I took a hike through here on a recent trip to Vero Beach. The parking is limited but you can also park at the nearby South Vero Square Shopping Center located just east of the conservation area. If you didn't bring bug spray or water pick it up at the Publix because you will need both. Trails are open sunrise to sunset and run 2.4 miles or more and there are no restrooms. Be aware the trail can get quite muddy at points.
The conservation area is quite large, 298 acres!, and the back trail loops around the wetlands so you can see a lot of birds. It is jointly owned by St. Johns River Water Management District and Indian River County. There are boardwalks, an observation tower (currently closed), and a canoe launch. You enter the conservation area through the Herb Kale Trail which is named for one of Florida's most respected ornithologists. The ecosystem is made up of coastal hammock, scrubby flatwoods and estuarine wetlands. The conservation area is a designated stop on the Great Florida Birding Trail.
In the coastal hammock you can find live oaks that are hundreds of years old. Ground plants are wild coffee, myrsine, marlberry, firebush, native wildflowers, saw palmetto, and cabbage palms. There are at least 20 rare plants living in this area including coral-root orchids and whisk fern. Along the hammock loop you may spot songbirds, woodpeckers, hawks, squirrels, snakes, raccoons, armadillo, and opossum.
A bridge takes you over a mangrove swamp where you will encounter the most mosquitoes. Many years ago, the University of Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory used this area as an outdoor lab where they studied how mosquitoes transmit diseases.
The Scrubby Pine Flatwoods trails are at a higher elevation. Expect to find bromeliads, large sand pines, saw palmettos and native wildflowers. This area hotter and dryer with little shade. The ground is sandy soil.
At the rear of the preserve is the Coastal Wetlands managed by mosquito control. Here the trail leads to the closed observation tower as it loops around the wetlands. I was so disappointed to see the observation tower closed since this seemed to be the best place to bird watch. All that is there now is a sketchy looking bridge of single boards that stretch over the lagoon.
At the end of the hike I had gone over 2 miles, was soaked in sweat and mosquito bitten. I always think of that scene in Lilo and Stitch when Cobra saves Earth from the alien race by convincing them that the mosquito is an endangered species. LOL Anyway mosquitoes are always a treat. Despite the bugs t was a fun hike and probably even more fun in January. I don't recommend it in June although I did see a lot of people on the trail. Who would have thought all of this can be found behind a Publix! read more