Staff are so nice and I will definitely be back! The beach isn't crowded and this place is worth…read morecoming to and supporting. Saved for future!

The Nathaniel P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge is part of the U.S. National Wildlife…read moreRefuge System. It is located in the Town of Jupiter Island in Florida. This is the perfect spot to learn about the local animal habitats. This great for the kids to enjoy and explore nature at its natural beauty. The Staff and Rangers are very friendly and extremely knowledgeable. The trails are nice and lead to an amazing white sandy beach.

I loved I really relax in the place is very secure and I recommend it. You must go earlyread more

I was planning on eating dinner at Frigate's up the street but when I saw the pictures of this park…read moreonline I had to make a detour first. Lake Side Park is located in the Village of North Palm Beach. It is behind a neighborhood with homes that have back yards that seem to blend in to the park providing them with a stunning view at the back of their properties. Park amenities include a basket ball court although the netting for basket is missing, a sand volleyball court, a playground with swings, and a large Tiki hut picnic shelter that can be rented if you ten or more people and you are a city resident. There are also large trees and paved paths that wind through the park. Some people have homes that have back yards that seem to blend in to the park providing them with a stunning view at the back of their properties. The real jewel of the park is the beach access to the Intracoastal Waterway. The park has a hard packed beach you can stroll down. It can be accessed from one end of the park by just stepping on the sand and at the other steeper end of the park there are two stair ways that lead down to the beach. Across the water you can see the condos lining Singer Island. This is a great place to enjoy the breeze and watch the boats sail by. If you are in the area I highly recommend stopping by to take in the beautiful scenery.

There are several public beaches in Stuart north of the Elliot Museum. Virginia Forrest Beach is…read moreone of the more secluded options. This beach park was created with land donated by Virginia Forrest in 1973 In 1961 Virginia Forrester became the first woman to win the Florida Governor's Award for Conservation. She participated in community affairs throughout her life. In 1972 she founded the Bucks County Conservation Alliance in New Hope, Pa., and she continued to serve as an adviser to the organization. She was a director of the Environmental Studies Center in Stuart, and a founder and director from 1966 to 1975 of the Martin County Conservation Alliance in Stuart. She passed away in 1991 at the age of 94. It was so kind of Virginia Forrester to donate this land so that her message of conservation can live on. I know she would be pleased that sea turtles are nesting on her beach. Another great feature of this low key beach is the fact that you are more likely to get a parking spot which are free but there is no lifeguard or restrooms. The beaches south of Gilbert's Bar are way more crowded. If you are looking for a more peaceful beach then Virginia Forrest Beach is great for swimming, beachcombing, birdwatching, or taking long walks along the shore. From the parking lot it is just a short hike up over the sand dune to paradise.

The Gomez Preserve Nature Trail is a 61 acre preserve that was purchased in 1992 by Martin County…read more In the early 1900's, it was the site of a Bahamian settlement along the Indian River Lagoon where some of the earliest inhabitants of the Hobe Sound area lived. There is no parking at this preserve. It lies between Seabranch Preserve and Peck Lake Park so you would have to park at one of those and bike or hike about a mile over. The nature trail directly connects to the paved portion of the East Coast Greenway, which goes directly through Seabranch Preserve State Park. The East Coast Greenway is a 17.6 mile trail that connects Port St. Lucie, Jensen Beach, Stuart, Port Salerno, and Hobe Sound. The hard packed shellrock Gomez Preserve Nature Trail is a .3 mile loop. There is a picnic pavilion at the north end and a shaded bench at the south end of the preserve. Along the trail you will find several sets of exercise equipment that uses your body weight to work out. Animals that make their home here include raccoons, bobcats, gopher tortoise, osprey, and song birds. The trail traverses through pine and palm flatwoods, pine trees, and cabbage palms. I enjoyed a peaceful walk through the preserve and I appreciated that most of the trail was shaded. This is an easy hike suitable for all abilities and fitness levels. It is also ideal for cyclists. Leashed dogs are welcome. The only negative was the flying insects. I recommend mosquito spray before you hit the trail and bring water.

A brand new, 104.9-acre nature preserve, Rosser Lakes Preserve, opened earlier this month in Port…read moreSt. Lucie. It's the first property acquired under the city's Naturally PSL Land Bank, a new initiative to conserve and protect land. The preserve is located between Interstate 95 and Rosser Boulevard. The city purchased the property on February 20, 2026, for $2.5 million. Originally slated for 100 homes, the land has instead been transformed into a community preserve dedicated to passive recreation. Rosser Lakes Preserve is open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to sunset. The preserve features two large lakes that are popular for shoreline fishing. Visitors can also canoe or kayak on the lakes, hike the trails, and enjoy wildlife watching. During my hike, I spotted several birds, a marsh rabbit, and even an alligator in the lake. Port St. Lucie has already identified 198 acres of existing natural preserves and designated nearly 745 additional acres for future green space. The trail network has grown to 41 miles, with 20 more miles planned. Two new parks opened in 2024, and six more are expected to open soon. I applaud Port St. Lucie's commitment to conservation and its efforts to preserve natural areas for both residents and visitors to enjoy.

