Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Updated on January 7th, 2016

|

Published in Boating

Jonathan Dickinson State Park is a Florida State Park and a historic site located in Martin County, Florida, between Hobe Sound and Tequesta. The park is packed with wildlife in 13 natural habitats, including sand pine scrub, pine flatwoods, mangroves, and river swamps. The park is named after Jonathan Dickinson, a Quaker merchant who was shipwrecked in 1696, with his family and others, on the Florida coast near the present-day park. He wrote a journal describing their encounters with local tribes, and their journey up the coast to St. Augustine.

Visitors can enjoy paved and off-road biking, equestrian, and hiking trails. Boating, canoeing, and kayaking along the river are also great ways to see the park. Anglers can fish along the riverbank or from a boat. The nature and history of the park comes to life through exhibits and displays in the Elsa Kimbell Environmental Education and Research Center. Programs for the whole family are offered here.

The Loxahatchee River, Florida's first federally designated Wild and Scenic River, runs through the park. A man known as Trapper Nelson homesteaded on the banks of the Loxahatchee River after coming to the area in the 1930s, living off the land trapping and selling furs. He soon became known as the Wildman of the Loxahatchee. After he died in 1968 the state acquired his land, and deeded it to the park.  The park operates a 44-passenger boat for tours of Trapper Nelson's homestead.

The United States Army established Camp Murphy, a top-secret radar training school, in the area that is now the park, in 1942. The camp included over 1,000 buildings, and housed more than 6,000 officers and soldiers. The camp was deactivated in 1944, after only two years of operation. Most of the camp buildings were torn down, but some of the building foundations remain. The property was transferred to the State of Florida in 1947, and opened as a state park in 1950.

The park also offers two full-facility campgrounds and a youth/group primitive campground. Visitors can arrange boat tours of the river and rent canoes, kayaks, and motorboats.

The park is located at 16450 S.E. Federal Highway, Hobe Sound.