Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Topic One–January 28 to February 8, 2013

We stayed at Jonathan Dickinson State Park for 11 days.  Gin and Syl arrived a day after us. Unfortunately, they both contracted “The Flu” at Disney World;o((  So they just stayed put and got better for several days. A little later in the week, Dan and Tricia arrived.  Rather than do a day by day account, we will cover our stay here by topics. 
 
Click on any photo to enlarge
 

TOPIC  ONE:  THE  CAMPGROUND…
 

We left Fort Wilderness at Disney World on Tuesday, January 28th and headed southeast to Jonathan Dickinson State Park.  It is located off Route 1 between Hobe Sound and the Loxahatchee River – south of Stuart and north of Jupiter, Florida.
 
 
State Park Entrance with the Campground in the background.05 - Entrance and Campground
 
 
From the parking lot at the entrance,
you can access the Florida Trail and read about Jonathan Dickinson’s shipwreck. 05c - Florida Trail Sign 05b - Jonathan Dickinson Shipwreck Sign
It was interesting to learn that
Jonathan Dickinson was a Quaker and he was headed to our birth state of PA.
 
 
The campground is tree-less and right next to the highway;o((  Apparently, both hurricanes and an uncontrolled prescribed burn managed to eradicate all the trees.  It would be a wonderful campground if it was moved further into the State Park, away from the road and they could get some trees to grow.   02c - Campground 202c - Campground 
All the sites are full hookup and level with a patio area :o)
 
 
Our site 46 was in the perfect location. 
 
About as far from the road as you can get and it was positioned to avoid the afternoon sun!!
 
Did I mention it was too windy to put your awning out;o((
 
01 - Site 46 02 - Site 46 Front Yard 
We managed to get this site by sheer luck – somebody cancelled;o)))

 
 
Dan and Tricia's Site
02b - Dan and Tricia Campsite 
 
 
Poor Gin and Syl were at the top of the hill right next to the highway;o((02b2 - Gin and Syl Campsite 
 
 
 
This little gazebo by the pond was a great spot to watch the sun set at the campground.
02d - Funny Sign 
Love the sign!!
Appears they worry about the pets, but people can go sit on the bench;o))
 
 
 
The best place to get some perspective about the size of this large park is at
Hobe Mountain Tower.
 
The Tower is about a mile and a half ride or walk from the campground.
03 - Hobe Tower - Road 03a - Hobe Tower - from below
03b - Hobe Tower - Sign
03c - Hobe Tower - Boardwalk
 
 
Originally, the state park land was known as Camp Murphy,
a military radar training facility. 
 03l - Hobe Tower - Camp Murphy Sign 
03m - Hobe Tower - Camp Murphy Map
 
The State Park extends from Route 1 on it’s east border,
4 miles west to the Loxahatchee River.
 
The Florida East Coast Rail Lines cuts through the middle of the park.
 
Looking West toward the Loxahatchee River and the Rail Line.
03f - Hobe Tower - Looking West 03i - Hobe Tower - Train

 
View North toward Stuart
 03e - Hobe Tower - Looking North

 
View East toward Route 1, Hobe Sound, Jupiter Island and the Atlantic Ocean.
03d - Hobe Tower - Looking East 
Many famous rich people, like Tiger Woods,
own mansions on  Jupiter Island along Hobe Sound.
03n - Hobe Tower - Jupiter Inlet and Atlantic Ocean 03d2 - Hobe Tower - Looking East Jupiter Inlet and Atlantic Ocean
 
 
Looking South toward the campground and Jupiter Florida.
03g - Hobe Tower - Looking South 03g2 - Hobe Tower - Looking South Campground and Jupiter
  
 
Anytime of the day, you could meet nice people enjoying the view from the tower.
03j - Hobe Tower - At the top


 
It is a 4 mile drive from the campground to the river on the western boarder.
 
Most of the state park is undeveloped land.04 - State Park - Road to River
 
 
If you prefer to ride your bike, there is a paved bike trail which runs from the campground,
along the railroad line down to the river campground and the State Park Visitor Center.
04 - State Park - old route 1 along train tracks 06 - Train Tracks South 
 
 
Very interesting Vistor and Educational Center near the river. 
04a4 - State Park - Kimbell Center
 
You can rent canoes and kayaks or take a river cruise to Trapper Nelsons.04a3b - State Park - Loxahatchee River Dock 04a3 - State Park - Loxahatchee River Boat Tour
 
 
We paddled our Sea Eagles to see his interesting homestead, but that is a full blog itself;o))


9 comments:

  1. Impressive park and history. Looks like a great place to kick back and recover from Disney :)

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  2. Oh the memories! We had a blast at J-DICK but could have done without the wind and noise! :-)

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  3. Very interesting state park. Does look like a good place to recover from Disney. :)

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  4. It was indeed a large park. Wish the wind hadn't been so strong. The area was very nice though.
    Syl

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  5. Another gem of a park to visit. Very interesting tour, loved the historical signs, gives a special flavor to what you see. Nice way to unwind from all the hustle and bustle of Disney. ;c)

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  6. What a thorough tour of the park. Great idea for when you want to remember which park is which. Or is that just my memory where the specifics begin to fade a little too fast? :-))

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  7. Thanks for the tour of the park. I'm making note of site 46. We want to stay there a few nights on the way to the Keys in a few weeks, but unfortunately no sites available in the newer section and I'm worried about fitting into the older sites.

    It definitely looks bad with all the damaged trees. I remember kayaking on the Loxahatchee River and getting LOST! There aren't too many rivers you can get lost on, but that is one of them. I haven't been too anxious to go back although we now have a gps which would probably have helped!

    Let us know when you get to Lazy Days. We'd like to meet you and pick your brains about vegan eating.

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  8. Thanks for the tour. We had reservations here one time and a storm cancelled our plans when it flooded the campground.

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  9. Enjoyed the tour and the historical signs. Have never heard of Camp Murphy but there are a lot of those type of Army settlements around from the war. The campground looks like it is well taken care of.

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