Last updated on February 22nd, 2025 at 01:49 pm
The St. Lucie River is a critically important piece of the Indian River Lagoon ecosystem, and for folks from South Florida, it’s one of very few easy-to-reach and easy-to-kayak rivers.
It’s not famous like the nearby Loxahatchee; the St. Lucie River South Fork in Stuart is listed in only one of my half-dozen Florida kayaking trail guides.
The South Fork is one of Florida’s Designated Paddling Trails and local kayakers know it and use it.
For me, the key advantage is that it’s 90 minues from my Fort Lauderdale home. It’s a good day trip for nature lovers in populous Broward and Palm Beach counties, where kayak destinations are sparse. It’s located right off the I-95 exit 101 to Stuart
Since discovering it a decade ago, I’ve paddled the St. Lucie River several times and have always been delighted with the scenery, the wildlife and the remote feeling, even though it is five minutes off I-95.
Over that time, Martin County has even improved the launch sites.
The St. Lucie River is wild and gorgeous — a jungly forest of old live oaks that are fuzzy with airplants and Spanish moss. There are a few small islands that inspire the imagination and, after paddling about two hours, you reach a remote area where you can picnic and take a hike reachable only by boat.
A small downside: At some points, the growling hum of I-95 rumbles in the distance. It’s not a big problem, though, when get to kayak such a beautiful river in overbuilt South Florida
Where to launch to kayak the St. Lucie South Fork
We had always paddled from Hosford Park, 7737 SW Gaines Ave., Stuart. It has a new kayak dock, lots of parking and picnics table, but no restroom.
This time, we discovered a new launch site very nearby and a bit upstream. It has a similar kayak dock, parking and picnic tables but has a restroom. It’s called Halpatiokee North and is at 7647 SW Lost River Road. It’s part of the excellent county park 400-acre Halpatiokee Regional Park, which is on your right the whole way as you paddle upstream. (It was the site of a park concessionaire, Lost River Outdoor Center, which closed in fall 2024.)
From either launch site, you paddle upstream (south.) There is little current and it’s an easy paddle the whole way. The entire trip up and back is about seven miles. For the first 30 or 45 minutes, there are trailers and houses on the left, with undeveloped forest that is part of Halpatiokee Regional Park on the right.
Once you get beyond the houses, the twisty river surrounds you and you are likely to startle a great blue heron and see osprey swoop down to nab a fish. There are so many manatee warning signs on the houses along the way, they must be frequent visitors, though weve never seen any.
Mullets jumped and splashed and we saw a variety of birds, including a beautiful flock of black-bellied whistling ducks. (Notable for their very orange-red beaks and legs.)
The river goes from being a saltwater estuary with mangroves to a fresh water river, where we saw a few small alligators as we paddled upstream. Otters are seen occasionally, according to Ed Stout, owner of South River Outfitters, a kayak shop that was located on this river for many years and moved to a new location on US 1.
Among the delights of the paddle trail are the islands you encounter. We enjoyed circumnavigating each one, but if you want to stay on the main river, just remember to stay left.
Islands in the St. Lucie River South Fork
The largest and first island is called Treasure Island, and it contains a clearing at its far end that makes a good place for a snack. It has a short overgrown path down its middle. Treasure Island is part of Halpatiokee Park.
Treasure Island has a great story, according to Ed Stout. The land was owned by a real-estate investor in the 1920s, but there was little action in Martin County. So he devised one of those classic Florida real estate gimmicks. He buried a sack of gold on the island and advertised a one-day treasure hunt in papers in Tampa, Jacksonville and other cities, on the theory that anything that brought people to his land was good for business.
“Three hundred people came,” Stout says, “That’s probably more people on that island than have ever been there at one time before or since.”
Somebody did find the gold, but nobody bought the land. Soon, the real estate boom collapsed and, in the end, Treasure Island was preserved.
Beyond Treasure Island, after about two hours of paddling from the launch site, you reach a landing in the park where you can pull your boat on shore and lunch at a picnic table. If you’re making a day of your outing, you can take a trail through the river hammock. If you hike the full loop, it’s three miles and takes about two hours.
Shortly after the park, the river peters out into unappealing ditch, so the landing makes a good turn-around. Except for Treasure Island, there are few places where it is easy to get out of your kayak or canoe until the turn-around spot.
The St. Lucie South Fork was litter-free, clean and clear on our visit. (Treasure Island, on the other hand, was a travesty — full of beer cans, plastic water bottles, derelict lawn chairs and toilet paper. We cleaned it up and brought back a bag of recyclable trash, but I fear you’ll find it in bad condition after a few weekends.)
The problem with the St. Lucie River
The St. Lucie River has bigger problems, though. Like many South Florida waterways, man has tampered with it, and its health is at risk.
St. Lucie was an estuary, rather than a true river. Then in the 1920s, developers dug a canal between Lake Okeechobee and the St. Lucie. This created a navigable waterway, but brought fresh water from Lake Okeechobee down the St. Lucie.
Today, that means when Lake O gets too full, water polluted with agricultural run-off is flushed down the St. Lucie. During a few summers in the last decade, the river was tainted with a toxic algae and the entire river had to be closed to paddling, fishing and all recreational use.
Over time, the river recovered, but the essential problem hasn’t changed and could occur again during a wet year.
For now, however, the St. Lucie South Fork is a gem worth discovering. And, for the long term, it’s also a gem worth protecting.
Planning your visit to the St. Lucie River South Fork
- Hosford Park boat ramp is at 7474 SW Gaines Ave. Stuart. We were impressed with its floating dock that had a handy kayak-entry area, providing grab bars on each side of the boat.
- The Halpatiokee North kayak launch site is at 7647 SW Lost River Road, Stuart, with a similar kayak-friendly launch system.
- There is currently no outfitter serving this river, so rental kayaks are not an option.
- Primitive camping is allowed at the picnic site/turn-around location in Halpatiokee Regional Park. You must make reservations by calling 772-221-1419.
More things to do near St. Lucie River
- Jonathan Dickinson State Park, for hiking, biking, kayaking and camping.
- St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park, a state park reachable only boat. Paddling there is an adventure because you reach a beautiful beach accessed only by boaters. More in a Florida Rambler story.
- Blowing Rocks Preserve, an outstanding and unique beach very nearby
- The historic 1860 Jupiter lighthouse, which is one of the few lighthouses you can climb. The waterfront museum in the newly restored WWII building offers indoor Florida history exhibits, outdoor exhibits and the Tindall Pioneer Homestead. It’s $9 for adults, $5 children ages 6 to 18, ages 5 and under free.
- Bicycling Jupiter Island.
- Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge, another “secret” beach because of its out-of-the-way location.
Location of Halpatiokee North kayak launch site is at 7647 SW Lost River Road, Stuart