Blowing Rocks Nature Preserve

Wonder what you’ll see here? Native habitats – including beach dune, coastal strand, mangrove swamp and tropical hardwood hammock – are flush with red, black and white mangroves, gumbo limbo trees, Jamaica caper, sea grape, railroad vine, sea oats and much more. Healthy seagrass along the lagoon harbors urchin, blue claw crab and the endangered Florida manatee. Sea turtles returning to nest on the north beach include loggerhead, green and leatherback. Guests may spot a number of shorebirds such as the brown pelican, osprey and least tern, as well as fiddler crab and a wide variety of small marine creatures. Blowing Rocks Preserve began in 1969, when far-sighted and generous residents of Jupiter Island donated 73 acres of their island to the Conservancy. Roughly rectangular, the preserve runs for one mile from north to south – and from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Indian River Lagoon on the west. Today the restored preserve reflects what South Florida barrier islands looked like a century ago. Visitors glimpse one of our state’s rarest surviving landscapes – an intact Florida dune habitat with beach sunflower, bay cedar, sea grape and sea oats. Guest services: Visitors may enjoy a restful, native plant demonstration garden. Interpretative signs are featured along three hiking trails and boardwalks, each up to 1/3 mile long. A photo-worthy sea grape path winds from hardwood hammock, through coastal strands, and into the beach dune before arriving at the “Blowing Rocks”. Swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving are allowed from the beach during listed hours (see Plan Your Visit.) Guests are invited to use the restrooms, drinking fountain and shady decks at the preserve center. Hawley Education Center: Built in 1996, the center provides tourists and the local community an opportunity to learn about The Nature Conservancy’s efforts to protect native habitats, plants and animals in Florida and around the world. It hosts exhibits and a winter lecture series.