Nathaniel P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge — Attraction in Jupiter Island

We visited on a Saturday morning in late December 2024. We arrived before the Nature Center opened and did the Nature Trail first. The trail was amazing and you get gorgeous views. It is sandy so make sure you have the right shoes. Also the weather was perfect when we did it but I can imagine doing this in the middle of the day in the summer would be hot death. There is very little shade on the trail. I'd suggest doing it early in the morning or later in the evening and avoid during mid-day.

When we arrived back to the Nature Center after our short hike the doors were open. We were greeted by multiple staff/volunteers. They were all super nice and happy to chat and talk about the history of the nature center and refuge. There is a store directly on the left with tons of merch. To the right when you walk in are bathrooms and water fountain with bottle filler. Also at this front little desk area they have the National Wildlife Refuge Blue Goose cancellation passport stamp for those who collect them.

As you walk further into the center you run into a very large area full of hands on interactive exhibit. There were soo many live animals as well and it was very well done. Everything looked brand new and should entertain people of all ages. We got to pet their alligator and kids engaged with the staff the entire time.

We spent maybe 30 mins exploring the nature center and probably could've stayed a little longer but we had to continue our road trip for the day. We would 100% come back and definitely stop by if we were...

Behind the nature center, there are two short trails in a very beautiful setting. Scrub trail is 0.3 miles (0.48 km) long and meanders through the Atlantic Coastal Ridge's endangered sand pine scrub habitat. There is significant (for Florida) elevation change as you traverse towards the Indian River Lagoon. Hammock trail is only about 0.1 miles ( 0.16 km) long. This trail is a change in scenery as it is a Sabal palm (a.k.a. Sabal palmetto or Cabbage palm) hammock habitat. Hammock trail terminates at a beach on the Indian River Lagoon.

Below is a link to a high quality (4K) YouTube video we created of both Scrub and Hammock trails. Copy and paste the link into your web browser to watch the video.

https://youtu.be/g9Mi-ZiT6ck

Both trails are part of Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, which is a coastal refuge bisected by the Indian River Lagoon into two separate tracts of land totaling over 1000 acres. The 735 acre Jupiter Island tract provides some of the most productive sea turtle nesting habitat in the United States, and the 300 acre sand pine scrub mainland tract is valued because more than 90 percent of this community type has been lost to development in Florida. Sand pine scrub habitat is restricted only to Florida and an adjacent...

Updated review 3-23 STILL BEAUTIFUL. Not as much plastic on the beach and more shells available. Last time we were here I picked up 1.5 kitchen garbage bags of plastic, which was only a small fraction of total plastic on the beach. This time I only got 1/4 of a bag and it was spread out over a long distance. People bring their pets but seem to be respectful and clean up after them. Previous Review -BEAUTIFUL... We arrived by boat and anchored in Hobie Sound. The mangroves blocked the wind. It is a short dinghy ride to the shore. It is posted that no dogs allowed, but everyone seems to bring their dogs. It's a short walk to the ocean side of the mangroves. The beach is beautiful and sparsely populated. There aren't many shells, but there are a few. I would recommend bringing a trash bag with you and pick up some of the plastic on the beach. The anchorage had just a few wakes while we were there. The wind was brisk and the temperature cool enough to where the no see-ums were...