Can you believe that the Fountain of Youth is a real place and that you can actually drink from the Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine, FL?

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The water has been flowing for centuries at the House Spring at the site of Fountain of Youth Archeological Park the same spring that Ponce de León searched and found during his quest for eternal life when he landed on Florida’s historic coast in 1513. Now it is home to the Fountain of Youth Archeological Park and family fun attraction.
I’m not sure if it really restores the youth of anyone who drinks it but it is pretty fun to drink from at Fountain of Youth Archeological Park!The group below began as a group of middle-aged people. ha! I won’t take credit for that joke, it was from the driver of the Ripley’s Trolley!
The Fountain of Youth Archeological Park is a 15 acre waterfront historical park that is perfect for families. This St. Augustine attraction is a MUST for everyone. There is so much to do, see, and learn on the grounds, in the theater, and with the costumed personnel. Plan on spending at least a couple hours at this park to really experience all it has to offer.
The Fountain of Youth Archeological Park is the site of the original settlement of St. Augustine where Pedro Menendez de Aviles founded the settlement. The Timucua Native Americans occupied this area since 2,400 B.C. Ponce de Leon came ashore in 1513. In 1565, the city of St. Augustine was founded, located at the site of Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. In 1587, the first Catholic mission was established here as well.
This is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the USA. This area represents the way it was back in 1565 through extensive archaeological excavation and research. At The Fountain of Youth, you can really feel how the First Settlement lived with proper scale and placement.
You’ll learn about animals that call St. Augustine home still to this day too on land and water.
Although not native to Florida, you’ll find about 20-30 peacocks roaming the park! These beautiful creatives are exciting to see and hear as they wonder throughout the park.
There are riffle and cannon demonstrations throughout the day that you won’t want to miss as well. No worries, they don’t actually fire cannons, it just sounds like it!
You can even climb a Spanish Lookout 35-foot wooden tower! You’ll find many throughout St. Augustine as they were placed to helped sentries see farther to discover threats earlier. The only problem was that they were easy to burn to the ground and had to be rebuilt many, many times!
Check out the San Agustin, a St. Augustine Workboat. This boat would use manpower or wind power.
It is a beautiful walk on the Founder’s Pier over the Esturay. There was plenty of wildlife in the brackish marsh between the saltwater and freshwater bodies of water. Here, you can spy plenty of fish, shellfish, and marine mammals including manatees and porpoise and reptiles including alligators, loggerhead turtles. We saw small schools of fish and plenty of birds.
The Great Cross St Augustne Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche at Mission Nombre de Dios is easily spotted from the pier as well.
Sit back and watch the Blacksmith work with red hot metal to create objects from iron or steel. Blacksmiths would make items like gates, railings, light fixtures, furniture, sculpture tools, agricultural implements, cooking utensils, weapons, and more by heating the pieces of wrought iron or steel until they became soft enough to shape with hand tools. There are demonstrations throughout the day.
There are interactive areas to engage everyone, including kids throughout the park. For instance, try your best to lift the barrels. Kids will soon discover that the barrel with the most rope requires the least strength to lift, just a small lesson in the principle of mechanical advantage.
The park has been an actual archaeological site for years. Over the past 80 years, they have had major finds that have actually rewritten history textbooks.You can try your hand at it as well!
This is just one way that the Fountain of Youth Archeological Park makes learning history fun for all ages.
This must-see attraction is fun for all ages and is dog-friendly as well.
Fountain of Youth Archeological Park
11 Magnolia Avenue
St. Augustine, FL
Main Phone: 904 829 3168
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