By climbing up the stairs of passageway #1 or #2, you will find yourself on the North Ramparts. From the North Ramparts, one has a good view of Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, and the Cataraqui River, which leads to the Rideau Canal. The majority of the fort's firepower is concentrated on the north side, because the Americans were expected to land further down the St. Lawrence where the river narrows and attack overland.

Most of the guns on the ramparts would have 24-pounder, smooth bore, muzzle-loading guns, which means that they could fire a solid shot weighing up to 24 pounds that was loaded from the muzzle (front) of the gun.

If you walk along the ramparts towards the flag pole, you should be moving from the North Ramparts to the East Ramparts, where you can see the East Flanking Ditch. Two flanking ditches extend down to the water on either side of the fort, preventing the enemy from skirting the sides of the fort and attacking the Advanced Battery. Additional fire was provided by two towers at the ends of the flanking ditches.

The similar tower directly in front of you, on Cedar Island, is one of the four Martello towers that protect the Kingston waterfront. In the original plan for the defense of the three waterways, six fortresses were to be deployed along the shores of Lake Ontario, the Cataraqui, and the St Lawrence Rivers, with Martello towers spaced at half-mile intervals between them. The four towers existing today are Cathcart Redoubt (on Cedar Island), Fort Frederick (at the Royal Military College), Victoria or Shoal Tower (at the Kingston marina) and Murney Tower (about one kilometre to the west of Shoal Tower).

Beside the flagpole, you can walk down an outdoor flight of stairs, and at the bottom or base, of the flagpole, you will be by the home of the Fort's mascot, David the goat.