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

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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

Hobe Sound      ( 27.130532,-80.169543 )      

A rare patch of natural habitats in an increasingly developed region, Seabranch Preserve State Park spans from A1A to the Indian River Lagoon.

It is part of a puzzle of public lands set aside for habitat preservation, sitting just west of St. Lucie Preserve and the northern tip of Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge. It is also close to Peck Lake Park.

While the scrub that defines the Atlantic Coastal Ridge is the primary highlight of the trail system in the preserve, the park is also home to a mangrove forest and one of South Florida’s rare bayhead communities.

It’s unusual as it is a fresh water floodplain marsh with loblolly bay and sweetbay magnolia, yet it is close enough to the Indian River that you can smell the salt water.


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
Trailhead: 27.130532,-80.169543
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. More than 8 miles of trails make up the trail network in the park.

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.


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.

Details

The sand pine scrub found here is Florida’s version of a desert. In the sunshine, the sand is blindingly white. It is always soft to walk through.

Most visitors come here to walk the trails. We’ve explored the two original loops, the North Loop and the South Loop.

There is also an East Loop that lets you extend your hike significantly, and a short section of paved trail – part of the East Coast Greenway – that is accessible.

A piece of the East Coast Greenway runs through the park

Walk softly, and you will see and hear wildlife. We’ve encountered Florida scrub-jays here as well as gopher tortoises. They leave clear sets of tracks as they wander from their burrows.

Look closely at the sandy soil for delicate wildflowers and mosses. We’ve seen earthstars growing in the thick duff under the sand pines.

A covered picnic shelter sits out front not far from the vault toilet. If you decide to take a hike, be sure to take plenty of water with you.

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.

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

Mangrove lined lagoon with boats

St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park

Off Port Salerno, St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park is one of those rare state parks you can only reach by boat.

View from under a thatched roof of river and pines and a stage

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, Florida State Parks, Hikes, Loop Hikes, Parks, Southeast FloridaTag: Atlantic Coastal Ridge, Birding, Botanical, East Coast Greenway, Florida State Parks, Hobe Sound, Intracoastal Waterway, Stuart, Wildlife Viewing

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Boardwalk through a cypress swamp

Busch Wildlife Sanctuary

Busch Wildlife Sanctuary
Footpath in a sand pine scrub forest

Delaware Scrub Natural Area

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Trail in deep shade of sea grapes

JILONA South Trail

JILONA South Trail
Sand pine scrub with a bark chip path

JILONA North Trails

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