Fort Clinch State Park

This review concerns the CAMPGROUND ONLY… NOT the park area itself. If you are looking for a comfortable peaceful stay here… FORGET IT… especially on any weekend!!! This campground is used HARD… and looks/​feels/​smells like it!!! If you DO want tight little campsites jammed with hard partying drunken locals in lots of tents… there only to stay drunk, yell and party until 2AM… then you’ll love this campground! The staff seems either unable or unwilling to enforce any rules… except after numerous complaints… and then it’s only…” Y’all keep it down a little… OK…” sort of thing… WAYafter posted quiet hours. Too many camping units on sites, too many cars on sites, parking on the tight little road, visitors staying all night to party… on and on!!! Why even HAVE any rules if the staff will not (or cannot) enforce them?
Again, if this is what you want in a ‘campground’, you’ll love it!!! The rest of the park is a gem… the fort, the dunes, the fishing pier & beaches are just fantastic. If you are looking for much peace camping, just skip this local party spot!!! But, who knows??? You might luck out on a few week days camping… but don’t count on it!!!

One of my favorite places to go. It’s never crowded and you see so many different forms of marine life! The birds are super awesome (just don’t feed them unless you want instant and lingering BFFs.
The old lady that works the booth is not nice and always has something to say (especially if you don’t give her singles). You’d think they’d be prepared for people to give them $ 20s as it’s $ 6 to get in. Just saying.
Anyway, I went recently on a weekday and it’s SO awesome! Hardly anyone there and it was only $ 4! The facilities are always relatively clean and if you go to the fort, it’s probably worth it to take a tour at least once. Make sure to hold onto your receipt because they will ask for it if you leave and come back.

This was my first state park upon moving to Florida, oh those many years ago, and even though my first visit involved me getting bitten by the world’s tiniest vampire (I mean, probably a spider, but vampire sounds way cooler) I still get excited every time I come out here. And now that my husband and I maintain a geocache here, that’s often!
We’ve been out here mostly to geocache and therefore hike the trails, which are absolutely gorgeous and surprisingly winding. The main trail is a mountain bike trail as well, and we’ve managed never to be even close to run over by anyone, so I consider that a major plus.
At our last visit we finally made it to the beach, where we couldn’t stay long due to impending storm. But while we were there we got in some stunt kite flying, took some gorgeous pictures, and saw other, braver folks wading in the surf.
I can’t wait to come back out and find even more new things to love!

This place is a childhood favorite of mine, so many memories here. The park looks fantastic and well maintained. There is everything here trails, fishing pier, fishing on the inner coastal, beach, river access, boat ramp, and tons of camping. The bathrooms are pristine and no garbage anywhere in site. The town of Fernandina is very close and is a sleepy little souther town with a few shops and several places to eat or grab some fresh baked goodies.

We absolutely love this park! From the scenic drive to the fishing pier and beaches we love it all! Keep your eyes peeled in the sand dunes you never know what kind of wild life you may see. We stood and watched a beautiful fawn that was literally about 15 feet from us. The fort makes for a great tour too!

This place is pretty great. The facilities are sparkling. Cleanest camp bathroom I’ve ever seen in my life! Great panoramic views from atop the fort. Ample hiking, good scenery, and a swimming beach. Can’t beat it.

This is my favorite fort. The sheer expanse of the grounds inside, the views from atop the walls, the Rangers in period garb and the little museum all add up to an interesting excursion. Vignettes of times past during the civil war and re enactments all serve to make history come alive for visitors.
The fort was our main destination today but even just driving through is beautiful. The tree canopy arches over the winding road like fingers clasped in prayer. Signs promise off road trails for hiking or bicycling and signs point the way to camping or the beach, two amenities we’ve yet to take advantage of. I love driving through what NE Florida used to look like before rapacious developers concreted everything and stacked houses, condos and strip malls where before only Nature ruled.
Catch a glimpse of the past while living in the present and visit this beautiful state park.

GREAT fishing pier — found out that you have to pay to enter even if you are walking or on a bike. It is so close to us – but the beach and surf fishing are free.
Great for tourists who want to camp — or use the cabins.
The senior discount is very little.

We saw it in bad weather and still it was so good and easy to walk around. Staff at state park visitor’s center are the nicest!!!

Love forts! I have to say this was a simple small fort but really cool and somewhat restored. It’s def worth the $ 6 parking and $ 2 fort entrance fees. Got kids? If so, it’s must when visting Amelia Island.

Way better than the st augustine fort. Lots of area to walk around, camp, fish etc. Loved the pier and fort area the most. Camping prices are a lil spendy. The fort has men in uniform playing instruments and talking about how they lived.

My husband and i took a day trip and rode our bikes through the park. The park ranger at the gate was very pleasant and informative, and we bought year pass!

beautiful and unique place. I love the drive into the park. it is really magical. The beach is particularly nice. The fort is interesting, too, but I like the nature the best.

