In 1921 the Indian River Land Co. deeded Pocahontas Park to Vero Beach. In the 1920's the park had…read morea small zoo that included alligators, a bear, and a bobcat. The tennis courts were added in 1925. The town's first community center was built in the park in 1935. During WWII it served as a club for Navy personnel training at the airport. After the war it was again used as a community center until a new one was built just north of it. The original center is now The Heritage Center with a museum dedicated to the citrus industry. A plaque outside the building commemorates the spot in Pocahontas Park where on July 2, 1925 William Jennings Bryan delivered a speech for the county's inaugural festivities. Today families visiting the historic Vero Beach downtown area can still enjoy this charming park that has delighted generations of families. The park has pickleball courts, a playground, restroom. shuffle board court, and tennis courts. Standing guard at the entrance to the park is Patriot the fiberglass horse. Pocahontas Park is the perfect place to take the kids to play or to enjoy a game of tennis.

Pocahontas Park is a pleasant enough place located in the Main Street Vero Beach section of the…read moretown. It is more designed for kids, however there are plenty of benches out front and it seems to be a popular place for people just to chill for a bit.

Took a long walk with my wife along the trail with beautiful views of the Indian River with small…read morewildlife and ducks wandering around. Today was super breezy so only went partially down the wooden dock leading into the river. Took some time in the Veterans Memorial across from the park. I love that Sebastian is so patriotic with American flags everywhere.

Walked around the Riverview Park with my hubby and parking was free. Most kids were at the…read moreplayground and the River was very rough today and my hair was blowing everywhere which made some funny pictures. Spent some time at the Veterans Memorial reading all of the dedication stones.

This trail was suggested as a place to ride a bike or walk from the Disney Vero Beach property. I…read morewas staying there with friends and decided to rent a bike for an afternoon and get some riding in. The rental window gave me a map and directed me to the Jungle Trail. It was easy to get to and to find from the hotel property. Lovely flora, lovely fauna along the way. And it takes you to the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, for more nature and exploring. I wish I hadn't waited until my last day in the area to explore the trail and the refuge, because I would have gone back another time....or more times! It was a lovely nature escape among golf courses and developed neighborhoods. Definitely worth a ride or a drive through if you are close by!

The Jungle Trail is a 7.8 mile sand, scenic public road that acts as a buffer between the housing…read moredevelopments and the refuge waters of Pelican Island. The road traverses through the hammock habitat of Florida's barrier islands north of Vero Beach as it passes between gated communities and the shores of the Indian River Lagoon. The trail was created in the 1920's so citrus growers could haul their crop through the barrier islands. The people who lived along the trail were pioneers. They traveled by foot, horse, and the occasional buggy. Today you can drive the road but it is used mainly by hikers and bike riders. At it's north end the trail begins at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge was created to protect the birds that were being wiped out by hunters who were killing the birds for hat plumes at the turn of the century. Today you can see the descendants of those birds all along the trail. During the 1980's developers wanted water front lots but the local citizens rallied and were able to save the road. The road is now a designated Florida Greenway and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places through the efforts of Dr. Ryan Wheeler and county historian, Ruth Stanbridge.

