Experience More

At Sebastian Inlet, the Atlantic Ocean mingles with the brackish waters of the Indian River section of the Intracoastal Waterway. The Sebastian Inlet State Park spans this channel and, with its 3 miles (5 km) of pristine beaches, is one of the most popular state parks in Florida.

A tranquil cove on the northern side of the inlet is an ideal place to swim – avoiding the waves that make the southern shores (on Orchid Island) one of the best surfing spots on Florida’s east coast. Competitions take place on many weekends, and there are boards for rent. The park is also famous for its fishing, and the inlet’s mouth is invariably crowded with fishing boats. The two jetties on either side are also crammed with anglers, while more lines dangle in the the Indian River.

At the southern end of the park, the McLarty Treasure Museum takes a detailed look at the history surrounding the loss of the Spanish Plate Fleet in 1715. On July 31 a hurricane wrecked 11 galleons on the shallow reefs off the coast between Sebastian Inlet and Fort Pierce. The ships were en route from Havana back to Spain, laden with booty from Spain’s New World colonies. About a third of the 2,100 sailors lost their lives, while the survivors set up a camp where the McLarty Treasure Museum now stands.

Immediately following this tragedy, some 80 per cent of the cargo was salvaged by the survivors, helped by local Ais people. The fleet then lay undisturbed until 1928, when one of the wrecks was rediscovered. Salvaging resumed in the early 1960s; since then, millions of dollars worth of treasures have been recovered. Finds on display include gold and silver coins but most are domestic items.

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Sebastian Inlet State Park

⌂ 9700 S Hwy A1A, Melbourne Beach # Daily ∑ floridastateparks.com

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McLarty Treasure Museum

⌂ 13180 N Hwy A1A § (772) 589-2147 # 10am–4pm daily

An intriguing rags-to-riches story is presented at this museum. “The World’s Greatest Treasure Hunter,” Mel Fisher died in 1998, but his treasure-hunting team of divers carry on his legacy.

The museum contains treasures from different wrecks, including the 1715 fleet (which his team has been salvaging for decades), and the Atocha. There are jewels, a gold bar, and more everyday items. In the Bounty Room, visitors can buy original Spanish reales, or copies of historic jewelry. The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West is also worth a visit.

Fort Pierce’s biggest draw is its barrier islands, reached by crossing two causeways that sweep across the Intracoastal Waterway.

Take the North Beach Causeway to reach North Hutchinson Island. Its southern tip is occupied by the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park, which includes the town’s best beach. Just to the north is the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum. From 1943 to 1946, more than 3,000 US Navy frogmen of the Underwater Demolition Teams (UDTs) trained here. By the 1960s, they had become an elite advance fighting force known as SEALs (Sea, Air, Land commandos). The museum explains the frogmen’s roles in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and in the present.

Half a mile (1 km) away is Jack Island – actually a peninsula. This mangrove-covered preserve teems with birdlife and is crossed by a short trail leading to an observation tower. On the southern causeway linking Fort Pierce to Hutchinson Island is the St. Lucie County Historical Museum. Its displays include finds from the 1715 wrecks in the Galleon Room, and reconstructions of a Seminole camp. Visitors can also explore the adjacent “Cracker” style home.

Back on the mainland, literature buffs can follow the Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail, dedicated to the writer’s final years.

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Fort Pierce Inlet State Park

⌂ 905 Shorewinds Dr, N Hutchinson Island # 8am–sunset daily ∑ floridastateparks.org

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National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum

⌂ 3300 N Hwy A1A # 10am–4pm Tue–Sat, noon–4pm Sun ∑ navysealmuseum.com

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St. Lucie County Historical Museum

⌂ 414 Seaway Dr # 10am–4pm Tue–Sat; noon–4pm Sun ∑ stlucieco.gov

Zora Neale Hurston Dust Tracks Heritage Trail

⌂ Garden of Heavenly Rest Cemetery, Avenue S and 17th St ∑ stlucieco.gov/zora

At the end of the 1800s, Henry Flagler decided to move the unsightly homes of Palm Beach’s workers to the mainland, out of sight of the tourists. He thus created West Palm Beach, which has been the commercial center of Palm Beach County ever since.

The Downtown Waterfront Commons on Clematis Street is alive with visitors enjoying the picturesque Lake Worth, and is home to an extensive calendar of events. Just north of Downtown West Palm Beach, Northwood Village is also worth a visit for its restaurants, antique shops, and vintage boutiques.

Aimed at children, the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium offers great hands-on exhibits on subjects such as light, sound, color, and the weather. You can attempt to create your own clouds, and even touch a mini-tornado.

