Overview Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park is the perfect place to get lost. Lost in your thoughts or just plain lost while meandering through its 4,886.06 acres of hammocks, flatwoods and marshes and more. It has 30 miles of intersecting trails, each junction piquing your curiousity as to what natural wonders lie beyond. As the Florida Department of Environmental Protection puts it, Atlantic Ridge is "an island of wilderness in the sea of surrounding urban areas."
Atlantic Ridge Preserve is the most primitive, stripped down state park we've visited, and likely so among all of Florida's state parks. Gloriously primitive, we'd say. There are no crowds here. Once you've taken your first steps along its network of trails, about the only signs of civilization you'll see are the trails themselves and occasional trail markers. Nothing else. There's a good chance that you will not see another human during your stay. As we said, Atlantic Ridge is a very good place to get lost in any way you want.
If you wander westward far enough, you'll encounter the South Fork of the St. Lucie River and, across the way, Halpatiokee Regional Park. Much of Atlantic Ridge Preserve is within the St. Lucie River watershed. The remainder is within the watershed of Kitching Creek and the federally dsignated Wild and Scenic Loxahatchee River. Restoring the land to its natural state and natural waterflow protects both rivers and ultimately the economically vital Indian River Lagoon.
History: In the not too distant past, Atlantic Ridge was grasslands, used by local farmers to graze cattle. A network of ditches criss-crossed the ridge, keeping the land dry and usable in the wet summer months, but also altering the natural flow of water, its hydrology, rushing stormwater into the St. Lucie and Loxahatchee watersheds. The state of Florida, working with the South Florida Water Management District and Martin County, bought the land on Nov. 4, 1998. One of the major goals of the state was to plug many of those ditches and slow the flow of water into the St. Lucie and Kitching Creek.
What You'll See: Atlantic Ridge Preserve is, in essence, a natural stormwater treatment plant; it has nearly 1,000 acres of depression marsh within its boundaries. These marshes hold water and allow it to filter naturally into the ground rather than rush unnaturally into the St. Lucie River and the Loxahatchee River via Kitching Creek, and ultimately overload the Indian River Lagoon with freshwater. These marshes also provide critical habitat for wading birds, like the wood stork seen toward the bottom of this page, frogs, snakes and plants, some rare. More than half of Atlantic Ridge — 2,845 acres — is mesic flatwoods, which can be either inundated with water or bone dry for extended periods during the year. The scenery in places is spectacularly wild.
We've found Atlantic Ridge Preserve to be one of the best places to find a wide varity of wildflowers, including some that are rare, like shortleaf rosegentian, Nuttall's meadowbeauty and zigzag bladderwort, a tiny carnivore (yes carnivore!) so small you'd never notice it except for its cheery little yellow flowers. There's our favorite, roserush and the beautiful, demur but odd American bluehearts, which can latch on to the roots of its neighbors and steal nutrients. Or not. There is what the great Carl Linnaes named yellow milkwort that is sometimes more aptly called bog cheetos.
If you make your way to the banks of the South Fork of the St. Lucie River, you might find manatees foraging or alligators soaking up some rays. In less damp places, gopher tortoises go about their business, their burrows providing refuge for a zillion other creatures. And then there is white-tailed deer For us they're the one photo that got away, two deer about 75 yards from us, scampering off before we could raise our camera. Maybe next time.
Amenities: There is plenty of parking and a portable toilet just outside the trail network. Atlantic Ridge Preseve has no drinking water. If you hike to the right spot, you'll find a solitary picnic table near an open field, which is as much a curiousity as it is an amenity. Atlantic Ridge Preserve has 30 miles of trails; maps are available, and major intersections are numbered. Some of the trails slowly lead to nowhere until you find yourself amid woods with no obvious path forward. No harm, no foul. Just turn around and go back. Again, a place to get lost. Horseback riding is allowed.
Nearby: Martin County's Halpatiokee Regional Park sits across the South Fork of the St. Lucie River from Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park, about a five minute drive away. Along the way, you might want to make a quick stop at Hosford Park. Also nearby: Delaplane Preserve, also about a five minute drive away, and Kiplinger Preserve, a bit farther down the road.
Links: The Institute for Regional Conservation's inventory of plants at Atlantic Ridge is here. Only five species are listed, however, but the IRC considers all five "critically imperiled." The Department of Environmental Protection's 10-year management plan for Atlantic Ridge (updated in 2023) is here.
Of Note: Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the year. As of this writing (September 2024) there is a $6 per car entrance fee paid on an honor system. A locked electronic gate across the entrance controls access to the park. For the code call Jonathan Dickinson State Park at 772-546-2771. The phone number is also posted at the gate.
