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HUTCHINSON ISLAND VACATION RENTALS, FLORIDA |
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Outdoor Recreation in Hutchinson Island |
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| Be it simply lazing around the beaches, indulging in water sports and activities or some more adrenaline pumping, non-water pursuits - Hutchinson Island has them all. Right from turtle watching, dolphin watching, manatee watching, lobstering, to nature viewing, fishing, snorkeling, diving, boating, horseback riding and bird watching - there's no dearth of activities over here. |
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• Beach Activities
• Fishing
• Dolphin Watch and Wildlife Eco Tours
• Snorkeling and Diving
• Boat Rides and Cruises
• Sea Turtle Season
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| Beach Activities |
St. Lucie County’s best-known asset is its spectacularly beautiful barrier islands, boasting over 20 miles of bleached white beaches. Public beaches lie along 7 miles of this coastal stretch. South Hutchinson Island Beach offers a boardwalk, showers, dressing rooms, picnic tables and year round lifeguards. North Beach State Park and Pepper Park facilities include showers, dressing rooms, picnic tables and lifeguards. There is a small admission charge for automobiles at the State Park.
Families will enjoy Bathtub Reef Park where children can splash and swim in a shallow, natural pool that is sheltered from the ocean by a protective reef. There are lifeguards, showers, restrooms and picnic shelters available.
North Jetty Park has a protected beach that is also popular among families with small children. Sharp-eyed observers along the length of the rocky jetty can find all manner of marine life, which is fascinating at low tide. |
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| Fishing |
Offshore fishing in the Gulf Stream can yield marlin, yellow fin tuna, kingfish, whaoo, and Atlantic sailfish. Most charter boats leave from Ft. Pierce City docks. The offshore reefs are also abundant habitats for Florida’s spiny lobster, grouper, snapper, jack crevalle, and a myriad of colorful atlantic tropicals such as angelfish, damselfish and wrasses.
You can find channel bass, snook, ladyfish, jack crevalle and trout in the backwaters of the St. Lucie River. The miles of canals of the Intracoastal Waterway are famous for their fighting black bass. A chain of lakes extend from Jensen Beach to Fort Pierce, an area known as Savannas, are renowned for huge bass. Anglers can also enjoy the challenge of surf fishing. South Jetty Park offers the longest fishing jetty in Florida, as well as restrooms, a boardwalk and picnic shelters with barbecue grills.
Or, try fishing in Lake Okeechobee and Okeechobee Waterway, which have a reputation for first-rate fishing. More than 40 species of fish are found in the lake, including largemouth bass, blue gill, catfish and black crappie, locally known as “specks.” Anglers traveling the waterway may also find salt-water species such as tarpon and snook.
All anglers will be happy to know that there are several marinas that allow easy access and 6 free public boat-launching ramps. Gear and boat rentals are readily available. |
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| Dolphin Watch and Wildlife Eco Tours |
| Take a scenic boat cruise through one of the countries most untouched eco-systems, Indian River Lagoon. Experience the beauty of wild dolphins feeding and playing in their natural environment, along with many other varieties of birds, wildlife and marine life that thrive in the secluded mangroves along Indian River. Your 2 hour guided trip will start with a tour through Fort Pierce State Inlet Park and continue to Jack Island Wildlife Preserve. Tours depart from Fort Pierce. |
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| Snorkeling and Diving |
| Snorkel at the 3 popular artificial reefs off the Island or scuba dive at Pepper Park in North Hutchinson Island where you can dive several of the 1715 wreck sites that are located only yards from the beach. World class diving in Jupiter Sound and West Palm Beach are also only a short drive away. |
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| Boat Rides and Cruises |
| Boating is popular on Hutchinson Island. Travel Intracoastal Waterway and visit the town of Stuart, known as “the Sailfish Capital of the World.” Or, you might want to consider taking the delightful 135-mile trip down South Fork of St. Lucie River to St. Lucie Canal, on to Lake Okeechobee and then on to Ft. Myers. You can also take a canoe ride through Jonathan Dickinson State Park. There you can see several species of birds and, perhaps, the occasional manatee. From Hutchinson Island, you have access to Florida's only cross-state canal to the West Coast. You can also sail east of the inlet to the Bahamas. On the Lilly River Cruise aboard a 19 passenger covered pontoon boat, you can explore the backwaters of Florida and view a remote nesting area within the mangroves with a wide variety of native birds and an occasional alligator. Sunset cruises are a great way of unwinding at the end of an action-packed day. |
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| Sea Turtle Season |
| Thousands of threatened loggerhead and endangered green leatherback sea turtles make their nesting spots along the beaches of Hutchinson Island during June and July of each year. Organized nighttime turtle walks are offered during this time. Walking tours and group size are limited, so reservations are necessary. |
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