The Norton Museum of Art was established in 1941 with about 100 canvases belonging to Ralph Norton, a Chicago steel magnate who had retired to West Palm Beach. The French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collection includes works by Cézanne, Braque, Picasso, Matisse, and Gauguin, whose moving Agony in the Garden is the museum’s most famous painting. Night Mist (1945) by Jackson Pollock forms part of the Norton’s impressive store of 20th-century American art. This gallery also features some fine works by Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Hopper, and Andy Warhol. The third main collection comprises an array of artifacts from China, including ceramic figures of animals and courtiers from the T’ang Dynasty (4th–11th centuries AD). There are also more modern sculptures by Brancusi, Degas, and Rodin.

Of the 100 or more species represented at Palm Beach Zoo at Dreher Park, most interesting are the endangered Florida panther and the giant tortoises. At the re-created South American plain, visitors can see llamas, rheas, and tapirs from an observation deck, follow a boardwalk trail through exotic foliage, or cruise around a lake alive with a huge population of pelicans.

Across the inlet, Singer Island and Palm Beach Shores are relaxing, slow-paced communities with a splendid wide beach. Boating and fishing are popular activities here, and there are plenty of options for those who want to charter sport-fishing boats or book a cruise to explore the waterways.

At the north end of Singer Island is John D. MacArthur Beach State Park. Here, a dramatic boardwalk bridge meanders across a mangrove-lined inlet of Lake Worth to a hardwood hammock and a lovely beach. In the summer, visitors can see nesting loggerhead turtles while on a guided walk. For those who enjoy shopping, the Gardens Mall, 2 miles (3 km) inland in Palm Beach Gardens, has fragrant walkways and glass elevators that link approximately 200 stores.

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South Florida Science Center and Aquarium

⌂ 4801 Dreher Trail N # 9am–5pm Mon–Fri, 10am–6pm Sat & Sun ∑ sfsciencecenter.org

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Norton Museum of Art

⌂ 1451 South Olive Ave # 10am–5pm Tue–Sat (to 9pm Thu), 11am–5pm Sun ∑ norton.org

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Palm Beach Zoo at Dreher Park

⌂ 1301 Summit Blvd # 9am–5pm daily ∑ palmbeachzoo.org

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John D. MacArthur Beach State Park

⌂ A1A, 2 miles (3 km) N of Riviera Bridge # 8am–5pm daily ∑ macarthurbeach.org

Lake Worth is an unpretentious community. On its barrier island side there is a jolly public beach scene; on the mainland, a dozen or more antique shops set the tone along Lake and Lucerne avenues. Visitors will find an Art Deco movie theater converted into an space for art exhibitions, live music clubs, coffeehouses, art galleries, antique malls, retail stores, and restaurants. The community has worked hard to retain its old Florida flavor, with rules in place that protect the town from insensitive development.

EXPERIENCE The Gold and Treasure Coasts

Meaning “big water” in the Seminole language, Okeechobee is the second largest freshwater lake in the US (after Lake Michigan). The “Big O,” as the lake is often called, is famous for its abundance of fish, particularly largemouth bass. Roland Martin Marina, or any of the many marinas, will rent visitors a boat, tackle, bait, picnic food, or a guide and chartered boat. Nearby Clewiston offers the best facilities, with three marinas and a choice of decent motels.

For those who are not anglers, time in Florida is better spent elsewhere. The birdlife is rich along the shore, but the lake is too big to be scenic, and a high encircling dike, which protects the countryside from floods, prevents views from the road. Pahokee is one of the few places to offer easy lakeside access, and it boasts possibly the best sunsets in Florida, after the Gulf Coast.

The communities at the lake’s southern end are dependent on sugar for their prosperity. Half the sugarcane in the country is grown in the plains around local cities of Belle Glade and Clewiston (“America’s Sweetest Town”), where the rich soil is even darker than chocolate.

A one-time federal plan to buy the sugarcane land south of Lake Okeechobee and return it to marshland, in order to cleanse the water draining into the Everglades, has hit some stumbling blocks. Meanwhile, Big Sugar continues to produce its sweet product near the Big Water.

Roland Martin Marina

⌂ 920 E Del Monte Ave, Clewiston # 5:30am–5pm daily ∑ rolandmartinmarina.com

Arguably the most welcoming place between Palm Beach and Boca Raton, Delray Beach exudes an upscale but friendly air. The town is justifiably proud of the national awards for “civic-mindness” and being the “Most Fun Small Town in America” that it received in 1993, 2001, and 2017.

