Sailfish Coast

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Explore the coast

Forty miles of barrier island, river and inlet between the Jupiter Inlet and the Jensen Beach causeway, split into six regions that each take a day. Every region page says what the place is for, how long the drive is from Stuart, and where to park.

Stuart is the base for most visits: the hotels, the restaurants and the Riverwalk are there, and nothing in this guide is more than forty minutes away. Hutchinson Island and Jensen Beach are the beach days, Hobe Sound and Jupiter are the wild end of the coast, and Palm City is where you go when you want the river without the crowds.

Pick one region a day. The roads are short but the bridges are few, and the best hours on this coast are early and late.

  • The Roosevelt Bridge crossing the St. Lucie River toward downtown Stuart at sunset, with a marina full of boats beside the span

    Region

    Stuart

    The county seat and the base for most visits: downtown, the Riverwalk,…

  • The Indian River Lagoon looking south from the Jensen Beach causeway bridge, small boats on calm grey-blue water under a cloudy sky

    Region

    Jensen Beach

    A one-street village on the lagoon with a causeway to a boardwalk…

  • A rocky beach on Hutchinson Island looking south toward Sailfish Point, surf breaking on dark rock and one person sitting on the sand

    Region

    Hutchinson Island

    Twenty miles of barrier island: the county beaches, Bathtub Reef, three museums…

  • The St. Lucie Canal running straight toward the horizon between grass banks, a bridge in the far distance under a sky of small clouds

    Region

    Palm City

    The west bank of the river: golf, the lock on the Okeechobee…

  • Scrub and pine flatwoods stretching to the horizon from the Hobe Mountain tower, with the Atlantic a thin blue line in the distance

    Region

    Hobe Sound

    The wild end of the coast: the refuge beach, Jonathan Dickinson State…

  • A sandy path under a tunnel of sea grape branches opening onto a bright beach at Jupiter Inlet, with beach chairs set up near the water

    Region

    Jupiter

    The south end of the guide: the 1860 lighthouse, the clearest inlet…

6 regions

From Jupiter to Jensen Beach

40 min

Longest drive from Stuart

Nov to Mar

The season for most visitors

22 miles

Of public Atlantic beach

Sea turtles nest on every beach here from March to October. Keep lights off the sand after dark, give marked nests room, and fill in any holes you dig before you leave.