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BOAT TOURS IN JUPITER – VISIT FULLERTON ISLAND

6/7/2022

 

Boat Tours in Jupiter

Fullerton Island — just a short paddle from Sawfish Bay Park — has lush mangroves and winding waterways perfect for bird watching. Manatees and sea turtles make the place their hangout. Mangroves are nurseries for tropical fish.

Paddle a one-person kayak, two-person-kayak, canoe or stand-up paddle board. All skill levels and ages are welcome. Your boat tours in Jupiter guide will provide basic Loxahatchee kayaking paddle and safety instruction.

LOVE STREET OUTDOOR CENTER supplies the watercraft, life vests and equipment. You and your friends just show up and have fun.

 

FIRST, A LITTLE BACKGROUND…

Once proposed for luxury properties, Fullerton Island was 12 acres of prime Jupiter real estate ready to be sold to the highest bidder. A bridge from the mainland was proposed to the island on the Indian River Lagoon, one of the most bio-diverse estuaries in the United States.

Happily for us paddlers, the town of Jupiter bought the island for $2.9 million dollars. With eco-tourism the goal, the town cleared exotic plants, dredged, built docks and planted mangroves to create a flourishing environment for local sea and land creatures. Backhoes dug 3-foot deep channels meandering through the island, only deep enough for kayaks, paddle boards and canoes — no powerboats.

The island is now a thriving estuary. See manatees, rays, porpoise, snook, snapper, sheepshead, and mullet as well as birds like blue heron and spoonbills.

To make a boat tours in Jupiter reservation, click here.

 

WHAT WAS DONE?

a large body of water surrounded by trees

Land clearing and dredging began in 2013. Workers and volunteers cut and uprooted Australian pines, some two feet in diameter, and other non-native plants such as Brazilian pepper. To save energy from trucks hauling the non-native plants away, the debris was burned on the island.

The slow-growing mangrove trees serve a dual purpose: Their finger-like roots spread out, stabilizing the plant, collecting sand and building up the island. The roots also create a nursery for fish, oysters and crustaceans to hide from predators while they grow.

Dirt was removed to create about 5 acres of wetlands. The dirt — about 60,000 cubic yards — was floated by barge on the Intracoastal Waterway to Bryant Park in Lake Worth. That dirt was used in a restoration project just south of the Lake Worth Beach Bridge.

To reserve a Full Moon Boat Tours in Jupiter near Fullerton Island, click here.

 

WHAT’S OUT THERE? 

Fullerton Island is now a thriving estuary promoting conservation as well as eco-friendly tourism in the Jupiter.

Visitors on a boat cruise in Jupiter can beach their crafts at designated spots and hike through hammocks, mangrove islands and lots of shady areas. There’s several 40-foot-tall oak trees. Many visitors bring their lunch and dock at the six slips. There’s a picnic table with a shaded pavilion.

Motorized boats can dock at the Fullerton Island entrance, but should only do so at high tide. Power boats can’t go beyond the entrance, which is only wide enough for kayaks or paddleboards to enter the preserve off nearby Burt Reynolds Park.

 

NO RUNNING WATER, ELECTRICITY, OVERNIGHT CAMPING, TRASH CANS OR RESTROOMS.

SO WHY GO?

 

Nurture with nature.

Paddle into one the curly water lanes inside Fullerton Island, and you’ll quickly forget civilization. Juvenile snook, tarpon and grouper and hiding in the spindly-fingered lush mangroves. Manatees are lazily lounging in the smooth waters. Owls, ospreys and pelicans are looking for meals.

For an up-close-and-personal view, take a boat tours in Jupiter adventure with one of JUPITER OUTDOOR CENTER’S expert guides. They’ll show you the watery nooks and crannies, help with photos and explain the fun stuff of the waterway.

Listen for the low grunts from roseatte spoonbills. Great blue herons make roh-roh-roh squawk.

Or head out on your own tour. Either way, your boat tours in Jupiter adventure will be a fun experience for all ages.

Boat tours in Jupiter are also available to Pecks Lake and St. Lucie Inlet Preserve. To make a reservation, click here.

 

GET THE GANG OUT THERE!

a group of people riding on the back of a boat in the water

Celebrate a birthday or simply enjoy the company of up to 15 people on a guided boat tours in Jupiter experience you will never forget.  Jupiter Lighthouse, Fullerton Island, Mangrove Island adventures on the Jupiter River and Lower Loxahatchee are some options.

Click HERE for boat tours in Jupiter group tour.

How about a picnic at Burt Reynolds Park? Breakfast on the local sandbars? Stand-up paddling and kayaking to the local sandbars? Drift by the historic Jupiter Lighthouse and lush mangrove islands?

Got your own party plan?

Tell us. LOVE STREET OUTDOOR CENTER  will make it happen.

To sign up for a Mangrove Mystery Tour, click here.

 

For more THINGS TO DO IN JUPITER, check out our blog here.