The long stretch of sedate beach here is magnificent, and makes for a great day spent on the sand or in the water. Between November and April, Delray Yacht Cruises runs daily paddleboat trips along the Intracoastal Waterway. Drift fishing boats also offer rides.

Delray’s heart lies inland, along Atlantic Avenue – an inviting street softly lit at night by old-fashioned lamps and lined with palm trees, chic cafes, antique shops, and art galleries. Alongside lies Old School Square, with a cluster of attractive 1920s buildings and assorted performance venues. Nearby, snug Cason Cottage has been meticulously restored to the way it might have looked originally, around 1915.

Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is the only museum in the United States devoted exclusively to Japanese culture. The museum complex is located on land donated by a farmer named George Morikami; he was one of a group of Japanese pioneers who established the Yamato Colony (named after ancient Japan) on the northern edge of Boca Raton in 1905. With the help of money from a development company owned by Henry Flagler, Morikami and his associates hoped to grow rice, tea, and silk. The project never took off, however, and the colony gradually petered out.

On a small island in a lake, the Yamato-kan villa provides displays that tell the settlers’ story and also delve into past and present Japanese culture. There are interesting reconstructions of a bathroom, a modern bedroom, and eel-and-sake restaurants. Six historic garden sites surround the villa, and paths lead into serene pinewoods.

A building across the lake holds exhibitions on all matters Japanese, a cafe serving Japanese food, and a traditional teahouse where tea ceremonies are performed once a month. The museum also hosts regular events, from traditional craft and cooking workshops to film series and lectures. A particular highlight of the museum’s calendar are the authentic seasonal festivals such as Hinamatsuri.

Delray Yacht Cruises

⌂ 801 East Atlantic Ave ∑ delraybeachcruises.com

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Cason Cottage

⌂ 5 NE 1st St # For tours only; Nov–Apr: 11am–3pm Thu–Sat ∑ delraybeachhistory.org/cason_cottage

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Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

⌂ 4000 Morikami Park Rd # 10am–5pm Tue–Sun ∑ morikami.org

Within giant walk-through aviaries brimming with tropical flowers, thousands of dazzling butterflies from all over the world flit about, often landing on visitors’ shoulders. Since the aviaries are effectively solar powered, the butterflies are most active on warm, sunny days, so it is worth planning a visit accordingly. There are also cabinets of emerging pupae and a fascinating collection of mounted insects – including morpho butterflies, with their incredible metallic blue wings, and beetles and grasshoppers the size of an adult hand. Outside, enjoy a wander around the extensive and peaceful gardens no matter the weather.

The magnificent causeway across the island-speckled Indian River from Hutchinson Island offers a fine approach to Martin County’s main town. Ringed by affluent waterfront enclaves and residential golf developments, Stuart has a fetching, rejuvenated downtown area, which is bypassed by the busy coastal highways. South of Roosevelt Bridge, along Flagler Avenue and Osceola Street, is a short riverside boardwalk, a smattering of 1920s brick and stucco buildings, and a number of art galleries. In the evenings, live music emanates from buzzing restaurants and bars.

This small town is best known for its fine beaches and spring-training camps of the Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals baseball teams. The John D. MacArthur Beach on Singer Island is one of the state’s best.

Close by, on the south side of Jupiter Inlet, Jupiter Beach Park is easily accessible and has a superb beach of chocolate-colored sand, complete with lifeguards – it is also a mecca for anglers and pelicans. There are picnic pavilions, tables, a children’s play area, restrooms, and a fishing jetty. Visitors can enjoy a good view across to scenic Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, dating from 1860 and the oldest structure in the county, which can be climbed for a wider perspective. The old oil house at its base is now a small museum. In addition to the lighthouse, there is an added bonus for Sunday visitors: the 1896 Dubois House Museum, operated by the Loxahatchee River Historical Society and furnished in turn-of-the-century pioneer style, offers free tours. Nearby, the huge Carlin Park has playing fields, picnic areas, tennis courts, and a guarded beach.

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Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse

⌂ 500 Captain Armour’s Way # 10am–5pm Tue–Sun ∑ jupiterlighthouse.org

Carlin Park

⌂ 400 South State Rd A1A § (561) 966-6600 # 7am–7:30pm daily (lifeguards on duty 9am–5:20pm)

Experience The Gold and Treasure Coasts

Extending for more than 20 miles (32 km), this barrier island is most memorable for its breathtaking beaches. In the south, sun-worshipers head for Sea Turtle Beach and the adjacent Jensen Beach Park, close to the junction of routes 707 and A1A. Stuart Beach, at the head of the causeway across the Indian River from Stuart, is well frequented, too.

