Blowing Rocks Preserve in Martin County, Florida

Photograph: Blowing Rocks Nature Preserve.jpg by apasciuto · CC BY 2.0 · Cropped to the 1200x750 attraction-card frame and converted to WebP by 1stFlorida.com. Opened and checked against the place before installation.

Martin County attraction

Blowing Rocks Preserve

Martin County · Atlantic Coast

Seventy-three acres on Jupiter Island holding the largest limestone outcrop on the Atlantic coast of Florida.

ABOUT THIS PLACE

The rock is Anastasia limestone, and the sea has worn holes and channels through it. When a heavy swell runs, the waves force water up through those holes and it goes off like a geyser, plumes reaching as high as fifty feet. That happens in rough weather rather than on a calm summer morning, so the timing matters if the spray is what you came for. Local residents gave the land to the Nature Conservancy in 1969 and it has been theirs since. Between 1985 and 2000 volunteers pulled out thousands of Australian pines and Brazilian pepper trees, put in fifteen thousand native seedlings and restored the tidal flow, and the work of keeping the invasives down still goes on. Oak and tropical hardwood hammock, mangrove swamp, salt marsh, coastal dune and estuary all sit within the preserve. Loggerhead, green and leatherback turtles nest on the beach. The Hawley Education Center holds exhibits and classrooms and runs public programs. The preserve opens seven days a week from nine in the morning until 4:30, with last entry at 4:15, and asks a donation of two dollars a person rather than an entrance fee. Parking on site is free and fills quickly; there is more a mile south at Coral Cove Beach Park. Pets, alcohol, drones and commercial photography are not permitted, and visitors are asked to stay on the marked trails

GETTING THERE

Get Directions ↗Official place website ↗

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