8 Places Off the Beaten Track in St. Augustine

Fort Matanzas is a National Monument that preserves a 1742 coquina watchtower built to defend St. Augustine, then a Spanish military settlement. Today it stands to protect about 300 acres of unspoiled Florida landscape with all its varied flora and fauna in a very different way – through the conservation efforts of the National Park Service.

You can explore the walls and ramparts of this historic watchtower or wander the forests, marshlands, and dunes of the park itself. Potentially, you could catch sight of a threatened or endangered species.

De León Springs State Park is a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of holiday crowds and walk serene trails through the wilderness. There’s a recreational swimming area here, in what the native Mayaca inhabitants refer to as “healing waters.”

The hiking trails in the park take you through a subtropical bald cypress forest. You can see historic locales from when the area was run as a sugar cane mill and later, a grist mill during the Civil War.

If you’re looking to discover the culinary traditions of St. Augustine, dating back to its earliest days, there are a tonne of options for food and drink tours. They can guide you to some of the best bars, microbreweries, wineries, and eateries throughout the region.

From laid-back and causal to high-end fine dining and from craft beer to local wine vintages, you’ll get to sample it all. Your guide on these tours is usually someone well-versed in the highlights of the community and its culinary tradition, and these tours can provide an outstanding adventure.

Villa Zorayda Museum was once the 1883 mansion of an eccentric millionaire from Boston named Franklin W. Smith. Its design was inspired by a Moorish palace in Granada, Spain, that dates to the 12th century. Today it stands as a museum and is preserved almost precisely the way it was when it was first built.

Here you can see intricate plaster and alabaster reliefs, which are exact replicas of the Alhambra Palace walls. There are minutely detailed doorways and fireplaces, delicate geometric windows with brightly coloured stained glass, hand-painted Damascus lamps, and many other exciting sights.

The St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum is completely dedicated to the display of pirate artefacts and the history of the golden age of piracy on the 7 Seas. There are over 800 artefacts spread amongst 48 individual exhibit areas, and they claim to have the most authentic and largest collection of its kind ever displayed under a single roof.

Just a few of the artefacts include gold from the Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard’s original blunderbuss, an authentic Jolly Roger, and the only known complete and authentic pirate treasure chest in the world.

The Love Trees are a somewhat unique attraction to St. Augustine. These types of trees form when 2 trees grow together over the centuries, resembling an eternal romantic embrace. Some say the trees are locked together in a forever kiss.

There are, to date, at least 7 of these trees spread across the city, and as the storey goes, if you kiss your beloved under one of the trees, your love will last forever. The most famous of these trees is located by Potter's Wax Museum on Cordova Street, which is a great place to start your search.

The Dungeon Under the Stairs is located beneath the Oldest Wooden School House, a cedar and cypress building that once served as a school in the Spanish Colonial days. The Dungeon itself is a small cabinet beneath the stairs in the basement and was quite literally a punishment area where they would lock children who misbehaved at school.

If you’re wondering how detention looked 2 centuries ago, this certifiably creepy little cupboard under the stairs is it. Plus, the School House is located in the heart of historic St. Augustine – you can’t miss it!