to park and possibly walk to get to your destination.

Luckily, St. Augustine is very walkable. If you don’t mind walking a lot, a trick we found for parking on the weekends was to park in one of the Flagler College faculty parking lots. As long as it’s the weekend or after a certain time during the week, it’s OK to park there and we didn’t have to pay. Just make sure you remember the location of the parking lot; we like to put a pin in Google Maps so we can find it easier.

St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum

Across the street from Castillo de San Marcos, we saw the St. Augustine Pirate and Treasure Museum. So we thought it would be fun to go check it out. The Pirate and Treasure Museum lets you explore the Golden Age of Piracy, learning about some of the most famous pirates in history.

Kids will really love this place, as there are tons of fun hands-on exhibits, like the cannon simulation which my daughter really loved, and a scavenger hunt. If you complete the scavenger hunt, you can exchange it at the gift shop for a fun little prize. Overall, this was a really fun stop on our trip and it was something unique and different.

Exploring and Shopping in Downtown St. Augustine

After a busy morning and afternoon, we decided to spend the rest of the morning and evening exploring downtown St. Augustine and shopping. First we walked to Flagler College, a small private liberal arts college that was once the Hotel Ponce de Leon. The Spanish-style architecture and the campus itself are so beautiful, and it made me a little jealous that I didn’t go to college there.

After, we went shopping. There are so many fun shops, whether you love boutiques, art, jewelry, or fun little souvenirs. My favorite was Faux Paws, a store full of gifts for dogs and dog lovers. Speaking of, St. Augustine is very dog-friendly. There were dogs everywhere, and a lot of the stores allowed dogs in them.

Dinner at The Floridian

After a very long day, we had my birthday dinner at The Floridian. We made a reservation, and I’m glad we did because it was crowded. The food, described as modern, locally sourced Southern grub, was amazing. But I loved the decor and atmosphere of the restaurant the most.

Of course, there are tons of other great restaurants in St. Augustine. I just chose this one because it served the kind of food I like.

Sunday

We didn’t plan a lot for Sunday since we had a long drive ahead of us, but we did set out to find the Fountain of Youth so I could achieve my goal of the trip.

Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park

I came here to take a sip from the Fountain of Youth, but we ended up spending way more time here than I had originally anticipated. The Spring House containing the spring that is the “Fountain of Youth” is one of the first things we saw, and my husband and I took a sip from it. But there is so much more to do in this 15-acre park. This park is the original site of the St. Augustine settlement, and there are so many exhibits and demonstrations, plus it’s pet-friendly so you can bring your dog along.

We loved the blacksmith demonstration, and there were cannon demonstrations here as well, in addition to other historical exhibits and stations like a planetarium. But the best part? There were peafowl everywhere! The park is home to around 30 peacocks and peahens. You can buy peanuts from the gift shop to feed them, and that was definitely the highlight of the day for me.