I really enjoyed this state park! We were walking distance from the beach and a short drive from downtown area. Everything about camping here was perfect. We were able to visit the fort, rent bikes, go on nature hikes and enjoy the beach. Wow! Amazing! My only complaint is that the campsites were sooooo small. We had a hard time fitting our 9 person, our shade AND our kitchen items. The lighthouse, which was nearby was not open to the public. I would have loved to take a little hike for a view of the beach and the town. The price of camping here was very reasonable and the facilities were very clean. I would definitely recommend camping here!

I Love this place!
Great beaches, Close to Fernandina, cost a little more but it keeps the cheap seats vacant, I like that!
The wife and I make it a day trip, go to the Beaches at Ft clinch spend a couple of hours then shower off and Head to Fernandina for lunch Dinner, Drinks, Window Shopping, Ice Cream Etc.
What a precious place ot be although Fernandina is losing it’s charm because of the OVER GROWTH on the road into town.
Go Soon!

Me and my girlfriend choose to camp here due to Little Talbot Island camp ground being booked. I was a little hesitant about camping here and was wanting to get a beach camping spot. But DEFFINATLY glad I chose the «river» spot. It’s was very nice. No airplane noise like you get around NAS Jax. Both bath house’s must be newly refurbished as they are the nicest I’ve ever seen in a state park.
The only CONS; I had was the noise coming from the local pulp-​mill late night and early morning. Form the ships coming and going. I believe due to the «no wake/​resume normal speed» signs in the river right off the camp-​ground you can hear the ships engines spool up.
All around awesome camping experience. Also if you have bikes bring them it’s a MUST as there are tons of bike rinding trails. We stayed on Lot: 23 and after a brief drive around Lot: 60 looked very nice for tent camping. But would advise againts both Lots: 33 & 36. Due to the lights shining into you tent or camper from the bath-​house.
Happy Camping!

$ 6 to get your car in and the rest is history. If I lived nearby I would go by this place from time to time. The old Civil War fort was pretty interesting. They had people dressed up as rein-​actors, and they did an amazing job, not just in wearing funny old clothes, but giving you a sense of the history of the place. It does cost $ 2 extra to get into the fort itself, but they could charge $ 10 and it would still be worth it.
The rest of the park seemed nice, walking and bike trails all over and a pier so long I decided not to even try it: o)

WOW! This was REALLY, REALLY a GREAT fort!
Most forts are very typical. But this fort, had it all. From actors, to props, to an old fashioned general store. Will most deff. be back!
This was a great place to spend some time. (And even the non civil war or fort folks in our group, enjoyed it!)
I dont think the actors are out every day. We went on a Saturday. But you might want to call before you go.
The park, the fort is in, is also very beautiful, as well.

Cool fort! Even for those of us who have been dragged to like a thousand forts over our whole childhood.
Things to plan for: there’s reenactors on certain days and times. Definitely plan your visit for when they’ll be there. There was even a gun demonstration while we were there, but they all checked out by noon.
Also, there’s a museum that you can peruse before you pay to enter, and I suggest checking it out before you enter the fort. You’ll learn a lot and make your trip into the fort more meaningful.
Enjoy!

Frankly, the castle and fort scares the heebie-​jeebies out of me (large lonely places are just plain creepy!), but it’s definitely a great place to explore.
I was sooo swept up in the history and gigantic-​ness of the fort, the giant cannons, creepy castle buildings, and not to mention the gorgeous view of the river! This fort is like a mini-​community — including a jail cell, storage room, etc. Just be cautious with the kids. The stairs to the cannons don’t always have banisters and they go up pretty high. The fort place kind of reminds me of a Super Mario game, but in real life. Too bad the cannons didn’t transport me to the warp zone.
This state park is a great place to spend the day, but the camping grounds are pretty good, too. We stayed in the group camping area. Just make sure you don’t pitch your tent under a tree with a huge swarming lot of cockroaches (I opted to pitch my tent on top of several ant hills instead) and in the day, watch out for those crazy wasps. The bathrooms are very clean for a campsite and there is an additional outside sink right by the bathrooms. The only plug outlets are also in the bathrooms.
Driving to the campsite is a bumpy ride — a VERY bumpy ride. Don’t drive through here with one of those low-​riders. You’ll be very angry. Haha. Also, don’t be surprised to see a few deer on your way in or out.
Hiking is great, too. There are a few different trails to choose from, but the shorter one was enough for the kids. We had a great time and the kids took some cool photos, including one of a spider on its dew-​dropped web. I see a photographer in the making. Lol.
There is also a beach that some of the kids hiked at night, but my son and I stayed behind as he was not feeling well.
A cool, but creepy fort and castle; hiking; camping; and a beach? This state park sounds like a winner! Don’t forget to grab your State Park passport book so you can start collecting stamps.