The entrance to Fort Morgan
Fort Morgan

Fort Morgan State Historic Site

Fort Morgan is a star-shaped brick fort built from 1819 to 1834 to guard the main channel into Mobile Bay, and a National Historic Landmark. It's at the far west end of Highway 180, about 22 miles from Gulf Shores, and you can arrive or leave on the Mobile Bay Ferry from Dauphin Island. Adults pay $8; the grounds are open daily from 8 am to 5 pm, the museum from 9 am to 4 pm.

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Plan your visit
Checked November 5, 2026Adults $8Open daily 8 am–5 pm

Fort Morgan, Alabama · Photo: Altairisfar / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain · Credits

The short answer

Before you drive out to the fort

The museum closes an hour before the grounds, so if you arrive in the afternoon, see it first.

Source: Alabama Historical Commission: plan your visit.

Where
51 Hwy 180 West, Gulf Shores, at the west end of Highway 180
Hours
Fort and grounds 8 am–5 pm, museum 9 am–4 pm, daily
Closed
Thanksgiving, Christmas and January 1
Adults
$8; tickets can be bought online ahead
Wheelchairs
The museum, the restrooms and the fort's ground level are accessible
Phone
251-540-5257
Admission

Which ticket you need

Active, reserve and retired military get in free with ID. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the fort is a Blue Star Museum, so families of active-duty service members go free too. Buy tickets online.

Source: Alabama Historical Commission: Fort Morgan.

Adults
$8
Seniors, college students, children 6–18
$5
Family of four (2 adults, 2 children)
$20
Military (active, reserve or retired, with ID)
Free
Families of active-duty military, Memorial Day to Labor Day
Free
School groups
$3 per person
At the fort

What to see

The site covers more than a century of coastal defense: the brick fort from the 1830s, the concrete batteries from around 1900, and the museum's story from 1814 to 1945.

Groups book by email through the Alabama Historical Commission. The fort also hosts weddings, from $1,000 for a ceremony, and camping here is only for Scout troops.

The fort
The star-shaped brick fort, finished in 1834 and built to control the main ship channel into Mobile Bay
Concrete batteries
Built from 1895 to 1904 for 19 guns and mortars
Museum
The military history of Mobile Point from 1814 to 1945
Army buildings
Exteriors of military buildings from 1898 to 1910
Museum store
Collectibles, toys, books and gifts; open 7 days a week, 251-540-7127
Birds
A stopover for migrating birds in spring and fall, and a Globally Important Bird Area
Boat ramp
$2 a day, $10 a week, $25 a month
Plan the day

Fort hours and the ferry schedule

The winter ferry schedule runs from the end of daylight saving time until it starts again. From Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, a second boat runs when it's busy.

Fort and grounds
8 am–5 pm
Museum
9 am–4 pm
Ferry from Fort Morgan, winter
8:45 am–5:45 pm, every 90 minutes
Ferry from Fort Morgan, daylight saving time
8:45 am–7:15 pm, every 90 minutes; every 45 minutes from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day
Ferry from Dauphin Island
From 8 am; last 5 pm in winter, 6:30 pm in daylight saving time
Closed
The fort and the ferry both close on Thanksgiving, Christmas and January 1
Each driver, passenger or walk-on
$6, good with your receipt for every crossing that day
Car under 22 feet
$15 each way, plus $6 per person
Vehicle, trailer or RV from 22 feet
$20 each way, plus $6 per person
Motorcycle
$7 each way, plus $6 per person
Bikes, pets, kids 3 and under
No extra charge; pets on a leash outside the car
Example
A car with a driver and one passenger pays $27 one way

You can't reserve the ferry or buy tickets online; pay at the landing. Arrive 30 minutes to an hour early, since vehicles board in order of arrival. With a vehicle over 21 feet, call the ferry first at 251-861-3000.

The Mobile Bay Ferry in detail

History

From Fort Bowyer to World War II

Before Fort Morgan, a smaller fort stood on Mobile Point and changed hands in the War of 1812. The brick fort that followed saw its big day in 1864, when Farragut gave the order remembered as "Damn the torpedoes!"

Sources: Fort Morgan history, Fort Morgan.

1813
The US Army builds Fort Bowyer, a small log and sand fort, at Mobile Point
September 15, 1814
Four British warships with Royal Marines and Creek warriors attack Fort Bowyer; the Americans hold, and HMS Hermes is sunk
February 1815
A second British attack by land and sea forces the outnumbered garrison to surrender; the fort is handed back after the war
1819–1834
Fort Morgan is built, slowly because the site is so remote, by skilled masons, many of them enslaved African Americans
August 5, 1864
In the Battle of Mobile Bay, Admiral David Farragut leads his fleet past the fort's guns into the bay, losing one ship
August 23, 1864
After a two-week siege, the fort surrenders
1895–1910
Concrete batteries with 19 guns and mortars go up, and the post grows to almost 100 buildings; five wooden ones survive
Spanish-American War, World War I
Soldiers man the concrete batteries
World War II
The military occupies the fort for more than two years, then returns it to the state
Getting there

Highway 180 to the end of the peninsula

Highway 180 runs west along the peninsula to the fort.

The Fort Morgan Peninsula

Day trips from Gulf Shores

From Gulf Place, Gulf Shores
About 21.9 miles, 33 minutes
From The Lodge at Gulf State Park
About 23.3 miles, 36 minutes
From The Wharf, Orange Beach
About 25.8 miles, 38 minutes
From Dauphin Island
The Mobile Bay Ferry, about 40 minutes across
Stay nearby

Hotels closest to the fort

Miles and minutes by road from the fort. For a condo or house on the peninsula, search Vrbo.

Fort Morgan vacation rentals on Vrbo

What people ask

Quick answers

Can you buy Fort Morgan tickets online?

Yes, before your visit. Adults pay $8, and a family of four $20.

How long is the ferry from Fort Morgan to Dauphin Island?

About 40 minutes. You can't reserve: buy tickets at the landing and arrive 30 minutes to an hour before departure, since vehicles board in order of arrival.

When does the ferry leave Fort Morgan?

The first boat leaves at 8:45 am all year. In winter, from the end of daylight saving time until it starts again, the last leaves at 5:45 pm; during daylight saving time it's 7:15 pm. Boats run every 90 minutes, and every 45 minutes from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.

Is Fort Morgan a state park?

It's a State Historic Site run by the Alabama Historical Commission, and a National Historic Landmark.

What happened at Fort Morgan in the Civil War?

On August 5, 1864, Union ships under Admiral Farragut ran past the fort into Mobile Bay. The fort held out under siege until August 23, 1864.