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Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail
Segment 19
Palm Beach/Loxahatchee
Emergency contact information:
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911
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Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department: 561-995-2800 (south),
561-688-3000 (north and central)
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Martin County Sheriff’s Department: 772-220-7000
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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission 24-hour wildlife emergency/boating under the influence
hotline: 1-888-404-3922
Begin: Lake Worth
End: Jonathan
Dickinson State Park
Distance: 29 miles
Special Considerations:
Since the route follows
the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW), special precautions should be taken in
the narrow portions of the 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.
Introduction
In 1867, Almeda Armour,
new wife of Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse keeper Captain Armour, learned to
her chagrin that the nearest doctor lived 120 miles away, and that
occasional roving bands of Seminole Indians and visiting ship crews
would be their main company. Still, Almeda Armour bore seven children
during her family’s 40 year stay. They saw many changes, and certainly
many more changes occurred since their departure, but the Jupiter Inlet
Lighthouse still stands. It is one of many interesting points of
interest in this segment for the paddler to investigate.
Besides historical sites,
this segment features two premier state parks and several county parks
and islands, offering a diverse experience for the paddler. The state
parks are John D. MacArthur and Jonathan Dickinson. John D. MacArthur
Beach State Park features up to 1,500 annual sea turtle nests on only
1.8 miles of beach, and Jonathan Dickinson State Park, at 11,500 acres,
boasts 13 different plant communities and miles of hiking and paddling
trails. To learn more, log onto
www.floridastateparks.org
For more information on Palm Beach County Parks, log
onto
http://www.co.palm-beach.fl.us/parks/locations For
camping at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, be sure to reserve a site at
the River Campground by contacting Reserve America at (800) 326-3521 or
log onto
www.reserveamerica.com.
Two Florida aquatic
preserves are part of this segment. The Loxahatchee River-Lake Worth
Creek and Jenson Beach to Jupiter Inlet Indian River. Both preserves
contain seagrass beds, marshes, mangroves, oyster bars and tidal
flats—vital nursery habitat for a variety of fish and marine creatures.
To learn more, log onto
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/programs/aquatic.htm.
1.
Fairfield Inn to Peanut Island, 11 miles
As you paddle north
through the Lake Worth Lagoon, you may notice that this urban estuary
supports a variety of habitats such as mangroves, tidal flats,
seagrasses and oyster bars. Hard to believe that this water body was
once a freshwater lake until the Lake Worth Inlet was created in 1877.
Later, in 1915, the Port of Palm Beach created a permanent inlet at the
northern end of the lagoon, completing the transformation to a brackish
estuary. Water clarity will often change with the tides. The majority of
shoreline that you’ll pass is bulkheaded, although restoration and
enhancement projects are ongoing.
If you are a camping
enthusiast and coming from the south through the lagoon, the 86-acre
Peanut Island will be a welcome sight. This county park offers fee sites
at a full-service campground on the island’s east side and free
primitive beach camping on the west side. Reservations are required, so
call toll-free 866-383-5730 up to three months in advance. One tent is
allowed per site. The park also features a nature trail, an observation
deck, and the Palm Beach Maritime Museum. A highlight of the museum is a
tour of the John F. Kennedy Bunker, constructed as a temporary command
post during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. For museum information,
call 561-540-5147. For bunker tour information, call 561-832-7428.
Museum and tour times may be limited.
Peanut Island was
originally created from dredged spoil material in 1918 and was enlarged
with subsequent dredging. The island is not peanut shaped; its name came
about from an early plan to store and ship peanut oil. In more recent
years, managers have created tidal channels and lavishly landscaped the
island with native vegetation, part of a $13 million environmental
enhancement project completed in 2005. The tall sides of a mound in the
island’s center are actually borders for a huge crater that is still
used to store dredged material.
2.
Peanut Island to Jonathan Dickinson State Park, 18 miles
In a little less than 3
miles, a good rest stop and point of interest is Munyon Island, part of
John D. MacArthur Beach State Park. Accessible only by boat, the island
was once the site of James Munyon’s lavish five-story resort hotel, “The
Hygeia,” named for the Greek goddess of health. Paw-Paw elixir, a tonic
Munyon concocted from sulphur water and papaya juice, was featured at
the resort and billed as a cure-all. The hotel burned down in 1917. More
recently, wetlands and native vegetation have been restored on the
island, helping to reverse the detrimental effects of past dredging and
filling.
The main body of the state
park can best be accessed along the Lake Worth Cove. The park features a
kayak launch, a long boardwalk and nature trails, as well as an
unspoiled beach. From early May through late August, large numbers of
leatherback, green and loggerhead sea turtles nest on the beach.
Soon after Munyon Island,
the ICW bears left and narrows for a long stretch. Fortunately, three
local parks—Juno, Bert Winters and Burt Reynolds--will provide welcome
rest breaks before the ICW opens up into the Loxahatchee River. If you
have time, two points of interest along the Jupiter Inlet are worth
visiting (see map for access points). On the inlet’s south side is
Dubois Park, site of the Dubois Pioneer home which sits atop a tall
Indian midden. Open Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, the spot is also
the site of the Indian village of Jobe or Hobe (Hoe-Bay) where Jonathan
Dickinson and his shipmates were held captive in 1697 after being
shipwrecked along the coast.
On the north side of the
inlet, you can tour the impressive Jupiter Lighthouse. Built in 1860,
the lighthouse stands 105 feet tall and continues to warn approaching
ships of treacherous reefs near the Gulf Stream. The beam also marks the
point where northbound ships can catch the northern flowing current. On
a clear night, the beam can be seen for about 18 miles.
You have two choices for
overnight stays. You can proceed northward up the ICW about two miles
and stay at the Jupiter Waterfront Inn on the west side of the ICW, just
across from the Blowing Rocks Preserve. This will lessen your distance
by 3 miles and lessen your mileage by 7 miles for the next day if
proceeding north. Call 1-888-747-9085 for reservations and more
information.
The other option is to
camp at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Be sure to make a reservation at
the River Campground. You’ll need to paddle about 5 miles up the
Loxahatchee River to the park boat ramp where you can leave your kayak
and walk about 200 yards to the campground. Normally campers must
register for their campsite at the Ranger Station. However, since the
Ranger Station is five miles from the River Campground, paddlers should
have a prepaid reservation for a specific site, and then call the Ranger
Station for check-in upon arrival. There is a payphone at the restroom
in the campground if you don’t have a cell phone.
The state park features
several miles of hiking trails, and it is worth paddling upriver to the
Trapper Nelson Interpretive Site. Known as the “Wildman of the
Loxahatchee,” Nelson came to the area in the 1930s, built a log cabin,
and made his living trapping and selling furs. He eventually opened
“Trapper’s Jungle Gardens and Wildlife Zoo” to the public. The site is
only accessible by boat.
The upper 9.5 miles of the
Loxahatchee River—which includes the stretch through the state park--was
the first of two federally designated wild and scenic rivers in Florida
and is a favorite among paddlers. Kitching Creek, about a mile upriver,
is also worth exploring by kayak where you can marvel at giant leather
ferns that can reach impressive heights of 12 feet.
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