Near Stuart Beach is the Elliott Museum, created in 1961 in honor of inventor Sterling Elliott, some of whose quirky contraptions are on show. Focusing on art, history, technology, and innovation, the museum was completely rebuilt in 2013.

Continuing south for about a mile (1.5 km), you will reach Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge Museum. Erected in 1875, it is one of ten such shelters along the east coast, established by the Lifesaving Service (predecessors of the US Coast Guard) for shipwreck victims. The stark rooms in the charming clapboard house show how hard life was for the early caretakers, who often stayed only a year. A replica of an 1840s “surf boat” used on rescue missions sits outside. Beyond the refuge is Bathtub Beach, the best on the island. The natural pool formed by a sandstone reef offshore provides a safe, popular swimming spot.

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Elliott Museum

⌂ 825 NE Ocean Blvd § (772) 225-1961 # 10am–5pm daily

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Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge Museum

⌂ 301 SE MacArthur Blvd § (772) 225-1875 # 10am–4pm Mon–Sat; 1–4pm Sun

Much of this long, thin island is a well-to-do residential neighborhood, but there are also several excellent public beaches.

Toward Jupiter Island’s northern end, Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge beckons with more than 3 miles (5 km) of beach, mangroves, and magnificent unspoiled dunes. The other half of the refuge, a strip of pine scrub flanking the Intracoastal Waterway, is a haven for birds, including the Florida scrub jay. There is a nature center by the junction of US 1 and A1A.

Blowing Rocks Preserve, a short distance south, has a fine beach. During storms, holes in the shoreline’s limestone escarpment shoot water skyward – hence the name.

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Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge

⌂ 13640 SE Federal Hwy § (772) 546-6141; Nature Center: (772) 546-2067 # Nature Center: 9am–3pm Mon–Fri

EXPERIENCE The Gold and Treasure Coasts

EXPERIENCE The Gold and Treasure Coasts

In 1920 a Californian named Joseph Young arrived in the south of Florida with the intention of building his dream city. His vision came to life in Hollywood, and despite great damage during a hurrican in 1926, the city is now a large and unpretentious resort city. It’s especially popular with French Canadians who migrate to the greater Fort Lauderdale area every winter to enjoy the lovely city and warm weather.

In the historic arts district around Young Circle, the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood holds art exhibitions, theater, music, and dance performances.

Visit the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk, a 2.5-mile (4-km) cycling and walking path along the beach, dotted with live music venues and family-friendly restaurants and live music venues. The sandy city beach itself is also a lovely spot for families to just sit back and relax.

The Anne Kolb Nature Center includes a five-level observation fishing pier, two nature trails, outdoor amphitheater, and exhibit hall. The Topeekeegee Yugnee Park offers picnic and playground areas, a water park, paved pathways for walking and biking, basketball and tennis courts, and a fishing pier.

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Art and Culture Center of Hollywood

⌂ 1650 Harrison St # 10am–5pm Mon–Sat, noon–4pm Sun ∑ artandculturecenter.org

Anne Kolb Nature Center

⌂ 751 Sheridan St # 8am–6pm daily ∑ broward.org/Parks

Topeekeegee Yugnee Park

⌂ 3300 N Park Rd # 9am–5pm daily ∑ broward.org

These beautiful gardens started out in 1927 as a weekend retreat for the Wrays, a citrus-farming family. You can tour the Wrays’ 1930s home, furnished in period style, but the gardens are the main attraction. When you need a break from the region’s big cities, they offer a much-needed haven of peace and quiet. Trolley tours pass groves of lemon and kumquat trees, live oaks, banyans, and other beautiful and exotic vegetation. The gardens are also home to many Florida birds, including the bald eagle and pink flamingos. Several species of duck, gulls, doves, and waders – including the roseate spoonbill – inhabit a walk-through aviary split into habitats such as cypress forest and mangrove swamp. Popular Wildlife Encounter shows are held here in the afternoons.

The city of Dania Beach blends seamlessly into the coastal conurbation. Some locals visit just to watch a game of jai alai, but the other main attraction in town is the John U. Lloyd Beach State Park. To the south of the park stretches one of the Gold Coast’s loveliest beaches: more than

2 miles (3 km) in length and backed by pine trees. Canoes can be rented to explore the scenic, mangrove-lined creek that runs through the heart of the park. The Dania Beach Pier will appeal to those who enjoy strolling by the ocean or sea fishing. The magnificent views of the coastline from the pier are well worth the small entrance fee.

