Kiplinger Nature Preserve — Attraction in Stuart

Very nice nature preserve with a well-maintained loop trail that is about a mile in length. There is a spur trail, located on the west end of the loop, that leads to a floating dock on the St. Lucie River. The dock has benches where you can sit, relax, and enjoy the view.

Below is a link to a high quality (4K) YouTube video we created along the north side of the loop trail out to the St. Lucie River. Copy and paste the link into your web browser to watch the video.

https://youtu.be/KRaBd4kIT0c

This is an easy trail with some great scenery and lots of shade. Most of the trail traverses a pine flatwoods habitat with a scrubby understory. There is also an elevated boardwalk that crosses a mangrove swamp.

There are a few spots that can get a bit muddy during the rainy season. There are also many exposed roots crossing the trail. Just pay attention so you don't trip and fall. Mosquitos aren't typically a problem but have some DEET (or your favorite insect repellent) on hand just in case.

There are a few drawbacks to this trail and this is why I only gave it four stars. There are busy streets nearby and you can never escape the sound of moving vehicles. Also, the south side of the loop borders an apartment complex that is visible from the trail. This makes it difficult to get fully immersed in nature.

On the flip side, I think it is amazing that there is a nature preserve in the middle of an urban area. Overall, Martin County does a great job with nature preservation!

I personally walk this trail often because it's right in town (Stuart). It's also short enough that it isn't a big investment of time but still gets me outdoors to...

Our first time walking this trail. What a nice trail, about a 30 minute one mile walk. Only gave it four stars because we came to a muddy area about 3/4 of the way and would have had to go all the way back around if someone hadn't made a little walk through area with a few planks and logs. We went about an hour before sunset, a mistake we won't make again, because if there wasn't a make shift way around the wet area we would have been hiking the trail in the dark! We had applied bug spray beforehand and brought some large walking sticks with us. The trail is a blend of dry pine brush and muddy mangroves. That are about 3 ft Bridges and an actual boardwalk that crosses over the mangroves closer to the river, near the dock. The boardwalk does need to be updated, and about halfway through you come to a little clearing with a metal table and some signage and you know that you're halfway there. A great little walk, especially...

I visited this preserve on Jan 29th when I was visiting my hometown. It's a really beautiful spot. It took me about 45m to walk the whole trail, but I was taking my time.

Parking was easy and the entrance was easy to find. Plenty of parking spots considering it's a smaller trail. Two openings onto the trail, I went in the left entrance, but it's one big loop so it doesn't matter which entrance you go in.

There are some informational signs I thought were quite interesting as well. I saw one at the entrance about plants and another at a fork later in the trail about manatees and mangroves (I believe. I can't recall off the top of my head). At the fork in the trail, one way is to a small bridge path leading to a river and the other way is the rest of the loop back to the entrance.

A caution: A good amount of the trail is a dirt path - it is prone to getting muddy, so I would be wary if you want to visit and its been...