Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park

We were one of the first guests arriving around 10 AM. The park is small. Water from Fountain tastes like Florida tap water.
Not all of the guides were there or set up, which was a shame. We just walked around and read the signs. But clearly disappointed.
The tower is only open certain hours (11 – 3 I think). The cannons were supposed to go off on the hour. we were waiting and no one was there. We walked away and 10 minutes later we heard it go off.
They have beautiful peacocks around the place and bring quarters to buy food. You can feed the squirrels, pigeons, and peacocks.

I rated lower because I found the cost a bit high for two adults given what this place includes. You can see two shows, which are slightly outdated and are narrated by a monotonous voice (I almost fell asleep). The signs are okay, but I would’ve liked people available to talk about the archaeological significance. The fountain of youth is okay, but a bit kitschy and the water (because it comes from the aquifer) from the fountain isn’t worth $ 15 a pop. Nice grounds though.

We stopped in for a short time and enjoyed what we saw. We drank water from Florida’s «Fountain of Youth» even though the one Ponce De Leon was looking for was fabled to be on the island of Bimini. The water was tasty though. The planetarium was interesting. It was a nice break from the heat; heading into a cool dark theater. The next theater was also cool and dark with a really old but cool globe hanging in/​on the stage. The Peacocks were cool; there are approx three dozen roaming around the property. There was much more to see but we wanted to move on and see other attractions.

Great exhibits and interesting and fun for the entire family. The staff is very warm and friendly and cares about explaining everything. I highly recommend that you go and bring along the entire family.

You have to stop here. We all drank the water (how can you not) and i did feel younger.
The water is the main aquifer for many bottled sources according to the tour guide. We also toured the grounds, watched a demonstration of a canon, rifle and cross bow.
Very cool. The tower was cool to go up and see the entire grounds from. Very enjoyable and the peacocks were cool too.

I received tickets to multiple attractions around St. Augustine from my job so I cant comment on the price but for a short tool around in the afternoon this was a great park! The location is dog friendly and is complete with signs detailing native Florida plants as well as period recreations complete with a handful of stage actors!
The park was an excellent size and believe it or not they actually let my dog drink from the Fountain of Youth (he enjoyed it)! Walking around I enjoyed learning about the Archaeology side of the location but my boyfriend and dog enjoyed the exercise and the views.
The only downside is that they do have a cannon firing session staged throughout the day but luckily with how large the park was we managed to find a secluded area to sit tight.
Free admission was a huge bonus and it was a great dog friendly location! Dogs do need to be leashed but as someone who has been rushed by many off leash dogs this fact is appreciated. :)

We found a $ 1 coupon off for the park, and couldn’t find parking at the Old City Jail, so we ended up here. We ended up spending a half day there. It was amazing. So much history, beautiful grounds, and lovely pier walk out to the water with benches you can sit at. Would highly recommend!

This was something that I found interesting on my trolley tour of the city, but my mom said, «Eh, have fun… I don’t have much interest.» Well, go on my own I did, and it was actually really interesting and cool.
Tickets at the gate were $ 15, but if you order tickets from the trolley company, you can get a discount.
Inside, I could drink straight from the fountain of youth, watch a discovery presentation of the Spaniards finding St. Augustine in the New World, watch a planetarium show, visit the first Christian burial found ever in the United States, and even see a live presentation of a live fire cannon into the bay.
It was worth the time I spent there and the money I paid.
My husband is deployed, and I was able to buy a bottle of the Fountain of Youth water to send him in his next care package. It was a fun little token to find in the gift shop.

Not worth the $ 30.00 to get a drink if nasty water. No one there but shows only on Their schedule not ours
This place was a rip off

This was something that I had not planned on going to initially, but this is an example of hotel brochures doing their job.
Initially I thought this might have been a mistake. Ticket prices were okay, about $ 15 each (can get a coupon). When first walking it, it almost seemed like a sham. But there were several interesting things, and the program timing makes it possible to do several things in quick succession.
Obviously getting a drink from the spring/​fountain is a must. The planetarium was somewhat underwhelming, although the globe theater was more informative.
A must involves the cannon firing and the weapons demonstration. The presenters give some interesting history, and then they provide the loud bangs!
Overall this was a good choice.

I’ll admit I was a little skeptical of the park thinking it was probably a typical tourist trap. But to my surprise, it was a great place to visit that was educational, historical, and fun. The entrance into the park had large oak trees with spanish moss all along the road, which kind of reminded me of Savannah, GA. We were there late in the day so it wasn’t busy and got to take a bunch of pictures with the exhibits. The canon demonstration was pretty cool and interesting to learn how much gunpowder was used back in the day. The park has a bunch of cool small attractions and a pier/​deck overlooking the water. The staff that worked there were all friendly and helpful. The «actual» fountain was a little fabricated, but still a cool experience. The gift shop has a bunch of little knick knacks and had little bottles of the fountain of youth water for sale. It’s an obvious tourist thing but cool to bring back for friends and family.
There’s also a bunch of Youtube videos on the history of the «Fountain of Youth» as well as videos on the park itself. I was inspired to watch them after my visit but I’d recommend watching them before you go, if you enjoy learning about the area better. And obviously when it comes to history in general, it tends to skew toward the perspective of whoever is telling that story, so some aspects, it’s best to take it with a grain of salt…

Kind of cool, but very touristy and not worth the cost ($ 16)
The «fountain» has been built up from an underground aquifer with modern pumps to bring the water up. Everything else is renditions of historical buildings, but there is no actual historical artifacts here.
Would have been worth it if the park were free.

