• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Florida Hikes logo

Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

  • Trails
  • Maps
  • Guidebooks
  • Search
  • Hike
    • Scenic Hikes
    • Loop Trails
    • Dog-friendly Hikes
    • Hikes for Kids
    • National Parks in Florida
    • Florida State Parks
  • Bike
    • Major Bike Trails
    • Paved Bike Trails
    • Off Road Biking
    • Biking Articles
  • Paddle
    • Canoe & Kayak Rentals
    • Paddling Destinations
    • Paddling Articles
  • Camp
    • Cabin Rentals
    • Car Camping
    • Primitive Camping
  • Florida Trail
    • Plan your Hike
    • Best Scenic Hikes
    • Best Backpacking
    • Section Hiking
    • Thru-Hiking
    • Trail Updates
  • Travel
  • Hike
    • Scenic Hikes
    • Loop Trails
    • Dog-friendly Hikes
    • Hikes for Kids
    • National Parks in Florida
    • Florida State Parks
  • Bike
    • Major Bike Trails
    • Paved Bike Trails
    • Off Road Biking
    • Biking Articles
  • Paddle
    • Canoe & Kayak Rentals
    • Paddling Destinations
    • Paddling Articles
  • Camp
    • Cabin Rentals
    • Car Camping
    • Primitive Camping
  • Florida Trail
    • Plan your Hike
    • Best Scenic Hikes
    • Best Backpacking
    • Section Hiking
    • Thru-Hiking
    • Trail Updates
  • Travel
Rocky Point Hammock

Maggy’s Hammock Park

Formerly known as Rocky Point Hammock, Maggy’s Hammock Park protects 22 acres of tropical forest and scrub on the Atlantic Coastal Ridge in Port Salerno

Stuart      ( 27.157579, -80.183076 )      1.0 miles

103 shares

An oasis of tropical hammock in a sea of suburbia, Maggy’s Hammock Park offers a mix of scrub and tropical habitats, with a mile-long loop circling the 22-acre preserve.

A wheelchair-accessible linear trail connects the two trailheads, slicing the loop in two to access a picnic area and playground in the middle of this Martin County park.

It’s an excellent place to take a nature walk with your kids.


Resources

South Florida Explorers Guide book cover

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.


Overview

Location: Port Salerno
Length: 1 mile loop
Trailhead: 27.157579, -80.183076
Address: 3854 Kubin Ave, Port Salerno FL
Fees: Free
Restroom: At the picnic area
Land manager: Martin County
Phone: 772-288-5400

Open dawn to dusk. Be cautious of poison ivy along the trail. Sandals are not suggested.


Directions

 
From the intersection of US 1 and Cove Rd in Port Salerno, drive east on Cove Rd for 1.1 miles to the traffic circle with A1A. Take the third exit onto North A1A and make an immediate right onto SE Anchor Avenue.
 
Make the second right onto SE Horseshoe Point Rd. After 1.1 miles, turn left on SE Kubin Avenue. Continue a half-mile to the trailhead parking area on the left at 3854 SE Kubin Avenue.

Hike

From the moment you step onto the trail, you know you’re in a tropical hammock.

The peeling bark of gumbo-limbo, the skunk smell of white stopper, the thorny limbs of acacia, a dense understory of wild coffee, the fern-like fronds of the paradise tree, and the white blooms of marlberry—it’s all here.

The loop begins at a large kiosk and a “Nature Trail” sign. Turn left to follow it clockwise, keeping an eye out for interpretive signs pointing out interesting (and common) flora along the way.

The trail is a narrow tunnel through tropical forest. Jamaican satinleaf arcs overhead, and vegetation crowds in closely.

A scrub hickory soon signals that you’re transitioning to the ridge. Hop over a few gatorbacks as the trail jogs to the left.

A stand of oaks growing where the trail descends a little. Scrub hickory and wild coffee co-exist in this melding of coastal habitats. Although the preserve doesn’t touch on it, St. Lucie Inlet is less than a mile away.

Passing a “Native vs. Exotic Species” marker, you’ll find yourself firmly into the scrub atop the ridge. Note how the sand live oaks are covered in ball moss, and the scrub hickories have shield lichen firmly attached to their trunks.

Patches of wild coffee grow in the scrub—an anomaly. The trail passes under a power line. In this more open scrub, you’ll see sand pines, pennyroyal, and sprays of Feay’s palafox.

Back in the heart of the scrub, notice the difference between the tropical forest’s coolness and the open, sandy landscape’s heat.

Dead snags of taller trees stand above prickly pear cactus, young Chapman oaks, and myrtle oaks of ideal size for Florida scrub-jays.

