Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area Trail Project

This American Hiking Society Volunteer vacation was for the Bureau of Land Management's Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area, a 120 acre site located in northern Palm Beach County on Florida's Treasure Coast. It is home to a remarkable array of natural and cultural resources including four sensitive natural habitats, 26 species with special status, and archaeological evidence of human occupation dating back over 5000 years.

We were tasked with helping build a new loop trail through this unique habitat. The mile-long trail corridor had been flagged three weeks earlier, and other groups had cut down the trees and bushes in the new corridor, but they had thrown the cut-offs into the vegetation on both sides of the new trail which would eventually affect the ecology of the area (as well as look bad.)  We pulled this debris onto the trail and then carried, pulled, and wheel-barrowed it to the trailhead for disposal.

The temperatures reached the middle and upper 80s with humidity over 50 percent, so we were sweating and exerting ourselves. Several of us had step-counter devices and we were walking 6 to 8 miles a day!

In the future, these accumulated cut-offs will be shredded and the mulch will be used as the new trail tread material.

Sharon, Sheila, Linda, and I along with BLM employees Neal and intern Cecily labored four days to clear the debris from the trail...

...and then we had to locate and remove the stumps and stalks protruding up which were dangerous tripping hazards, after which our BLM supervisor, Peter, demonstrated how he wanted us to level the trail before the mulch was applied......

 Finally, we spread the supply of mulch which was already available, thus completing a section of the trail and showing what the finished trail will eventually look like...

It will be a beautiful trail and the mulch tread will make for comfortable and safe footing...

Our AHS crew: Sheila, Sharon, Linda (our leader), and Chuck

Our BLM workers, Neal and intern Cecily

The Lighthouse and Museum

The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse dates to 1860. Peter took us on a special tour of the lighthouse and the grounds, and he explained how there were two types of lighthouses -- those that show the way to a safe harbor and those that warn boats to stay away from hazardous reefs. Juniper Lighthouse falls into this second category and its light reaches 25 miles out to sea!

The lighthouse has a Fresnel lens which was developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses and it has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." It allows this small light to be  seen over 25 miles away.

Several of us climbed to the top...

...and enjoyed the view of Jupiter Island, the Loxahatchee and Indian Rivers, and the Jupiter Inlet.

...as well as the Atlantic Ocean Coastline.

A side note:  This project was held the week that the worsening Coronavirus pandemic was sweeping the world. AHS cancelled all projects for the next 8 weeks and was about to send us home midweek until they learned the four of us volunteers each had our own bedroom in our lodging and thus could practice some amount of "social distancing" so we were allowed to finish the week's labors.

Here is a 5 minute video of this project...

My other volunteer trail projects

Biking Florida's Bluegill Trail

The Bluegill Trail runs 7.5 miles along the C-18 Canal in northeastern Palm County which  extends 19 miles and drains 99 square miles of residential and agricultural land as well as large tracts of natural wetlands. It drains northward to the Loxahatchee River and was constructed in the mid 1950s. The Sandhill Crane Access Park seen below is located on PGA Boulevard (route 786) between the Florida Turnpike and Highway 710, and the Bluegill Trail runs 5.5 miles north along the east bank of the canal, and another 2 miles south from the trailhead.

The trail is hard rock /shell surface with some loose rock in places. I saw a road bike on the trail but would not suggest using one on this trail due to some rough spots. Here's the map found at the trailhead...

...and here is the start of the northbound part of the trail. A fairly new addition heads south across PGA Blvd. and goes two more miles to Northlake Boulevard ending in Grassy Waters Preserve in Palm Beach Gardens.

At Jupiter's exceptional Riverbend Park you'll see this bridge which takes you over to the west side of the canal where there is an entrance to this extensive park.

Miccosukee Greenway Road and Trail

Only five miles from the Florida state capitol in Tallahassee, the Miccosukee Canopy Road is a beautiful two-lane roadway, one of 9 canopy roads in the area following Native American trails that were later used by Spanish explorers and American settlers.

The trail parallels the road for nearly 7 miles through a linear park of 500 acres. Hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding are permitted on the gravel and stone trail through groves of pine and hardwood trees...

...as well as open meadows.

I was passing through town, and due to the morning rainstorm, I only had time for a 7 mile roundtrip on the trail. One caveat -- although the trail may appear to be level,  it was 450+ feet of elevation gain for that short distance.

Parking can be found along Miccosukee Road at Edenfield, Thornton and Crump Roads. The western-most lot has full bathroom facilities and all lots at least have a porta-potty.