Fort Abercrombie State Historical Park Local Custom Tips by herzog63

Building castles in the sand

I've seen some pretty cool sand castles here on Mill Bay Beach....Not this one!! haha My son and I built this one in just a few minutes.

A day at the beach

If you go to Mill Bay Beach on one of the Hot days you will be amazed at the amount of families that come here with Beach Towel in hand and bikinis on!! I've seen about 30 kids at a time swimming in the bay here. It's too cold for my old bones...I prefer the warmer waters of Lake Gertrude. I'll need to take a photo next summer of the Packed Beach! There is usually enough drift wood around to start a fire. Bring some hotdogs and marshmallows from some good beach food!! haha

Great family hiking!

There are lot's of trails and none of them are more than a mile or two long. So if you have family members that want to do a hike but don't want to hike all day this is the place to do some hiking! If you bring a dog he is welcome but the park has a rule stating that dogs must be on a leash.

Several varieties of Wild Flowers

In and around the park there are several varieties of wild flowers but don't ask me what they are because I call them something different each time. I just like to look at them and photograph them.

Salmon Berries

From Late July to late August you can find Sweet Salmon Berries growing all over Kodiak Island and Fort Abercrombie is no exception. You can find them right along the access road but the only problem with that is that if we haven't had much rain they will be covered in dust. But you can easily find many "Dust Free" Salmon Berry patches.

Enjoy the views of Monaska Bay and mountains

Even on most of the grayest , darkest days you can enjoy the views of Monashka Bay and the surrounding mountains and you might even spot one of the local fishing boats setting thier nets in Monaska Bay. Sunshine is always a bonus though.

Father and son enjoying the views

Here's a shot of my son and myself enjoying some spring Whale watching! We could see the whales "blowing" out in the bay. But much too far out for anything to show up on a photo so you'll just have to take my word for it!! haha

Bear Proof Trash bins

There have been Bear sightings in the park. But it is rare especially now that the State Parks people have changed the style of trash bins. All trash bins have a latch that only a human can open....Sorry Mr Bear, you can't eat the trash anymore!!
And Please if you bring litter in to the park use the trash bins or better yet take all your trash back out and use one of the public Dumpsters in town as the State Parks are taking quite a hit with all the budget cuts!! It drives me crazy to go on one our walks/hikes through the park and to find coke cans on the trail! Who raises these kinds of people??? Gosh my I watched my son chase a gum wrapper down the trail one day that got away from him in the wind....he got it back and put it in his pocket!!