

Florida Beach Guide: Blowing Rocks Preserve, Hobe Sound

Special to the Sentinel

The preserve may be small -- just 73 acres -- but it's memorable. In a state known for its sandy beaches, Blowing Rocks is one of the few that has, well, rocks.

Of course, this isn't Maine's coastline. The rocks that break the surf along the shoreline look as if they're a dark, cresting wave. But when a wind blows in off the Atlantic, driving the water through holes in the Anastasia limestone, the spray can fly as high as 50 feet.

Anastasia limestone is found along the coast from St. Augustine south to near Boca Raton, but most of it is either underground or underwater, says Michael Renda, a biologist at the preserve, a Nature Conservancy holding. Why does limestone exist along the shore on this barrier island north of Jupiter? "It may have been a high point in the rock," Renda says. "Then again, it just may have to do with some larger variables that affect erosion or just the general geography and geology of the area."

The quarter-mile of the beach that isn't rocky is known for turtle nests. An average of 500 nests are dug here each year by loggerheads, greens and leatherbacks, says Andrea Povinelli, the preserve's community relations manager.

Away from the beach, interpretive signs explain the park's restoration and four ecosystems -- beach dune, coastal strand, tropical hammock and mangrove wetlands. Since Jupiter Island residents gave the parcel to the Nature Conservancy in 1969, 42 acres have been restored by volunteers who have weeded out such invasive plants and trees as Australian pine, Brazilian pepper and Asiatic latherleaf vine. In their places, they have planted native saw palmettos, mangroves, sabal palms and more, many of which were grown from seed in the preserve's nursery.

During the winter months, the educational displays at Hawley Education Center give way to an art exhibit that shows off Blowing Rocks' features and creatures in paintings, photos and sculpture. The exhibit ends May 31.The park has no camping facilities, but lodging can be found in nearby Jupiter.

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