Indian River Lagoon in Florida

Trip Overview

The skies were blue, the wind was balmy, and the day was absolutely fabulous for paddling!!

My favorite paddling companion and myself paddled from the Jensen Beach Causeway to Blind Creek. We had the tide with us and a very gentle 5-10 mph breeze at our back. Bird sightings include frigate birds, a pair of loons, as well as the usual juvenile little blue heron, kingfisher, great blue heron, great white egret, cormorants and anhingas, a solitary ibis, a snowy egret, many brown pelicans with breeding plumage, seagulls, a night heron, and a tern tangled in a fishing line which managed to fly away with hook intact. No manatees however we did see many fish and a dolphin. We are really very fortunate to have the Indian River Lagoon in our back yard.

This was a very easy, pleasant paddle which I will certainly repeat in the future. There are many sandy beaches for resting or exploring. We vacillated between hugging the eastern shoreline and riding the modest swells off shore. I was a little nervous about paddling by the (Nuclear) power plant however it is very pretty and no one shot at or otherwise threatened us. There were lots of other kayaks and a few canoes on the water, also. We saw very few power boats, likely because we were opposite the main channel.

My companion had his GPS so we had no difficulty finding Blind Point from the water however if you go and do not have a GPS, the channel is easily visible and a long fishing dock can be found on the north side. There is also a "No Wake" sign near the channel.

Blind Creek park is located on the west side of A1A, about 1 mile north of the power plant. Drive slow, the signs are very small. There is a dirt parking lot and a very modest dirt boat ramp. This is a very popular spot with fisher people and I found them all to be very polite.

Our very leisurely 11 mile paddle took 4 hours.

Accommodations:

There are restrooms at the Causeway, none at Blind Creek

Fees:

No

Directions:

From US1 in Jensen, take Jensen Beach Blvd east to Indian River Drive, north (left) on the Drive to the Jensen Beach Causeway. Go over a very large bridge (turn right) and approach the end of the bridge very slowly. On the left, there is a sand parking lot and beach suitable for small craft. You can park here and launch either north or south, depending on conditions. The current is fully tidal. This is also a very pretty spot at sunset.