I've been wanting to visit this ERM park ever since visiting its neighbor, Juno Dunes Natural Area…read more The last time I tried to visit, the very small parking lot was full. From the road, this park looks to be all scrub, but like the other park, it contains multiple habitats inside. The first paved walk leads to a very nice pavilion overlooking the River. The view was peaceful and beautiful. Trying to access the unpaved trails, however, proved problematic. We turned onto the red path, only to find that the marker stakes had most of the red faded away and were difficult to find. At one point there is a huge fork in the path with no direction on which way to go. The end of the trail is practically non existent, with no clear path, but it does return us to the park entrance. I insisted on trying to get to Ski Beach- whatever that was! It looked about a 1/3 the way of the yellow trail. The path was very sandy, and difficult to walk on for that reason, and it seemed to take forever! When we finally found Ski Beach, we found another Park kiosk, a garbage can, and a tiny path down to... a beach! and the Intracoastal. We watched fish swim by, and lots of boats go by. This could be a nice place to wade or further explore, if you lugged all of your things here. ERM, would have loved finding a bench here, so we had someplace to take our shoes on and off. We did not continue down the yellow trail due to being exhausted, but I would like to do this again. The landscape was nice- just difficult to walk in due to the white sand. We saw a cactus in bloom, a snake, and a TON of lichen. Lichen everywhere! It really looked like little fairy landscapes to me. I think I finally identified Florida rosemary too! Kudo to ERM for the map/brochures. My kids pore over every aspect of it while we walk, trying to find all the natural items pictured, excitedly matching the pictures to plants. Thank you!

Jupiter Ridge is located south of the Jupiter inlet. It is part of the Great Florida Bird and…read moreWildlife Trail. This natural area is made up of 274 acres of scrub that contain five native Florida ecosystems: scrub, scrubby flatwoods, mesic flatwoods, depression marsh and mangrove swamp, It is one of the few places you can go in Jupiter to see how Florida looked before it was developed. Thirty one plant species live here as well as threatened and endangered species like the large-flowered rosemary, the Florida scrub-jay; and the gopher tortoise. Jupiter Ridge is owned by the state Conservation and Recreation Lands project which is managed by Palm beach County. This natural area has the longest shoreline along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway of any other natural area in Palm Beach County. There is also 7,600 feet of water frontage along the Intracoastal Waterway along the Loxahatchee River/Lake Worth Creek Aquatic Preserve. There are three hiking trails, the paved Little Blue Heron Trail, (0.2 miles), the sand Scrub Lizard Trail (1.7 miles). and the sand Pawpaw Trail (0.6 miles). The sand trails really give your legs a work out and there is no shade so the sun can be brutal. The natural area has canoe and kayak access from Ski Beach and you may be able to spot manatees. There is also an observation platform on the Little Blue heron Trail that overlooks Old Lake Worth Creek. Jupiter Ridge Natural Area is open to the public, sunrise to sunset, seven days a week.

Jock Leighton Park is located in Palm City, an unincorporated section of Martin County. The city of…read moreStuart is located just to the east. Martin County operates the park. This park was named in honor of Jock Stewart Leighton, a prominent Stuart and Palm City businessman. Jock moved with family from Pittsburg to the area before the age of 1. He passed away on January 27, 1998 at the age of 77. Jock Leighton Park has a lot of sports amenities for the community. During my visit the athletic fields were being used for a game. The park also has a playground, benches, picnic pavilions, picnic tables, grills, and skate park. You don't see too many skate parks around anymore because of the chance someone could get hurt and it is an insurance liability but this is actually one of three skate parks in Martin County. My favorite part of the park were all the beautiful trees trees on the playground side. It was also fun to grab a cone from the ice cream truck. Keep an eye out for events because the county uses the park to stage food truck and movie nights.

Cute little park. Seemed very clean and maintained. It is near a busy street so there is some…read morenoise. They have a playground and skate park.

This lovely park was such a fun find on a recent visit to Port St. Lucie. I was exploring some of…read morethe nature preserves in the area for hiking when I discovered this well appointed park located in the Rosser area of Port St. Lucie. Woodland Trails Park opened in 2017 and received its name from neighborhood residents. Highlights of this park include a dog park, shade covered nature themed playground, and picnic area with restrooms. There is also open space for play with a soccer goal, shade covered outdoor fitness equipment, and the Born Learning Trail where children can play as they learn. The Born Learning Trail takes you to my favorite part of the park, the natural area. Tall trees provide shade as you stroll through a pine flatwood habitat. These habitats are crucial for local wildlife and they offer native plants a place to thrive. Abundant pinecones can be found all over the ground. The paved pathway is ideal for bikers and walkers. While not overly long it is the perfect space to make you feel removed from suburbia for at least a few minutes. Come for a picnic, play, or exercise. There is so much to enjoy at Woodland Trails Park.

Sorry not sure what people are used to in the area. I thought this dog park was ridiculous. The…read moreyard at the house Im staying at is bigger with way more grass than sand. No real room for dogs to run and play. Very disappointed. Wasted trip to the dog park. I actually took my dog to the soccer field right beside the dog park to run after his ball. Pretty sure i wasn't supposed to but i did.