NEW JUPITER HIKING TRAIL HAS ROOM FOR HAMMOCKS
It’s BYOH — Bring Your Own Hammock — at the new hiking trail near the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse.
Hikers on the mile-long, winding trail can hook their swaying cots at the “Hammock Hangout.” The twin posts are perched halfway along the winding, wood-chipped trail that leads from the south side of Cato’s Bridge.
They can listen to the birds, enjoy the view of the lighthouse and watch the boats float by as they swing back and forth on the west side of Intracoastal Waterway.
Parking is free. So is admission to the trail, open daily from dawn to dusk.
“We made the trail as natural as possible. The trail follows the natural slope of the land,” said Shayne Banks, who is with the public affairs department of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which owns and manages the 120-acre parcel.
Locals can enjoy a fitness nature walk every Tuesday morning starting at about 7:30 along the trail. The circular walk meanders past scrub oak trees and tropical hardwood hammocks, goes along the Intracoastal Waterway and provides a striking view of the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse.
Hikers should bring their own drinking water and bug spray. No pets are allowed.
“It’s a great way to get your blood moving early in the morning,” Banks said.
The trail is on the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area, which is part of the BLM’s 27-million-acre National Conservation Lands program. The Jupiter property is the only one east of the Mississippi River.
The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse site is one of three Outstanding Natural Areas given the ONA designation. Congress established Oregon’s Yaquina Head in 1980; the lighthouse and the Piedras Blancas Light Station in California were established in May 2008.
About 600 known species of plants and animals, including 26 special status species and five endangered species, are located on the Jupiter ONA site, according the BLM.
Australian pines up to 65 feet tall, 12-foot-high Brazilian pepper trees and other exotics were ground up into mulch to build the trail. The 7-acre trail site is across the Intracoastal Waterway from Jupiter Inlet Colony.
Many locals remember the location as the spot of the old rope swing
Removing exotics prevents them from crowding out native plants and wildlife. Native plants like scrub oaks provide shelter for the threatened scrub jay. Removing Brazilian pepper opened land for gopher tortoises. And planting native plants reduced erosion.
The hammock trail is a little different than the trail opened several years ago on the north side of Beach Road, also on the ONA property. That trail is paved and it’s a little shorter. Look close, and you’ll see imprints of paw prints installed by the contractor in the concrete walkway. There’s a shaded gazebo at the end.
On the south trail, there’s no gazebo. The trail is made of wood chips.
And there’s the Hammock Hangout.
“We made the trails different. That gives people a choice,” Banks said.