Emerging into a clearing, continue ahead towards a line of sand pines. You’ll see houses off to the left, since there is no protective buffer of tropical hammock on this side of the preserve.

Florida rosemary (tall shrubs) and scrub rosemary (short shrubs) grow in this area, and slash pines tower overhead.

At 0.4 mile is the paved trail again. Turn right to continue along the nature trail. Look for deer moss and reindeer lichen growing under small oaks and scrub plum. At the T intersection, turn right.

This area of the preserve is full of twisting trails with many intersections, and you may choose to go off in a different direction than we did—there’s little fear of getting lost in a 22-acre preserve surrounded by suburbia.

This part of the trail has toppled sand pines from a hurricane damage years ago. Vegetation crowds in from both sides in a transition from open scrub to scrubby coastal flatwoods.

At the next T intersection, turn left (the right goes to the picnic area and restrooms), and then turn left again at the next trail junction.

You can smell the white stopper ahead; the tropical hammock is near. Make the next right to enter it. Pushing vegetation aside, ascend through a tropical-hammock tunnel.

At the next junction (at the back side of an interpretive sign), turn left. At the “Life in the Treetops” sign, turn right.
Marlberry towers overhead along a tangle of tropical vegetation just before you reach the base of an immense live oak framed by resurrection fern.

Make a left at the junction past the ancient oak. The footpath here is rimmed by sword fern, Southern woods fern, and acacia.

Curve around past an interpretive sign and note the variety of vegetation: paradise trees, wild coffee, cabbage palm, gumbo-limbo, beautyberry, marlberry, and more.

The footpath ends at the kiosk. Turn left to exit to the trailhead.


Explore More!

Slideshow

See our photos of Maggy’s Hammock Park (formerly Rocky Point Hammock)


Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Trail sign and paved path

Seabranch Preserve State Park

Find a wonderland of white sand and small shrubs at Seabranch Preserve State Park, which protects a sand pine scrub and more along the Atlantic Coastal Ridge

Paddling to St Lucie Inlet Preserve (Lori Burris)

St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park

On the north tip of Jupiter Island, St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park is one of those rare parks that you can only reach by boat – motored, or under your own power, as most visitors do, by paddling through mangrove-lined coves.


Trail Map (PDF) Official Website

Category: County Parks, Hikes, Loop Hikes, Natural Lands, Nature Trails, Southeast FloridaTag: Accessible, Atlantic Coastal Ridge, Birding, Botanical, Family-Friendly, Hobe Sound, Picnic, Playgrounds, Stuart, Tropical Forests, Wildlife Viewing

Reader Interactions

Have an update? Contact us.

Primary Sidebar

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA OVERVIEW
East Coast Greenway. Everglades National Park. Florida Trail

Big Pine Key. Biscayne Bay. Biscayne National Park. Boca Raton. Boynton Beach. Coral Gables. Davie. Delray Beach. Northeast Everglades Natural Area . Florida Keys. Fort Lauderdale. Fort Pierce. Hobe Sound. Hollywood. Homestead. Islamorada. Jensen Beach. Jupiter. Juno Beach. Key Biscayne. Key Largo. Key West. Marathon. Miami. Ocean to Lake Greenway. Overseas Heritage Trail. Palm Beach. Port St. Lucie. Redland. Sebastian. Stuart. Vero Beach. West Palm Beach

Our Newest Books

The Florida Trail Guide

The Florida Trail GuideOur definitive guidebook to planning backpacking trips on the Florida National Scenic Trail, now in its fourth edition. Full data charts and maps. B&W, 356 pages. $19.95 + tax & shipping.

Order Now


Florida Trail Hikes

Florida Trail Hikes 2nd edition coverFifty of the best day hikes, overnights, and weekend trips on the Florida Trail. Full hike descriptions and maps, full color. 376 pages. $24.95 + tax & shipping.

Order Now


Discovering the Florida Trail

Florida Trail mini coffee table book cover of trail into palm hammock
A visual journey the length of the Florida Trail, covering more than 1,500 miles from the Everglades to Pensacola Beach. Hardcover, 196 pages. $24.95 + tax & shipping.

Order Now
 


50 Hikes in Central Florida 3rd edition
Five Star Trails Orlando guidebook
Explorer's Guide North Florida & The Panhandle guidebook

Florida Trail Apps

Farout GuidesFarout Guides Comprehensive logistics and offline maps for the
Florida National Scenic Trail (1,500 miles), the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail (108 miles), and the ECT Florida Connector (92 miles).