Pelican National Wildlife refuge was created by one man's determination to protect the birds he…read moreloved. Paul Kroegel was a German immigrant and Sebastian resident and conservationist. He arrived in Sebastian in 1881 and homesteaded on the west bank of the Indian River across from Pelican Island. As he watched the birds on the island he fell in love with them and became increasingly disturbed by the hunters killing them. He took to protecting the birds by guarding them with his shotgun during a time when they had no lawful protection. Paul enlisted the help of the American Ornithologists Union and the Florida Audubon Society to help protect the birds. They joined together to pass legislation for protection of non-game birds. The Florida Audubon Society hired Paul Kroegel along with three other wardens to protect the birds from plume hunters and the sports hunters who would shoot at the birds while passing by on boats. During the time Paul served, two of the other wardens were murdered. Naturalist Frank Chapman and his fellow advocate, William Dutcher went to Theodore Roosevelts New York home to plead their case for the protection of the birds. In response President Roosevelt made Pelican Island the first National Wildlife Refuge in 1903. Paul Kroegel was hired as the first national wildlife refuge manager. He passed away in 1948. Since then the land was threatened in the 1960's developers attempted to buy the surrounding wetlands but local citizens stopped them. The Indian River Area Preservation League made up of local citrus growers, commercial fishermen, and sportsmen, joined with the Florida Audubon Society to convince the State to include the islands as a part of the refuge. In 1963, Pelican Island was designated as a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior. Since then the refuge has gained over 500 more acres to help protect it from encroachment by development. The refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The actual Pelican Island is only accessible by boat or chartered tours to protect the birds nesting on the island. You can take a pontoon boat from the Environmental Learning Centerthat will take you past Pelican Island. Nesting birds are easily disturbed, so people are not allowed to get too close. New public facilities in the refuge were opened and dedicated on March 14, 2003 to mark the centennial of Pelican Island and the National Wildlife Refuge System. The new facilities include a 1/4 mile boardwalk and 18 foot observation tower that allows you to view Pelican Island. There are some telescopes to help you see more clearly but I would bring binoculars. This was the only place I actually saw pelicans in the refuge. During nesting season that runs from November to July you can find brown pelicans, wood storks, white ibises, black-crowned night herons, double crested cormorants, reddish, snowy, and great egrets, and great blue, little blue and tricolored herons. In the winter you can see the lesser scaup, blue-winged teal, mottled ducks, great northern divers, laughing gulls, American white pelicans, and red-breasted mergansers. Visitors in the summer can find roseate spoonbills, magnificent frigatebirds and least terns. Pelican Island is also home to sea turtles, dolphins, and manatees. Future plans for the refuge include adding additional boardwalks, an overlook, a photo blind. Entrance to the refuge is free. Unfortunately when I visited nesting season was just about to start. I hope to come back this winter for one of the areas boat tours. Thanks to Paul Kroegel we have this special protected place that allows us to still visit the birds he fought so hard to save.

The trails to view the island are beautiful! There are binoculars located at some stations to see…read morethe wild life from afar. I am so greatful to have found this place. There are real restrooms near the entrance not just which is great because there are a lot of trails.

This huge preserve is 35 square miles. Admission is free. The preserve was created when the state…read moreof Florida bought up large tracts of land in 1995 to preserve the watershed to the St. Sebastian River and the Indian River Lagoon. In addition to protecting the water the land also protects rare and endangered species of plants and animals. The preserve is made up of grassy forests and the long leaf pine that was common before the development of Florida. Here you will find the biological communities of cypress dome, scrubby flat woods, sand hills, and strand swamp. The preserve contains one of Florida's largest populations of scrub jays, a species listed as vulnerable. Many native plants and animals make their home here including over 50 protected species. Animals that can be found here include the red-cockaded woodpecker, Bachman's sparrow, Eastern indigo snakes, bald eagles, wild turkeys, river otters, bobcats, and tortoises. This preserve is part of the Great Florida Birding Trail. Travel in the preserve is along unpaved roads. There is a buffer road that runs along the C-54 canal. In November through March you can find manatees in the canal. There is a platform to view them at the end of the buffer road. The preserve is divided into quadrants by the Fellsmere Canal and by I-95. Each quadrant has long hiking trails. There are over 60 miles of hiking trails through 22,000 acres of wilderness. There is a visitor's center at the entrance that is staffed Friday through Sunday. You can hike, bike, or horseback ride the preserve. From this preserve you can canoe, boat, and fish the St. John's River. There are six primitive camp sites which can only be reached by hiking. Hiking trails include red, yellow, and blue and can be rough because they are also used by horses. Along some of the trails you can see the remains of homesteads from when the land was used for growing citrus, ranching, turpentining, and logging. The preserve contains a portion of the rails to trails path, a hiking and biking trail along the abandoned Trans Florida Central Rail incorporated in 1924. The surface of the trail hasn't been decided on yet and there are few signs marking it. As a sign in the park says this is the real Florida. Photographers, nature lovers, hikers, and equestrians will love exploring this vast open wilderness. Come see Florida the way Mother Nature intended.

