Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, United States
4.5 (254 reviews) Spent Ranking #5 in Vero Beach Nature & Wildlife Areas
Beautiful, uncrowded and perfect for a hike.
I keep coming back here because I really enjoy the serenity away from the fast pace of hectic Florida. Here is true Florida, how it once was. Come to enjoy a walk on the trails, see the large variety of birds often up close. Great for nature photographers like myself. What you see here really depends on the time of day, the current weather or the season of the year. I highly recommend early morning after sunrise. In my experience, that is when you will see the most wildlife activity. Joe's lookout is the probably the best point for this. Afternoons it can be pretty quiet and not many birds. Wonderful, wonderful place.
Address
4055 Wildlife Way, Vero Beach, FL 32963-9446
Mobile
Website
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/pelican
Current local date and time now
Saturday, May 11, 2024, 9:41
User Ratings
4.5 based on (254 reviews)
Reviews
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4Ward D 5:00 PM Jun 26, 2022
A hidden gem. A nice, easy, cool little walk
This is located off A1A just south of the Sebastian inlet on the riverside (west). The entrance is clearly marked and is a dirt/sandy road that heads off at an angle to the southwest. There are many trails off this non-paved road and at least 2 major trailheads. The first one is off to the east side of this dirt road and has a set of very nice bathrooms with a small parking lot. If you travel on from this a little farther south you will find the next trailhead off the west side of the road with another parking lot with about 20 spaces. The actual walking trail is about 6 feet wide and is smooth asphalt-covered. There are two trails that lead off of this parking lot: this one and Pete’s trail. We took the shorter one which is about 0.4 miles and leads to a very nice boardwalk that takes you above the mangroves and ends in an overlook of the birds on the river. Along the trail there is a butterfly area, a lake, a meditation bench, 3 pavilions with views and information and the walkway has a board carved with the dates and locations of the various National Wildlife Refuges in the United States showing that the one you are visiting was formed in 1903 and is the oldest of all of them. Very cool and a very pleasant view.
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4Lola1953 5:00 PM Mar 6, 2022
Lots of birds
We enjoyed our easy hike around this refuge. We saw many egrets and other birds. We especially enjoyed the boardwalk through the main part of this park. Each plank lists the name and date of each national wildlife refuge. It was a great way to combine nature and history.
