If you’ve seen my ‘Beautiful State Parks in Florida’ post, you’ll know it’s a goal of mine to get to more state parks. There are 175 in Florida which is insane and also why we are setting out to explore more. They are protected for a reason! Fort Pierce Inlet State Park is about an hour north of where we live so we decided to take an afternoon drive up to visit.
About Fort Pierce Inlet State Park
It’s located just north of Port St. Lucie near south Florida in the small town of Fort Pierce. You can find the state park on the sliver of island off the coast of Fort Pierce. If you aren’t familiar with the area, it’s a little under an hour and a half north of West Palm Beach.
It was actually a training ground during World War II for the Navy Seals (though they were apparently called Frogmen back then??). Before that, there was an army fort built back in 1838, from which it was named after.
What To Do
This state park is along the coast so the majority of things to do here involve the beach.
Hit the Beach
There are four boardwalks from the parking lot that take you to the main beach area. The beach area isn’t terribly wide, but wide enough to space out. The sand is fairly light and the water a pretty blue. One thing we did notice though is that the ocean was a little rough. There were lots of surfers out in the water, though I wouldn’t say the waves were that big.
If you head towards the jetty and the rocks, you’ll eventually end up back towards the parking lot, but there are some cute little spots to look out from and another beach spot. This spot was much calmer–the water and the people.
The beach juts out into the inlet a bit and we walked around the corner to explore more. The beach gets much thinner until there is just foliage. Several people had parked their kayaks or jet skis along the edge at the end to visit the beach. This spot was much more enjoyable in my opinion.
Take a Walk
If you want to take a break to explore the area, there’s a walking path called Oak Hammock Trail. It’s an easy 30-min walk through some foliage with different oaks to see. You can also just walk around the beach areas and the trails leading to the sand. We ended up seeing two fairly large turtles on the main paths!
Have a Picnic
Just off the parking lot is where you’ll find several large pavilions, picnic tables and grills. It’s a great spot to sit and have some lunch. The pavilions are covered of course and the picnic tables are near the beach under the palm trees. There’s quite a few palm trees that provide a decent amount of shade.
Do Water Sports
Like I said above, lots of people come here to surf and we saw several people in kayaks/canoes that head to the Indian River Lagoon. There’s also a reef off the shore that is popular for snorkeling and diving.
Things to Know
- Entrance Fee: $6 per car
- Hours: 8AM-Sunset every day of the year
- Pets: Pets are allowed but only on a leash and only in designated areas. For Florida State Parks, this typically means trails and campgrounds.
If you find yourself in this area, Fort Pierce Inlet State Park is a great place to spend the day. There were a lot of people there but it wasn’t overly crowded. We had a fun time just walking along the beach, looking at turtles and exploring!
Check out some other Florida state parks here!
I love living on the island in Fort Pierce…a hidden Gem
I had completely forgotten all that my childhood hometown had to offer. Maybe I’ll try and visit this summer for the first time in a decade. Nice write up.
Thanks Tamela! We had a fun afternoon there.
Great post! I so love Florida beaches! Thanks for sharing!