I love this place but recently an employee decided to take the closed at sunset very seriously…read more Don't be a minute late from the time Google says the sun will set or she will lock you in the park. Ask me how I know...lol. You have been warned.

I love a stormwater park. They help the environment by capturing and retaining stormwater runoff…read morepreventing flooding in the surrounding areas. The pond plants removes pollutants from the water leaving it clean. This particular Stormwater Treatment Area removes an estimated 80% of the total nitrogen and 56% of total phosphorous, along with 79% of sediments and suspended solids. Left untreated stormwater leads to algal blooms, muck deposits, fish kills, and other environmental problems. This retention area protects the Indian River Lagoon. These ponds also attract a variety of wildlife including Florida's beautiful wading birds. There are two parking areas on the south side of Englar Drive, located between Barber Street and Schumann Drive. The first parking lot has a path through the woods before emerging at the stormwater retention ponds. If you choose to go through the woods you will go through oak hammocks, pine flatwoods, scrub and herbaceous wetlands. This area of the park is a refuge to three threatened species. In this area of the park I encountered the largest pileated woodpecker I have ever seen taking out huge pieces of a tree. The other parking lot leads right to the pond for those who would prefer not to go through the woods. Here you will find a natural earth trail that goes over a bridge and winds around the retention ponds. Expect to see herons, egrets, and ibis. This is a very beautiful place to walk around. I saw a lot of people enjoying the trails with their leashed dogs. This was such a wonderful discovery. Shout out to my friend Jim B. who is an amazing photographer and who added it to Yelp so I could find it.

Interesting park in Sebastian…read more The nature trails have many different types of habitats. Look for water birds in the wetlands. Saw several egrets and a few cranes. The park also has oak trees and pines as well. Great an unexpected find in Sebastian.

One of my favorite beaches on the east coast! I have been to Sebastian inlet many times and it's…read morealways so nice ! On the state park side , we took the boat and jet skis out on the water and saw a ton of dolphins before the ladies went to the other side and enjoyed calmer views and the ocean. My daughter had a blast building sandcastles and using her boogie board . Sand is nice, I love that there is a ramp for easy access and using the beach cart and also restrooms right near the parking lot. This is a wonderful place to come solo, with your spouse or large groups for a fun beach day! Reminder: the state park side has two entrances , 1 is for water crafts and there is a daily parking fee .

Sebastian inlet has an awesome tidal pool that is clear water and only goes up to about chest deep…read moreon me (6'4"). Great place to cool off in the ocean waters and be semi-safe from any predators as the tidal pool is only open about 50' at the end and you can anything that comes in. Almost every time we are here manatees come in to play. There's also a fishing pier off the jetty and front side beach access to the actual ocean beach as well. $8 to get in per car, we'll worth it. Always a great time here. PS if going to enjoy the tidal pool...don't go during low tide...no water

Garden Club Park is a passive parks at the corner of Barber Street and Rose Arbor Drive. You can…read moretake in the scenic view of the lake where you will see Florida's wading birds, relax in the gazebo, or a walk around the park and enjoy the native plantings. There are a couple of benches and a fountain in the lake. This is the perfect place to walk your dog or just enjoy the outdoors.

The park was very nice. The people and K-9s were great. I am traveling in an RV and my dog needed…read moresome free time off leash. Yesterday we were at Lori Wilson Dog Park at Cocoa Beach. I can't say the same for the park or inhabitants. We both were almost forced into a fight. HORRIBLE Fair warning!!

Place is clean. Dogs love it. Shade and sun. Places to sit. Poop bags available Plenty of fresh…read morewater. Large running area. Places for owners to sit.