Highway 90. Admission charged for the ferry ride to Ship Island. A ferry departs from Gulfport Small Craft Harbor located at the intersection of Highway 49 and U.S. Access to Ship Island is seasonal and by passenger ferry aboard Ship Island Excursions. Tours are scheduled twice daily in the summer, and once daily in the spring and fall. The tours begin inside the fort soon after the Ship Island ferry boat docks at the island. Rangers and volunteers give free guided tours of Fort Massachusetts during the spring, summer and fall. Learn about this formidable structure, why built on an isolated island, and what was it protecting. It is now more than 1 mile from the west end of the island, and sand has been dredged and placed to protect the north side of the fort from erosion. Originally the fort was located 500 feet from the west end of Ship Island. The fort was never fully armed, and only manned by caretaker detachments from the end of the Civil War until its abandonment by the army around 1900.įort Massachusetts has a round face which oriented toward the deep-water harbor. Construction of the fort continued during the Civil War, with supplies brought in by ship from the North. The island was later used by the Federal troops to stage their invasion of New Orleans. It was occupied by a short time by the Confederates however they later abandoned it to the Federals. It was used by the British to stage their invasion of New Orleans in the War of 1812.Ĭonstruction of Fort Massachusetts did not begin until 1859, and by the beginning of the Civil War, little had been completed. The importance of this location is the strategic deep water harbor located near the island. Fort Massachusetts was one of the last Third System forts constructed. Learn more at, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.Fort Massachusetts is located on the western tip of Ship Island - 12 miles south of Gulfport and operated under the Gulf Islands National Seashore. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at, on Facebook, Twitter , and Instagram. October 26, the National Park Service (NPS) closed all Mississippi areas and islands of Gulf Islands National Seashore in advance of Hurricane Zeta impacting the Gulf Coast.Ībout Gulf Islands National Seashore: Created in 1971, the national seashore stretches 160 miles along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico in Florida and Mississippi, and includes barrier islands, maritime forests, historic forts, bayous, and marine habitat. With thirteen distinct areas to visit and six of them in Coastal Mississippi, there are several things to see and do while celebrating the natural beauty of the. Gulf Islands National Seashore offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of. Gulf Islands National Seashore located along the coast of Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle is perfect for nature lovers and outdoor adventurers. Most of the Seashore’s islands were reopened following Hurricane Zeta including Petit Bois, West Petit Bois, and Horn islands, and the NPS portion of Cat Island. Also known as American’s largest national seashore, the Gulf Islands National Seashore of Florida and Mississippi spans 160 miles from east to west. Colmer Visitor Center remains closed under the park’s Phase II COVID-19 Adaptive Recovery Plan to assure public health and safety. The national seashore was created in 1971. The total area of 215 square miles (556 square km) is nearly equally apportioned between Florida and Mississippi. The Davis Bayou Nature’s Way boardwalk trail is closed due to damage from Hurricane Zeta. The national seashore stretches some 160 miles (260 km) from Cat Island in Mississippi (west) to Santa Rosa Island in Florida (east) and is divided by the state of Alabama. The island will reopen Mafor private boats to anchor offshore, skiff ashore, or beach small boats, and enjoy the beaches. – Gulf Islands National Seashore has completed storm damage assessments and all facilities (dock, pier, boardwalk, restrooms, pavilions, snack bar, and Fort Massachusetts) on Ship Island remain closed due to extensive damage.
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