Fort McClary

If I were judging local forts in the Seacoast and were to give an award for most improved in recent years, the award would go to Fort McClary.

This fort turned state park was manned all the way back to the Revolutionary War, and is located along coastal Route 103 in Kittery, a bit down the road from its larger sibling Fort Foster. I remember visiting McClary in years past when it had a boarded up, abandoned feel to it, but sometime in early 2000 a group called the Friends of Fort McClary began tending to the site, and if you pay a visit today you'll find a clean, informative park with structures to explore, cannons on display, and even officers quarters you can walk through.

There's no charge to visit the park, but there is a voluntary donation spot that I feel is well worth the contribution. Upon entering, first thing you'll see walking through the parking lot is a long cement wall. Walk around this wall and up a hill and you'll be greeted with this sight.

All those inlets in this structure once made good command posts for riflemen - easy to shoot out of, but tricky to shoot into - but nowadays they serve better as quick spots to rest and get a little relief from the sun.

This brick structure is listed as the Rifleman's House and is over 200 years old. Equally impressive, here are our two youngest kids hugging for a picture.

Evidence of what the Friends of Fort McClary have done is no more appreciable than in the next building you'll enter, the Officer's Quarters. This was once boarded up and off limits, but it's been opened and renovated and you're now able to wander all throughout it. Walk up the stairs and you'll even find this cannon, which to Logan's disappointment was not loaded.

After finishing with the buildings make your way down toward the water where you'll find even larger cannons on display.

Another cool spot was this tunnel, which from a distance looks like it's going to lead you right under water. It goes a little ways in before dead-ending at some more of those rifleman openings overlooking the water.

And like all our forts, this one comes with a wonderful view of the Atlantic Ocean.

This isn't the biggest fort we have on the Seacoast, it doesn't have the most bunkers, and there aren't as many hidden spaces to explore as others in the area. But what it does have is perhaps the best blend of all these things in one location. If anyone was new to visiting forts in the area and asked me where a good place to start is, I would direct them here, to Fort McClary.

Links:
Photo Album
Official Website