Cover Photo: A red-bellied woodpecker takes a break from foraging to pose for us. A beautiful place like Atlantic Ridge Preserve deserves a beautiful bird to represent it. Second Photo: A slice of the nearly 2,900 acres of flatwoods within Atlantic Ridge.
Atlantic Ridge Preserve is the most primitive, stripped down state park we've visited, and likely so among all of Florida's state parks. Gloriously primitive, we'd say. There are no crowds here. Once you've taken your first steps along its network of trails, about the only signs of civilization you'll see are the trails themselves and occasional trail markers. Nothing else. There's a good chance that you will not see another human during your stay. As we said, Atlantic Ridge is a very good place to get lost in any way you want.
If you wander westward far enough, you'll encounter the South Fork of the St. Lucie River and, across the way, Halpatiokee Regional Park. Much of Atlantic Ridge Preserve is within the St. Lucie River watershed. The remainder is within the watershed of Kitching Creek and the federally dsignated Wild and Scenic Loxahatchee River. Restoring the land to its natural state and natural waterflow protects both rivers and ultimately the economically vital Indian River Lagoon.
History: In the not too distant past, Atlantic Ridge was grasslands, used by local farmers to graze cattle. A network of ditches criss-crossed the ridge, keeping the land dry and usable in the wet summer months, but also altering the natural flow of water, its hydrology, rushing stormwater into the St. Lucie and Loxahatchee watersheds. The state of Florida, working with the South Florida Water Management District and Martin County, bought the land on Nov. 4, 1998. One of the major goals of the state was to plug many of those ditches and slow the flow of water into the St. Lucie and Kitching Creek.
What You'll See: Atlantic Ridge Preserve is, in essence, a natural stormwater treatment plant; it has nearly 1,000 acres of depression marsh within its boundaries. These marshes hold water and allow it to filter naturally into the ground rather than rush unnaturally into the St. Lucie River and the Loxahatchee River via Kitching Creek, and ultimately overload the Indian River Lagoon with freshwater. These marshes also provide critical habitat for wading birds, like the wood stork seen toward the bottom of this page, frogs, snakes and plants, some rare. More than half of Atlantic Ridge — 2,845 acres — is mesic flatwoods, which can be either inundated with water or bone dry for extended periods during the year. The scenery in places is spectacularly wild.
We've found Atlantic Ridge Preserve to be one of the best places to find a wide varity of wildflowers, including some that are rare, like shortleaf rosegentian, Nuttall's meadowbeauty and zigzag bladderwort, a tiny carnivore (yes carnivore!) so small you'd never notice it except for its cheery little yellow flowers. There's our favorite, roserush and the beautiful, demur but odd American bluehearts, which can latch on to the roots of its neighbors and steal nutrients. Or not. There is what the great Carl Linnaes named yellow milkwort that is sometimes more aptly called bog cheetos.
If you make your way to the banks of the South Fork of the St. Lucie River, you might find manatees foraging or alligators soaking up some rays. In less damp places, gopher tortoises go about their business, their burrows providing refuge for a zillion other creatures. And then there is white-tailed deer For us they're the one photo that got away, two deer about 75 yards from us, scampering off before we could raise our camera. Maybe next time.
Amenities: There is plenty of parking and a portable toilet just outside the trail network. Atlantic Ridge Preseve has no drinking water. If you hike to the right spot, you'll find a solitary picnic table near an open field, which is as much a curiousity as it is an amenity. Atlantic Ridge Preserve has 30 miles of trails; maps are available, and major intersections are numbered. Some of the trails slowly lead to nowhere until you find yourself amid woods with no obvious path forward. No harm, no foul. Just turn around and go back. Again, a place to get lost. Horseback riding is allowed.
Nearby: Martin County's Halpatiokee Regional Park sits across the South Fork of the St. Lucie River from Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park, about a five minute drive away. Along the way, you might want to make a quick stop at Hosford Park. Also nearby: Delaplane Preserve, also about a five minute drive away, and Kiplinger Preserve, a bit farther down the road.
Links: The Institute for Regional Conservation's inventory of plants at Atlantic Ridge is here. Only five species are listed, however, but the IRC considers all five "critically imperiled." The Department of Environmental Protection's 10-year management plan for Atlantic Ridge (updated in 2023) is here.
Of Note: Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the year. As of this writing (September 2024) there is a $6 per car entrance fee paid on an honor system. A locked electronic gate across the entrance controls access to the park. For the code call Jonathan Dickinson State Park at 772-546-2771. The phone number is also posted at the gate.
Cover Photo: A red-bellied woodpecker takes a break from foraging to pose for us. A beautiful place like Atlantic Ridge Preserve deserves a beautiful bird to represent it. Second Photo: A slice of the nearly 2,900 acres of flatwoods within Atlantic Ridge.
