• 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
Sand pines and trails sign

Seabranch Preserve Hiking Trails

On more than 1,000 acres along the Intracoastal Waterway south of Stuart, the double loop trail at Seabranch Preserve State Park showcases a coastal scrub forest.

Seabranch Preserve State Park  |  Hobe Sound
( 27.130517, -80.169517 )      4.8 miles

Seabranch Preserve State Park encompasses nearly 1,000 acres along the Intracoastal Waterway south of Stuart. The Park protects several critical habitats in an area overrun with coastal development.

In addition to supporting populations of Florida scrub-jays and gopher tortoises, Seabranch Preserve hosts one of South Florida’s rare bayhead communities.

Also known as a baygall, this swampy habitat, filled with loblolly bay and sweetbay magnolia, filters runoff from the adjacent scrubby flatwoods as water flows towards the tidal marshes of the Indian River Lagoon.

Although the park fronts the water, you can’t see it through the thicket—a fact quickly discovered by the intrepid trail-building crew!


Resources

50 Hikes in South Florida book cover South Florida Explorers Guide book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State 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: Hobe Sound
Length: 4.8 mile double loop
Trailhead: 27.130517, -80.169517
Address: 6093 SE Dixie Hwy, Stuart, FL 34997
Fees: None
Restroom: vault toilet at trailhead
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 772-219-1880

Open 8 AM to sunset. Leashed dogs permitted but you are less likely to see wildlife when walking with a dog.

A shaded picnic area is provided at the front of the park, where the East Coast Greenway passes by on a 1.3-mile paved segment. The trailhead is sometimes busy with cyclists.

East Coast Greenway sign
A piece of the East Coast Greenway runs through the park

The trail system was designed, built, and is maintained by the local Tropical Trekkers chapter of the Florida Trail Association.


Directions

 
To find Seabranch Preserve State Park, take the I-95 exit for Stuart / Indiantown (SR 76). Follow Cove Road east for 4.5 miles, crossing US 1, until you reach CR A1A. Turn right and continue 1.5 miles south. Make a left into the small parking area across from the VFW, just before the railroad tracks.

Hike

The original trail system is made up of two loops, the North Loop and the South Loop. The map at the trailhead kiosk also shows a linear trail through a bayhead that is an alternate way to connect the loops.

We haven’t had the chance to hike that yet. It is labeled as the East Loop Trail and runs almost the entire length of the preserve on its longest axis.

According to the kiosk, if you do both loops and the linear trail, you can walk 8 miles in the preserve. The map at the bottom of this page only traces this particular route we describe.


North Loop

The North Loop best showcases the subtleties of the scrub ecosystem. There are patches of rosemary scrub, where rounded Florida rosemary grows to shoulder-height.

The trail weaves in and out of open patches of sand between the rosemary and scrub oaks, so it’s important to keep alert to where the next orange blaze leads you.

Keep alert, too, for the endangered wildlife that lives here. We spotted a Florida scrub-jay and gopher tortoises on our hike.

Birders will also delight in the cardinals, eastern towhees, and cedar waxwings that flit between the wizened scrub oaks.

The plants are interesting, too. In the open oak scrub, the trail winds like a maze, leading you through scant patches of shade and across a forest of small Chapman and myrtle oak.

You’ll feel like Gulliver in the backcountry of the Lilliputians, able to scan the far horizon of a canopy of trees barely waist-high.

As the trail reaches makes a definitive southward turn, you parallel the Intracoastal, but you can’t see it—although you’ll glimpse the bayhead from the scrub.

At the trail junction at 3.1 miles, continue straight to walk the perimeter using the South Loop, or turn right to complete the North Loop.

Scrub at Seabranch Preserve
Scrubby understory draped in love vine

South Loop

Rising up from the bayhead into scrubby flatwoods, the trail passes a tangle of love vine and greenbrier atop the gallberry.

Look for gopher tortoise burrows, and for light-green bachelors button flowers in the spring. The trail gains elevation as it enters the sand pine scrub. A building in the distance marks the south edge of the preserve.

After 3.5 miles, turn right, to leave the jeep trail and go back into the first. Keep alert for a double blaze on a tree on the left so you don’t miss the turn.

After 4 miles, the trail emerges from the pines and faces the road. Under the shadow of tall sand pines, earthstars (a form of puffball mushroom) thrive on the pine duff.

One ancient oak with gnarled branches serves as a gathering place on Halloween Eve for scary stories.

Keep alert—when you can see the road sign up ahead on A1A, take the jeep trail to the left into the forest. You emerge at the parking area after a 4.8-mile hike.


Trail Map

Seabranch Preserve State Park Trail Map
Light blue: East Coast Greenway. Red: North Loop. Yellow: South Loop. Orange: Old Gomez Road. Purple: Gomez Preserve Nature Trail. Gray: Cross Trails.

Explore More!

Slideshow

See our photos from hiking at Seabranch Preserve


Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Blowing Rocks Jupiter FL

Blowing Rocks Preserve

One of the most dramatic shorelines in Florida, the rocky shore of Blowing Rocks Preserve has sea caves and bluffs to explore on a hike through the oceanfront preserve

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

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.

Along the Loxahatchee River

Jonathan Dickinson State Park

One of South Florida’s best backpacking destinations, Jonathan Dickinson State Park encompasses a vast mosaic of ecosystems along the wild and scenic Loxahatchee River


Official Website

Category: Day Hikes, Hikes, Loop Hikes, Southeast Florida, TrailsTag: Atlantic Coastal Ridge, Birding, Botanical, Florida State Parks, Hobe Sound, Jupiter, Seabranch Preserve State Park, Stuart, 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