Shipwreck Stories and Fun for Kids at the McLarty Treasure Museum and Sebastian Inlet

Kids love a good pirate story, or anything that ends in glittering gold, so naturally up and down Florida’s treasure coast there are numerous museums like in St. Augustine, Key West and at the museum of the infamous treasure hunter, Mel Fisher, in the Melbourne area. Pirates may have been good at stealing treasure, but we don’t often stop and think about – where did the treasure come from? How did it get to Florida? Are the stories even real?

Sandwiched between Melbourne Beach and Vero Beach on Florida’s East Central Coast, Sebastian Inlet is home to the McLarty Treasure Museum at the site of the famous Survivors Camp from the ill-fated 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet.

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Nicknamed the “Plate Fleet”, the fleet consisted of 11 Spanish galleons (and one French ship) that all met an untimely fate at the bottom of the seas. As a result, the coast of Florida near Sebastian Inlet became one of the most fruitful spots of water for treasure hunting in history.

This museum shares the history, the stories, and the adventure of treasure hunting on the Florida Treasure Coast. Absolutely worth a day trip or overnight in the area, discover below the McLarty Treasure Museum and its neighboring activities in Sebastian Inlet. 

McLarty Treasure Museum

The Story

It wasn’t always pirates on the high seas. Especially near Florida, it was the Spanish! Often sailing for years at a time, the Kingdom of Spain would send fleets out to gather all the riches they could find from Mexico and even as far as China and the Orient.

From ornate 11 foot long gold chains to strangely fashioned combination toothpick/ear picker, the fleets would capture everything they could to bring home additional wealth to the Spanish empire.

The museum details the story of the doomed and now infamous 1715 fleet, which had spent two years collecting and carrying treasures of gold, pieces of eight, jewels and more for the Kingdom of Spain. Battered brutally by a hurricane, the whole fleet was sunk to the sea, just off the shores of Sebastian Inlet. 

Survivors remained and salvaged some of the sunken treasures, but conditions in Florida were unforgiving and buggy back then. Women and children were buried in the sand to escape the nasty bite of mosquitoes and no-see-ums, and the men worked all day to keep survival efforts going.

Meanwhile, the loss of treasure sent Spain’s people into an impoverished decline. Poor King Philip V of Spain had been long awaiting the fleet’s return to satisfy his new bride, an Italian who would not consummate the marriage until her dowry (on board the fleet) arrived in Spain. As you can guess, the dowry never arrived.

These tales and so many more are just the beginning of a fascinating inside look at the story of the Spanish Treasure Fleet at the McLarty Museum.

The Museum

Fast forwarding to mid-century Florida, treasure hunters like the previously mentioned Mel Fisher and his predecessors of the Real Eight Company like Kip Wagner, have been finding treasures from this wreck, and this state-run museum celebrates the efforts and the story.

Kids will enjoy a scavenger hunt (which earns them a ‘real’ doubloon as a prize), and will love the fresh air boardwalk path to the beach, where they’ll steer their own pirate ship and imagine the survivors’ camp that used to be right under their feet. 

There’s a wonderful film about the story, and afterward maybe they’ll even be inspired to get out a metal detector and find their own treasure in the sand after a storm. Bonus points to Mom and Dad if they’ve already packed one in the car!

Although the museum is not large, we spent about an hour there with the film, boardwalk, and exhibits. This tremendously informative and interesting museum became the talk of the weekend with my five year old, who couldn’t believe she got to take home a “real” piece of eight!

I have to admit, I even got a touch of treasure fever after watching the film. I wonder how much more of the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet remains close to the shoreline of Sebastian Inlet?

Location and Info

The McLarty Museum is located just south of the Sebastian Inlet State Park. Admission is $2 per person, and free for children under 6. Some days are free if there is no official historian/docent on site.

McLarty Treasure Museum
13180 North A1A
Sebastian Inlet State Park
Vero Beach, FL 32963
(772) 589-2147

Be sure to include 30 minutes for the film, and do not miss the observation deck! Children should ask for a scavenger hunt to make the museum more interesting. They may just get a prize!

Nearby at Sebastian Inlet

Nearby activities are plentiful at the nearby Sebastian Inlet State Park. Surfers may enjoy the big waves on the beach side, but families will enjoy the protected cove on the opposite side of the inlet bridge, where calm and shallow waters are a family favorite for wading, swimming, and beach activities.

Across the parking lot on the beachside find the Surfside Grill, where you can have great grab-and-go eats like clam strips, fish and chips, burgers, and the most adorable “bird dog”. At $3.50, it’s just a chicken tender shoved in a hot dog bun – a surefire inexpensive hit with kids!

At the park there are also fishing piers, and further down the road is the exciting Navy Seal Museum.

At the Navy Seal Museum, hop on board full sized boats used by the Navy, browse fascinating diving suits across the last century, and explore really cool exhibits featuring the Navy “Frogmen” at their finest. See full sized diving vessels, a Black Hawk helicopter, interactive exhibits, and so much more! Fun for the whole family, spend at least an hour here.

For camping families, spend the night at Long Point Park (a Brevard County Campground), or at Sebastian Inlet State Park. Hotels are also available in Vero Beach and Melbourne Beach.

Lastly, don’t forget to visit Mel Fisher’s Treasures at 1322 US Hwy 1 inland in Sebastian Florida. You’ll find Mel’s more personally curated artifacts from his years of treasure hunting, including of another ship from 1622 called the Atocha, which met a similar fate as the 1715 fleet.

If you want to spend a good day out with the family uncovering the mystique and stories of centuries old shipwrecks, this is an excellent option. You won’t be disappointed!