Riverbend Park Jupiter
Riverbend Park in Jupiter Florida is one of the most beautiful, family oriented parks we’ve visited in Florida.
This park is huge, spanning across 64 acres. It’s actually two big parks in one, with the adjoining Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park as another large part of the activities and attraction. This park is meticulously maintained and fully of natural beauty.
There are horse trails noticeable almost immediately, which is a rare site in South Florida. There are many activities including biking, great canoeing, kayaking, paddling, nature trails and even 7 miles of equestrian trails!
There are also Saturday tours of the historic battlefield, as well as lots of public events throughout the year where families can try fishing, archery and more.
It’s located in Jupiter, Palm Beach County in Southeast Florida and within a short 1-3 hour drive from most of Florida. Its FREE to get in, and has plenty of FREE easy parking throughout the park.
Battlefield Park inside Riverbend Park on the Loxahatchee River
Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park is located inside Riverbend Park and is home to two Seminole War battlefield sites, Indian Burial Grounds and lots of history.
There’s also lots of wildlife including turtles, alligators, birds, deer. This park is a perfect place to launch out of for a beautiful scenic kayak or canoe jaunt along the Loxahatchee River.
The park is located along the Loxahatchee River, and has an easy-to-use sandy launch for kayaks and canoes. There’s also plenty of shady parking.
We used this as the start point for our half day paddle trip over to Trapper Nelson’s Interpretive Site. The route was narrow and very shady in most spots, and truly lovely. It was easy paddling and the river level was great.
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Along the Loxahatchee River, while kayaking, there are two portage spots (dams where you have to get out of the canoe and walk it over) which were impressively well built. The first portage we encountered was small enough that we could stay in the canoe and ride over.
The second was large, and there was a park ranger on deck to guide to portage. And yes, I like using the word “portage” because it was my first “portage” experience and it was FUN! There aren’t many in Florida rivers so seeing two man-made ones was very cool. Well worth the trip.
Paddling the Loxahatchee River from Riverbend Park
In addition, the route out of Riverbend Park did have a few spots that required some good canoe maneuvering efforts.
There are some big trees down and laying across, assuming they are result of Hurricane Irma from a few years ago. They are big trees! If the water level is too low, you’ll need to get out and carry the canoe/kayak over.
If the level is higher, you’ll need to do the limbo under some very low lying big branches/trees running across. From Riverbend Park, we meandered along the river to Trapper Nelson’s where we stopped for lunch.
This is all inside of one of the largest Florida State Parks. It’s an interpretive site, an outdoor museum of sorts, so you need to bring your own food and drinks, and bags to take away your trash.
There is a big pavilion for shade with lots of picnic tables to comfortably eat on, plus one water fountain with clean fresh water.
There is a bathroom, and a bunch of historic structures from the days Trapper Nelson ran his Jungle Gardens and Zoo on this spot dating back to the early 1930’s.
There is a park ranger on site to give tours or answer any questions, usually full of information about Trapper Nelson’s life, the Loxahatchee River and Jonathan Dickinson State Park.
From Trapper Nelson’s, we continued along the river and met a manatee, a bunch of turtles and birds on the way to Jonathan Dickinson State Park.
The full route from start to end, including stopping for lunch was about four hours. Beautiful, cool, gorgeous South Florida day of canoeing with a little history mixed in…. can’t get much better!
Just after launching north from Riverbend Park on the Loxahatchee River, kayak through a small storm drain, under one of the park’s roads.
Paddling to Trapper Nelson historic site for lunch makes for a fantastic day! Just a couple hours of paddling out of Riverbend Park or Jonathan Dickinson… and you’ll hit the best spot to bring your cooler for a lunch stop! Remember to bring a trash bag… ‘leave no trace’ at this gem in Florida history!
