Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Jonathan Dickinson is the biggest state park in southeast Florida and the one piece of the coast that still looks the way all of it did. Pine flatwoods, sand pine scrub on the old dunes, cypress along the river and the Loxahatchee itself, Florida’s first National Wild and Scenic River, winding through the middle of it. A paved road runs from the gate on US 1 to the river, with the Hobe Mountain tower halfway along.

The tower is a wooden stair up the highest natural point in South Florida, all 86 feet of it, and from the top you can see the ocean, the Intracoastal and the whole green sweep of the park. At the river there are canoe and kayak rentals, a small store and the tour boat that runs upriver several times a day to the camp of Trapper Nelson, the hermit who lived there until 1968 and whose cabin and animal pens the park keeps as he left them.

Trails run from two miles to the full nine of the Kitching Creek loop, flat and sandy and hot by ten in summer. Two campgrounds, cabins and a dark sky make it the place to stay a night.

Good to know

• The park fee is per vehicle, up to eight people; walkers and cyclists pay less.
• The river boat tour costs extra and sells out on winter weekends; book at the store.
• Hobe Mountain is a stair, not a hike; ten minutes up.
• Start trails early from June to September, and carry more water than you think.
• The gate closes at sunset; campers are given a code.