Photo: Onajide Shabaka

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South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Taking the footbridge to unspoiled Jack Island

By Alan Snel

Special correspondent

March 30, 2008

Nature lover Leslie McGuirk has lived in the Vero Beach area since 1999 and thought she knew all the cool environmental havens in the area.

But the children’s book author and illustrator was pleasantly surprised when, for the first time, she recently sauntered along the trails of Jack Island State Preserve, a lush mangrove island tucked away in the Intracoastal off Route A1A, a mile north of the Fort Pierce Inlet.

It’s easy to pass the preserve’s entrance road that leads to a small parking lot. Jack Island visitors need to stroll along a footbridge to reach this spit of land (1,342 acres) that is dominated by mangroves, trail-side ghost crabs and an impressive array of bird life.

“You have to walk the bridge to get to the island,” McGuirk said, “which means there will never be a car in there. Any time you can get into nature and get into the woods, it’s great. Most people who live on the coast don’t think about walking in the woods. They’re thinking about walking on the beach.”

Several large condo buildings stand sentinel on the beach side of A1A. But across the road here at Jack Island, there’s a stark contrast — a serene and secluded refuge offering an up-close look at mangroves, small land crabs that scurry into their holes when they hear a shoe along the trail and birds that range from ospreys and great blue herons to pelicans and egrets.

“Not only do you get birds that are coming over from the ocean shore, but you’re also getting birds that like the brackish water,” said Tessa Sheridan, park services specialist for Fort Pierce Inlet State Park, which manages Jack Island State Preserve. The state has managed the preserve since 1963.

Jack Island State Preserve has a 4.2-mile dirt and grass trail that runs along its perimeter. In the last decade, the preserve’s top-drawing year was 1998-99, when nearly 37,000 visitors visited Jack Island. The number of visitors fell to 15,283 in 2004-05, when hurricanes struck Florida’s east coast.

About halfway along the main trail is a 30-foot tower, an easily accessible perch for observing the Indian River lagoon and the great blue herons, wood storks or ibises winging above the tree line of mangroves and hammocks.

There are also trails that crisscross the island if you want to walk a shorter distance. For example, one trail that cuts across the island to the observation tower is only a mile long. The trails are very easy to negotiate.

You will also see culverts. Jack Island is a natural island that also includes dredged debris that was used to make the dike and culvert system for flushing mosquitoes from their breeding areas. Mosquitoes like to lay their eggs in mud along the island, but, according to Sheridan, water is released through the big metal pipes to flood the areas normally used for breeding from April to October.

On weekends, you will see fishermen with lines dropped in the brackish waters, a mix of fresh and salt. Their catches will include mullet, snook and sheepshead.

The preserve is also ideal if you’re fishing for solitude.

“Where can you get to walk for more than an hour and not see anyone?” McGuirk asked. “The secret, hidden element is just so cool. Just to walk over that bridge is fun for people.”

Added Sheridan: “I just love standing on that bridge and wondering about all the things below my feet.”

Local runners have discovered the trail. In fact, the “Jack Island Cross Country Run” celebrates its 30th anniversary the second Saturday of December. Usually, about 100 runners participate.

“It’s a great example of the original Florida and how it was way back when,” said Mike Melton, an ultra-marathon runner and Jensen Beach money management planner who has sponsored the Jack Island race since 2003. “Jack Island has been mercifully left to be as the rest of the area has developed and lost its original character.”

Alan Snel’s last story for Travel was on biking State Road 17.

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