Jupiter, FL

Jupiter is an outdoorsy town at the north end of Palm Beach County, built around Jupiter Inlet, where the Loxahatchee River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Its 1860 lighthouse, river paddling, inlet beaches and spring training baseball make it a favorite for active, unhurried trips.

Where is Jupiter, Florida?

Jupiter sits about 15 miles north of West Palm Beach and 84 miles north of Miami, at the point where the Florida coast juts farthest east into the Atlantic. Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) is about 25 to 30 minutes south. Indiantown Road connects Jupiter with both I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike, and U.S. 1 and A1A run north and south through town. Martin County and Jonathan Dickinson State Park are just to the north.

Things to do in Jupiter

Climb the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum for views over the inlet and the coast, then explore the museum’s exhibits on thousands of years of local history. Across the inlet, DuBois Park has a sandy, calm-water beach popular with families, along with the historic DuBois Pioneer Home. Along A1A, Jupiter Beach Park and Carlin Park offer lifeguarded ocean beaches, and the Jupiter Dog Beach stretches about 2.5 miles between beach accesses 26 and 57.

The Loxahatchee River is Florida’s first federally designated Wild and Scenic River, and Riverbend Park is the place to paddle its cypress-lined upper reaches. The Riverwalk follows the Intracoastal Waterway for about 2.5 miles, with good odds of seeing manatees and ospreys. Just north, Jonathan Dickinson State Park offers river tours and trails, and Blowing Rocks Preserve on Jupiter Island has the largest limestone shoreline on the U.S. Atlantic coast, where waves can spray high into the air at high tide. Each February and March, the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins play spring training games at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Abacoa.

When to visit Jupiter

Late winter is busiest, with spring training and dry weather. Summer brings heat, afternoon storms and sea turtle nesting on local beaches, and hurricane season runs June through November.