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John U. Lloyd Beach State Park

⌂ 6503 N Ocean Dr § (954) 923-2833 # Daily

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Dania Beach Pier

⌂ 300 N Beach Rd # 6am–midnight daily ∑ ci.dania-beach.fl.us

At the crossroads of State Road 7/441 and Route 848/Stirling Road, on the western edge of Hollywood, is the Seminole Tribe of Florida Hollywood Reservation, home of the tribal headquarters.

Gambling is legal on the reservations, and here the Seminole Classic Casino offers poker, bingo, and other classic gaming. The main attraction, however, is the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, which also features tropical pool area and Hard Rock Live.

Seminole Classic Casino

⌂ 4150 N State Rd 7 # 24 hours daily ∑ seminoleclassiccasino.com

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino

⌂ 1 Seminole Way # 24 hours daily ∑ seminolehardrockhollywood.com

This 221-sq mile (572-sq km) refuge, which contains the most northerly remaining part of the Everglades, shelters a superb and abundant range of wildlife. The best time to visit is early or late in the day, and ideally in winter, when many migrating birds make temporary homes here.

The Visitor Center, situated off Route 441 on the refuge’s eastern side, 10 miles (16 km) west of Delray Beach, has a good information center explaining the ecology of the Everglades; it also provides the starting point for two memorable trails that are worth exploring. The half-mile (1 km) Cypress Swamp Boardwalk enters a magical natural world, with guava and wax myrtle trees and many epiphytes growing beneath the canopy. The longer Marsh Trail passes by marshland, whose water levels are manipulated to produce the best possible environment for waders and waterfowl. On a winter afternoon this trail is a bird-watcher’s paradise, with a cacophony of sound from heron, grebe, ibis, and many other birds. There is also a great lookout platform. Eagle-eyed visitors may also spot turtles and alligators.

Those with their own canoes can embark on the 6-mile (10-km) canoe trail. In addition, there is an extensive program of guided nature walks.

The main town of Indian River County, Vero Beach, and in particular its resort community on Orchid Island, is a wealthy place. Mature live oaks line the residential streets, and buildings are restricted to four stories. Pretty clapboard houses along Ocean Drive contain galleries, boutiques, and antiques shops.

The Vero Beach Museum of Art in Riverside Park on Orchid Island shows high-profile exhibitions, displaying state, regional, and national works of art. It also hosts seminars, workshops, and performances, and even has a sculpture garden. However, the town is most famous for its beaches and two hotels. The Driftwood Resort, in the heart of oceanfront Vero Beach, began life in 1935 as a beach house. It was created out of reclaimed wood and driftwood by a local eccentric, Waldo E. Sexton, and filled with an amazing array of bric-a-brac, still present today. Seven miles (11 km) north at Wabasso Beach, one of the best of the superb shell-strewn sands on Orchid Island, is the Vero Beach Resort – Disney’s first Florida hotel outside Orlando. It is a model of measured elegance.

The Indian River Citrus Museum, on the mainland, is dedicated to the area’s chief crop. All kinds of artifacts relevant to the citrus industry are displayed, including some old photographs, harvesting equipment, and brand labels.

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Vero Beach Museum of Art

⌂ 3001 Riverside Park Dr # 10am–4:30pm Mon–Sat, 1–4:30pm Sun) ∑ vbmuseum.org

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Indian River Citrus Museum

⌂ 2140 14th Ave # 10am–4pm Tue–Fri ∑ veroheritage.com

Centered on Orange Drive and Davie Road, and surrounded by paddocks and stables, the town of Davie reflects Florida’s long cowboy history, much older than California’s. Cacti grow outside the town hall’s wooden huts, and the local McDonald’s even has a corral at the back. Davie’s real character is most clearly reflected in the popular events held at the Bergeron Rodeo Grounds, home to the Davie Rodeo Association. In addition to the many rodeo events that draw in a great number of visitors, the arena hosts a diverse program of brilliant concerts and circuses, plus car, monster truck, horse, and even airboat shows.

Bergeron Rodeo Grounds

⌂ 4271 Davie Rd ∑ davie-fl.gov

The pristine sands by Juno Beach, a small community that stretches north to Jupiter Inlet, are one of the world’s most productive nesting sites for loggerhead turtles. In Loggerhead Park, nestled between US 1 and Route A1A, the fascinating Loggerhead Marinelife Center is an eco-science center and nature trail. Injured turtles recuperate in tanks. A path leads to the beach where turtles nest in the summer. Reservations are a must.

Loggerhead Marinelife Center

⌂ 14200 US 1 # 10am–5pm Mon–Sat, 11am–5pm Sun ∑ marinelife.org