St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park

The northern tip of Jupiter Island, across the inlet from Sailfish Point, is a state park with no road to it. You arrive by boat at a dock on the Intracoastal, pay two dollars at the honor box, and walk a boardwalk through the mangroves and the hammock to a beach with nobody on it. Three miles of Atlantic shore, a worm-rock reef just offshore that is the best snorkelling on the coast when the water is clear, and the inlet jetty at the north end where the big fish pass.

Most people come in their own boat or a rented one from the Stuart marinas, and the trip from the Sandsprit Park ramp takes ten minutes. Kayaks can make it from Sandsprit on a calm day, but the inlet current is strong and the crossing is not for beginners. There are restrooms and a picnic shelter at the dock and nothing on the beach side at all.

Sea turtles nest heavily here from March to October and the dune is closed to walking; the beach is below the high tide line.

Good to know

• Boat only. The nearest public ramp is Sandsprit Park in Stuart.
• Snorkel the reef on an incoming tide when the water is clearest.
• The inlet current is serious; kayaks should cross with the tide and never against an east wind.
• Pack everything, including shade; the beach has nothing.
• The fee is an honor box at the dock.