Ok — So we were crossing our fingers that we would find this place because, well, you know…
It’s pretty cool! You will have to pay for tickets, but if you are looking to do something historical as well as fun, check this joint out.
You will be guided through the park and learn all kinds of cool things about the area.
Check it out if you are in the area!

Sorta cheesy. Teenagers might not like it. Prepare to walk. If you want to do the touristy thing this is for you!

This was a really cool stop! Beautiful grounds. Really neat to think of all the history there. You have to watch a canon being shot! This is truly cool for anyone of all ages. I could not believe how loud it was and the guys shooting the canon off were really fun. You can feed the beautiful peacocks peanuts, but be warned they will startle you when they come at your hand.

If you are in St Augustine, Florida you have to check out the history of the Fountain of Youth. It was walking distance from the hotel, the Howard Johnson Inn. The first day I arrived at this theme park, I was at the ticket window at 5:05. The park closes at 5, which was my mistake. However, instead of the person opening the window to inform me, she just pointed at the hours. I thought that was kind of rude and unprofessional.
The next day, I took a walk to this place again, but during normal working hours. It costs about $ 30 to get in to the park.
The fountain itself is a hack. All you see is corny old props that seem outdated and a basic spring water faucet. Then, you walk around outside. You have to follow their schedule for the shows, which are informal and the actors are good.
The rest is just a big field to walk around. Not too much to see. Probably, a fun place to take children and kill a few hours, but kind of pricey.

Of course one must check out Fountain of Youth if in St. Augustine. It is the reason why Ponce de Leon landed in Florida, correct? It is also the reason how St. Augustine came to be and became the oldest continuously occupied European-​established settlement in the continental United States, yes? (Not really, but it is much more fun and more romantic to distort facts and think that the Fountain of Youth is what fueled a dangerous expedition).
The water is free to taste and it is stale water. But hey, how often would one be able to say «I drank from the Fountain of Youth?» In my case, it worked! Since I have had a sip of the water, I have looked younger! (Braces have the magic of doing that, but since I am already distorting facts, let us just attribute my suddenly youthful glow to magic water and not awkward orthodontics).
The park is also an archaeological park, so there are a few things to learn about the beginnings of St. Augustine — how the Spaniards navigated, the local peoples of the area, etc. The grounds are also gorgeous and pretty things (i.e. peacocks) call it home.
Do stop by if you were in St. Augustine and have an hour or so to spare.

Worth checking out.
We popped in while in St. Augustine. There is a charge to get in, $ 15 for adults. I bought it was worth it. There are people dressed in character that do demonstrations throughout the park. We watched a crossbow demonstration and the shooting of the cannon… Pretty neat.
There are replicas and monuments that you can enter, and a drink of water from the Fountain of Youth is free. You can take your time, the schedule of the different demos are on the tour map, or do a quick walk through. I’d say it’s worth trying out.

Yes, it is quite gimmicky, and possibly one of the biggest tourist traps in Saint Augustine, but c’mon, how could you NOT go? Most people think of the fountain of youth as one of the main reasons to go, or at least, one of the main things to see while in Saint Augustine, so just go ahead and scratch it off your list. The grounds are pretty big, you can see the gardens, the mission, and of course, the fountain, which is more like a stream, coming from what resembles a well. I was expecting some stone-​grated antique fountain emanating water, but no. The water also tastes like the rest of Saint Augustine’s tap water *shrug* and no anti-​aging properties have been observed, I am sad to report. There is a montage showing the natives and how they would have dressed back then, this is the backdrop of the area where the fountain is located. This is educational for kids and I find it amusing that someone below in the reviews complained about the mannequins’ nipples and how offensive it was to children to see essentially, a naked doll, but to each her own.
The mission was pretty interesting, I enjoyed walking in and taking photos. There are also peacocks all around the place, and combined with the Spanish moss-​draped trees, you may feel like you’re in a place other than Florida. I was disappointed about the fact that one of their scheduled presentations closed its doors 5 minutes before its starting time and would not let anyone in (beats me why they would do that, and not even put some sort of sign on the door perhaps explaining «full to capacity»), as well as the fact that the watchtower was closed off for renovations. Both of these things being unavailable were pretty disappointing. I did enjoy the little nature walk, which led to some benches where you could see birds wading in the water, but I do feel like the admission price is a bit expensive, especially if they’re going to close off the tower and not allow people into the presentation. They should at least offer some sort of discount or apology for having these off-​limits. It’s definitely a «once you’ve seen it, there is no need to return» kind of place, so I guess it served its purpose.

I definitely had a blast at this park. Its huge so definitely give your self plenty of time to explore. Staff are very knowledgeable of the history which was great to listen to. They shoot canons all day which is a great treat.
Minus one star cause I think the 12 dollar entrance was way too expensive. Plus, I wish the peacocks were free to roam. Also, the water smelled disgusting. I tasted it. Only to find out it was named the fountain of youth not because it makes you young or stay young but because when Ponce De Leon first discovered the land the people who lived there were living up to 85 when people in Europe only lived til 35 or so. That was a bummer.
Overall, great time. Loved it.