Blowing Rocks Preserve

Stretching more than a mile along Jupiter Island, a tall limestone terrace dominates the meeting of sand and sea, the longest and most dramatic stretch of rocky shoreline in Florida.

Preserved by local residents in 1969 and turned over to The Nature Conservancy, the Blowing Rocks Preserve protects 73 acres of Jupiter Island, from the namesake rocks to sensitive estuarine habitats, mangroves, tropical and oak hammocks, and the beach dunes.

Resources

Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover

South Florida Explorers Guide book cover

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Overview

Location: Jupiter Island
Length: 2.5 miles in two separate loops
Trailhead: 26.978967, -80.084017
Address: 574 S Beach Rd, Hobe Sound
Fees: Free. Donations appreciated.
Restroom: At the Hawley Education Center
Land manager: The Nature Conservancy
Phone: 561-744-6668

Open 9 AM-4:30 daily. Gates lock promptly at 4:30. No pets, food, fishing, or drones.

Check the tide schedule in advance of your visit to ensure you see what you want to see: sea caves at low tide, frothing blowholes at high tide when the seas are rough.

Directions

From Interstate 95 or Florida’s Turnpike, exit at Jupiter (Indiantown Rd). Follow Indiantown Rd. east to US 1. Turn north on US 1 to Jupiter Inlet. After crossing the bridge, turn right on South Beach Road (CR 707). Two miles later, watch for the Blowing Rocks Preserve sign on the right. The parking lot is a half mile farther ahead on the right.

Hike

A tangled bower of sea grapes shades the sandy interpretive trail that leads away from the payment kiosk and towards the sea.

Pause to examine the odd peeling bark of a towering gumbo limbo tree, its reddish-brown exterior reminiscent of a tourist with a bad sunburn.

The Dune Trail follows the old route of A1A

Along the Dune Trail leading to the beach, sea grapes form a long green tunnel, surprising visitors with their ivory blooms in summer and edible grapes that turn to red in autumn.

There are a few places where you can peer out from the shade of the sea grapes and look out over the dramatic coastline.

The sea grape tunnel is a special highlight of this hike

As you emerge onto the beach, the aquamarine waters of the Atlantic Ocean beckon, edged with the eroded rocks of the Anastasia limestone formation.

For maximum enjoyment, time your visit to be during low tide, so you can take the time to explore the sea caves carved out of the shore. Over time, some we once visited have crumbled and are only ledges now.

A fallen cave roof along the shoreline

If the tide is low, walk south along the beach, around fallen rocks and in and out of caves, as waves strike stone. It’s a natural labyrinth with a stunning view of the sea.

Some of the caves are tall enough to stand in, with natural benches formed by the erosive power of the tides. Virtually all have natural chimneys exposing the sky above.

Along the rock face where a cave roof and chimney eroded away

Peer into the tidal pools to see the keyhole limpet moving slowly across the bottom. Watch for sea urchins tucked into nooks and crannies.

Scurrying like a cockroach, the armored rough-girdled chiton climbs the walls of the caves.

John standing atop the rock ledge

When you reach the end of the caves, you’ve reached the southern end of the preserve.

Climb up and around to the beach, taking care as you walk across jagged limestone emerging from the sand.

A natural bridge in the coquina

Continue north along the beach to return to the dune crossover. As you walk, notice the unusual erosion of the rock surface below.

There are twisted stalactites, stalagmites, and columns in the weathered rock, looking like a miniature version of an underground cave turned inside out.

Looking through an eroded blowhole

The reddish-black hue to the rock comes from iron deposits in the limestone.

On rough and stormy days, particularly in winter, waves burst through the caves and explode as high as fifty feet in the air.

Sea turtle tracks into the surf

Notice the small roped-off areas. These indicate the locations of sea turtle nests flagged by volunteers.

More than 600 sea turtles nest along this shoreline in summer, clambering over the rocks at high tide to lay their eggs in the soft sand above.

To continue your walk, exit through the jungle of sea grapes and take one last sweeping look across the oceanfront, if you didn’t stop at this overlook on the way in.

Observation deck overlooking the Atlantic

Observation deck overlooking the sea

Cross the road to the Hawley Environmental Center to continue the hike. If the center is open, pop in. It has interpretive exhibits regarding the habitats protected by the preserve, as well as restrooms and a small gift shop.

When you exit the center, follow the porch around to the south side of the building. A set of stairs leads to the Lagoon Trails along the Indian River Lagoon.

Walking past identified plantings of Jamaican caper, pigeon-plum, and indigoberry, and other tropical hammock plants, you smell the distinctive skunk odor of white stopper on the salt breeze.

Passing a gnarled strangler fig, you emerge at the edge of the Indian River Lagoon. Across the lagoon, virtually every parcel of land is developed.

View of the Indian River Lagoon

But on this side, Blowing Rocks Preserve protects a mile of coastline, sheltering pristine beaches lined with mangroves and buttonwood.

The natural habitat you see today has grown up over twenty years since a monumental effort of removing exotic species and replacing them with these natives.

Keep to the right at the junctions to walk along the mangrove fringe. Reaching a mangrove-lined beach, the trail turns sharply left.

Vegetation edging the Restoration Trail

Wild balsam apple cascades over pigeon plum, its orange seed pods dangling like Christmas ornaments. Fragrant wildflower aromas fill the air as you approach a trail junction. Turn right.

Mounds of moonflower and wild balsam apple vines cover the sea grapes and saw palmetto. Passing a bench after half a mile, the trail completes its loop, reaching the incoming trail at a junction.

Turn left and go straight across to walk along the lagoon back to the environmental center.