Halpatiokee Park makes for a great outing with young children. You can satisfy both their desire for a playground and your desire to be hiking out in nature! There is a large playground with swings, bouncies, and endless tunnels and climbing options with a clean sandy floor and huge shade canopy. What more could you ask for! The shade canopy makes this playground a great place to go on hot summer days. Plenty of benches provide spots for parents to sit while they watch their kids. Kids can also bike and scooter on the many winding paths.
Afterwards, drive to the end of the parking lot and hike in the jungle paradise! The trail hugs the river and you pass mossy green wooden lookout points high above the river with tarzan ropes falling from the trees. Little plants dangle from the branches and ropes of the trees. Kayakers paddle by happily. This scenery is what Florida is all about! What a gorgeous place!
The hiking trail starts at the frisbee golf field (station number 5) at the first picnic pavilion you come to- enter the forest there. From there you can hike either along a narrow path by the river or a wide path in the pine forest, or alternate between the two. Both are very beautiful and go for almost two miles! On the wide forest path, you can take a side path/mountain bike trail to a lake with some water lilies. There are yellow, white, and purple wildflowers. You will see pine trees, cabbage palms, palms, oak trees with epidendrums, and palmetto bushes.
There is also a fairly shady cement path in the park. It borders the north edge of the ball fields. It's very cute with a 650m winding pathway lined by magical Cypress trees. Pages from an Eric Carle book are mounted on posts along the way. Entice your kids to walk a little further with a promise of donuts at the Dunkin Donuts on Lost River Rd on the way home!
Or after, drive 11 minutes east to have lunch in Port Salerno on the waterfront. Or drive 9 minutes west to check out the animals at Treasure Coast Wildlife Center.
The scenery on this hike is very similar to that of Jonathon Dickinson Park, another great place to explore.
Halpatiokee Park is located at 8303 SW Lost River Rd, Stuart FL 34997.
From Highway 95 northbound, exit at Kanner Hwy. Turn right on Kanner Hwy and then right on Lost River Rd. Pass the Dunkin Donuts on your right and then the park entrance is on your left.
Dunkin Donuts, 7850 SW Lost River Rd, Stuart FL 34997, call (772) 220-3583.
Last Updated: Sun, 29 Oct 2023 03:55:06 GMT
Text and Image copyright: © 2006-2024 LotsaFunMaps.com.
Copying prohibited. Contact the editor |
Facebook |
Pinterest |
Instagram
Blog |
The Official Mug |
Privacy Settings |
About Us