Explore More

Our recent park & trail updates in this region

Broad sand road through sandhill habitat

Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park

Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park
Well worn path through a wet pine flatwoods landscape

DuPuis Loop Trail

DuPuis Loop Trail
Bike along bike path in greenway

East Coast Greenway Stuart

East Coast Greenway Stuart
Nature trail in pine-palm forest

Gomez Preserve

Gomez Preserve

Footer

FIND A TRAIL OR PARK

NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Apalachicola. Apalachicola National Forest. Blackwater River State Forest. Blountstown. Bonifay. Bristol. Cape San Blas. Carrabelle. Chattahoochee. Chipley. Crawfordville. Crestview. DeFuniak Springs. Destin. Ebro. Eglin Air Force Base. Fort Walton Beach. Freeport. Gulf Islands National Seashore. Madison. Marianna. Milton. Monticello. Mossy Head. Navarre Beach . Niceville. Panama City Beach. Pensacola. Ponce De Leon. Port St. Joe. Quincy. Sopchoppy. South Walton. St. Marks. St. Marks NWR. Tallahassee. Vernon. Wakulla. Wewahitchka

NORTH FLORIDA
Alachua. Amelia Island. Baldwin. Branford. Bunnell. Cedar Key. Chiefland. Crescent City. Dowling Park. Ellaville. Fernandina Beach. Flagler Beach. Gainesville. Green Cove Springs. High Springs. Jacksonville. Keystone Heights. Lake Butler.Lake City. Live Oak. Mayo. Macclenny. Micanopy. Olustee. Orange Park. Osceola National Forest. Palatka. Palatka-Lake Butler Trail. Palm Coast. Perry. Salt Springs. St. Augustine. Starke. Steinhatchee. Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. Suwannee Springs. Talbot Islands. Timucuan Preserve. Trenton. Welaka. White Springs. Williston

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo

MULTI-REGION
Big Cypress Swamp. East Coast Greenway. Everglades National Park. Florida National Scenic Trail

CENTRAL FLORIDA
Apopka. Belleview. Brandon. Brooksville. Bushnell. Canaveral National Seashore. Christmas. Chuluota. Clearwater Beach. Clermont. Coast to Coast Trail. Cocoa Beach. Cross Florida Greenway. Crystal River. Dade City. Daytona Beach. De Leon Springs. DeBary. Deland. Deltona. Dunedin. Dunnellon. Frostproof. Geneva. Inverness. Kenansville. Kissimmee. Lake Mary. Lake Wales. Lakeland. Largo. Leesburg. Longwood. Melbourne. Melbourne Beach. Merritt Island. Merritt Island NWR. Mims. Mount Dora. New Port Richey. New Smyrna Beach. Ocala. Ocala National Forest. Ocklawaha. Orlando. Ormond Beach. Osteen. Oviedo. Palm Bay. Ridge Manor. Sanford. Silver Springs. Spring Hill. St. Cloud. St. Petersburg. Tampa. Tarpon Springs. Titusville . Walt Disney World. Weeki Wachee. Winter Springs. Withlacoochee State Forest. Withlacoochee State Trail. Yeehaw Junction

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
Bradenton . Charlotte Harbor. Ding Darling NWR. Englewood. Estero. Fort Myers. Immokalee. Naples. Pine Island. Port Charlotte. Punta Gorda. Sanibel Island. Sarasota. Venice

SOUTH FLORIDA
Arcadia. Basinger. Big Cypress National Preserve. Big Cypress Seminole Reservation. Clewiston. Everglades City. Fisheating Creek. Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. Lake Placid. LaBelle. Lakeport. Moore Haven. Okeechobee. Pahokee. Port Mayaca. Sebring. South Bay

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Big Pine Key. Biscayne Bay. Biscayne National Park. Boca Raton. Boynton Beach. Coral Gables. Davie. Delray Beach. Northeast Everglades Natural Area. Florida Keys. Fort Lauderdale. Fort Pierce. Hobe Sound. Hollywood. Homestead. Islamorada. Jensen Beach. Jupiter. Juno Beach. Key Biscayne. Key Largo. Key West. Marathon. Miami. Ocean to Lake Greenway. Overseas Heritage Trail. Palm Beach. Port St. Lucie. Redland. Sebastian. Stuart. Vero Beach. West Palm Beach

  • Trails
  • Parks
  • Beaches
  • Gardens
  • Springs
  • Ecotours
  • Attractions
©2006-2023, Sandra Friend & John Keatley | Disclosure | Site Index | Work with Us | Advertise with Us
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy | Florida Hikes PO Box 93 Mims FL 32754| Contact