Pinelands Preserve

Note: Pinelands Preserve remains closed until further notice. For more information, please check for updates with St. Lucie County.

This scenic preserve is located in a remote western part of the county. Watch for Wild Turkeys, Northern Bobwhites, Crested Caracaras and White-tailed Deer on the drive in, as well as a host of wading birds like Glossy Ibises, Wood Storks in the wetlands and reservoir along VPI Grove Rd. Six miles of multi-use trails guide you through wet pine flatwoods and wet prairie, and around a series of seasonal depression marshes. Park at the entrance area and hike the dike trails which run east and south as a series of loop trails. The seasonal wetlands are scattered throughout the flatwoods, where Sandhill Cranes bugle in the early morning mist and woodpeckers call to each other through the forest. Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers like the wetland margins, as well as the muddy edges of cattle ponds on adjacent pastures. Take the white trail south to a 10-foot high observation deck on the edge of a sawgrass marsh in the southwest corner of the preserve. Barred Owls call from the slash pines and sabal palms. This is a beautiful but remote site so come prepared.