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Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail
Segment 20
Hobe Sound/Ft. Pierce
Emergency contact information:
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911
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Martin County Sheriff’s Department: 772-220-7000
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St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Department: 772-462-7300
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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission 24-hour wildlife emergency/boating under the influence
hotline: 1-888-404-3922
Begin: Jonathan
Dickinson State Park
End: Ft. Pierce
Distance: 44.5 miles
Special Considerations:
Special precautions should be taken in the narrow portions of the
Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) regarding boat traffic; be wary of large
boats and their wakes. Boat wakes often rebound off sea walls. Boat
traffic is higher on weekends and holidays. Do not tie kayaks to docks
along the ICW as boat wakes may cause swamping or damage; always lift
them out of the water. Lack of camping opportunities and the erosion of
some spoil islands are the reasons for the 20-plus miles that need to be
covered each day. Staying at the Jupiter Waterfront Inn instead of
Jonathan Dickinson State Park can shave off about 7 miles from the day
one total.
Introduction
In 1696, Quaker merchant
Jonathan Dickinson became shipwrecked along the coast near Peck Lake. He
and his crew were captured by Jobe or Hobe (Hoe-Bay) Indians, later
released, and they walked to St. Augustine. In his book God’s
Protecting Providence, Dickinson writes of first setting foot on the
coast: “the wilderness country looked very dismal, having no trees,
but only sand hills covered with shrubby palmetto, the stalks of which
were prickly, that there was no walking amongst them.”
Later, Dickinson’s group
was marched south by the native inhabitants to their main village along
Jupiter Inlet. “After we had traveled about five miles along the deep
sand, the sun being extremely hot, we came to an inlet,” Dickinson
wrote. “On the other side was the Indian town, being little wigwams
made of small poles stuck in the ground, which they bended one to
another, making an arch, and covered them with thatch of small
palmetto-leaves.” The shipwreck survivors learned to bury themselves
in sand to avoid the mosquito hordes while the Indians often used bear
grease and fish oil. Eventually, they were released, whereupon they
walked north to St. Augustine.
Much has changed in this
part of Florida since Dickinson’s day. The Jobe and other area Indians
became extinct, and the human population growth in the area has
skyrocketed. But thanks to the efforts of state and local officials and
private citizens, several premier parks provide a glimpse into
seventeenth century Florida.
This segment features
four state parks: Jonathan Dickinson, St. Lucie Inlet Preserve,
Seabranch Preserve and Ft. Pierce Inlet. All are accessible from the ICW
and are good spots to explore natural Florida. Only Jonathan Dickinson,
at the beginning, has a regular family campground. Ft. Pierce Inlet has
a primitive youth/group campsite. To learn more, log onto http://www.floridastateparks.org/
For Martin County park information, log onto http://www.martin.fl.us/GOVT/depts/prd/
and for St. Lucie County, log onto: http://www.stlucieco.gov/leisure/
Two Florida aquatic
preserves are part of this segment. The Loxahatchee River-Lake Worth
Creek and Jensen Beach to Jupiter Inlet Indian River. Both preserves
consist of seagrass beds, marshes, mangroves, oyster bars and tidal
flats—vital nursery habitats for a variety of fish and marine
creatures. To learn more, log onto http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/programs/aquatic.htm
Leave No Trace guidelines
should be followed for all primitive camping. To learn more about Leave
No Trace guidelines, log onto http://www.lnt.org/
1.
Jonathan Dickinson State Park to Spoil Island MC3, 23.5 miles
From the park boat ramp,
proceed almost five miles down river to the ICW. Since the ICW makes a
sharp bend here, keep heading east to Jupiter Inlet and make a sharp
turn north. The inlet marks the beginning of the 155-mile Indian River
Lagoon. See segment 19 text for information about Jonathan Dickinson
State Park and points of interest along the Jupiter Inlet. If beginning
at the Jupiter Waterfront Inn along the ICW, it will be about 16.5 miles
to Spoil Island MC3.
Numerous points of
interest in this stretch will help to break up the day’s paddling.
Coral Cove Park is a short ways north of Jupiter Inlet along the east
side of the ICW. This natural area provides walking access to the beach
side and to the Blowing Rocks Preserve, managed by the Nature
Conservancy, just to the north. The beach here boasts uniquely shaped
Anastasia limestone outcroppings that consist of coquina shells, other
seashells and sand.
Continuing north on the
ICW, you’ll enter the 1000-acre Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge,
home to over 70 endangered species. You can access the refuge’s nature
center on the west side of the ICW and learn more about the area’s
wildlife and ecology.
About 5 miles farther
north, Peck Lake Park features a quarter-mile boardwalk with impressive
interpretive panels about the area’s history and environment. In
summer, you may spot the elusive mangrove cuckoo or hear its sweet song.
St. Lucie Inlet State Park
on the eastern side of the ICW also features a long boardwalk, this one
to a 2.7-mile public beach. A winding tidal creek through the park is
also an inviting kayak trail. St. Lucie was named for an early
blockhouse built by Spaniards in 1565. They were searching for survivors
of a lost Spanish treasure fleet and built the blockhouse when the area’s
Native Americans proved to be hostile. Failing to convert the Indians to
Christianity, constant attacks prompted the Spanish to abandon the area
within two years.
Spoil Island MC3 is large
with high and dry camping and some shade. Best access is on the south
and west sides.
2. Spoil
Island MC3 to Ft. Pierce, 21 miles
The Indian River is up to
two miles wide in this stretch, so it is easy to avoid the sometimes
busy boat channel. Only a mile and a half from the island along the east
side of the waterway is the Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge Museum on
Hutchinson Island. This fascinating historical site is worth a stop. The
building, located on a rock outcropping that provides a commanding view
of the Atlantic shore, is the last of ten houses built along this once
remote East Florida coast in the 1800s to provide comfort and shelter to
shipwreck survivors. It fulfilled its mission on several occasions.
Besides taking a museum
tour, you may want to walk the beach here as it is lined with Anastasia
limestone outcroppings similar to those found at the Blowing Rocks
Preserve to the south. Recent hurricanes uncovered Native American
artifacts near the museum that date back several thousand years. It is
also fascinating to note that black bears once frequented Hutchinson
Island and were shot and eaten by early pioneers.
Take advantage of the
parks near Jensen Beach for water and restroom breaks because few
opportunities exist until Ft. Pierce. Just north of the Hutchinson
Island nuclear power plant, several local park preserves along the
eastern shore offer a scenic unspoiled view and rest stop opportunities,
but no facilities. Wetlands in these parks are being restored by ditch
removal and re-flooding with salt water. Some small spoil islands in the
area, once open for primitive camping, have disappeared due to storms
and erosion.
Ft. Pierce Inlet State
Park has a primitive youth/group campsite, but for regular primitive
camping, you’ll need to proceed north of the inlet to a recommended
spoil island (see segment 21).
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