With an easy loop through a lush hardwood hammock under a canopy of grand live oaks, Sweetwater Hammock Preserve is a beautiful short hike.
The trail provides a peek at a curve of the North Fork of the St. Lucie from a bluff where a swamp central to this seven-acre preserve drains to the river.
Sweetwater HammockResources
Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.
Overview
Location: Fort Pierce
Length: 0.4 miles
Trailhead: 27.39114, -80.34995
Address: 4100 South 25th St, Fort Pierce
Fees: Free
Restroom: None
Land Manager: St. Lucie County
Phone: 772-462-2526
Open sunrise to sunset. Hiking only. Leashed dogs welcome; pick up after your pet. This is an urban area located across from a high school. Be aware of your surroundings.
Paddlers are welcome to land at the low bluff. To launch, you’ll need to roll your watercraft halfway down the trail.
Directions
From Interstate 95 at SR 70 in Fort Pierce, drive east to the first traffic light and turn right on Jenkins Rd. Make a left on Edwards Rd after 0.7 mile. Continue 2.1 miles to South 25th St. Turn right. Drive 1.6 miles, getting in the left lane before Fort Pierce Central High School. Make a U turn after the high school and get in the right lane to turn into the preserve across from the high school.
Hike
A large trailhead kiosk provides an overview map and interpretation of the preserve. Start your hike along the well-worn path behind it into the oak hammock.
After a rain, the limbs of the massive live oaks turn to soft green as resurrection fern unfurls.
TrailheadA brochure at the kiosk explains the stops at the numbered posts around the loop, starting at marker 1 with the live oak.
Marsh ferns crowd around the bases of cabbage palms. Curving through the hammock, pass many enormous trees.
Among the ancient oaksThis natural grove of ancient oaks is the reason for this preserve. Where subdivisions now edge the North Fork of the St. Lucie River used to look like this.
Sizable bromeliads dangle overhead among the intertangled branches.
Bromeliads in the canopyWhere oaks yield to cabbage palms, the footpath approaches a marshy central swamp in the preserve.
Pass large clumps of wild coffee before the approach to a boardwalk spanning a corner of the swamp. Its open water is edged by giant leather ferns and tall grasses.
Along the swampA sandy stretch of footpath rounds the corner, depositing you on a bluff along the North Fork of the St. Lucie. A bench overlooks this scenic spot at 0.2 mile.
Follow the sand path, curving away from the river to enter a lush palm hammock.
River bluffSweeping past a property boundary fence, the footpath curves inward and parallels the fence down a straightaway within the forest.
Bright greens call attention to the grassy marsh beyond the palm fronds on the left.
Corridor of palmsEntering the oak hammock again, look up. Oak limbs form a natural archway high above the trail. Follow a short straightaway. Jog past a connector to the other side of the loop.
The high school across the four-lane street looms beyond the oak canopy. Emerge at the trailhead to complete this 0.4 mile hike.
Final straightawayTrail Map
Explore More!
Video
A walk through Sweetwater Hammock Preserve
Slideshow
See our photos from Sweetwater Hammock Preserve
Nearby Adventures
George LeStrange Preserve A mix of restoration areas and natural habitats, George LeStrange Preserve has trails both easy and rugged surrounding its centerpiece of Lake Zobel.
Ten Mile Creek Preserve Explore a short but incredibly rugged nature trail teetering along bluffs above the source of the North Fork of the St. Lucie River.
D.J. Wilcox Preserve Discover the natural beauty of a mosaic of habitats nourished by a freshwater spring near the Indian River Lagoon at what was once the town of Indrio.
Indrio Scrub Preserve Atop the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, Indrio Scrub Preserve is a place where unique scrub species thrive. A short interpretive loop trail leads through the preserve.
- Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park - November 3, 2026
- A.J. Henry Park - November 1, 2026
- Okeeheelee Nature Center Trails - October 22, 2026