The Usina Bridge may traverse a single mile of road, but it travels nearly 450 years to the first continuous settlement in what was to become the continental United States, St. Augustine, predating Plymouth and Jamestown by decades. Admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés came ashore on August 28, 1565, the Feast Day of Saint Augustine. Eight hundred soldiers and Spanish colonists joined Menéndez at the new village. Menendez was sent by the Spanish rulers to remove the threat of foreign claims on this new territory, first claimed for his country by Juan Ponce de Leon in 1513.
Visitor Tip
16.7 miles heading south on the byway.
19.1 miles – South Ponte Vedra Park North beach parking/walkover
___ miles – Mid-Beach Parking and Walkover
22.7 miles – Lower beach access, bathrooms, playground on west side
____miles – Usina Boat Ramp Park
____miles – Boating Club Road Boat Ramp
____miles – North Beach Park
Points Of Interest
- Ponte Vedra Beach
- Bird Island Park
- Mickler’s Landing
- Guana Tolomato Matanzas
- Guana Tolomato Matanzas Environmental Ed Center
- Nease Beachfront Park
- Vilano Beach
- Colonial St. Augustine
- St. Augustine
- The Flagler Factor
- America’s Tourism Capital 1890-1930
- Anastasia Island
- Fort Matanzas – National Monument
- Marineland and UF Whitney Lab
- Washington Oaks Gardens State Park
- Malacompra Plantation Archaeological Site
- Betty Steflik Memorial Reserve
- Flagler Beach Pier
- Gamble Rogers Memorial State Park