Things to do — Sebastian, Florida

The main things to do in Sebastian are the trails at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the beach, surf, museums and campground at Sebastian Inlet State Park, the festivals and piers at Riverview Park, and the trails of St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park.

The public places that define a day out in Sebastian sit in three bands running east to west. On the barrier island across the Indian River Lagoon are two large public lands, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge and Sebastian Inlet State Park, both reached by State Road A1A. Along the mainland shore, the city's riverfront parks line U.S. 1 and Indian River Drive, with Riverview Park as the anchor. West of the Sebastian Highlands, the pine flatwoods of St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park run toward Fellsmere. Each is run by a different level of government, which is why hours, fees and rules change from one stop to the next.

The short version by interest: birds and the national refuge story at Pelican Island; surf, fishing, camping and two small museums at Sebastian Inlet; festivals, piers and a splash pad at Riverview Park; long trail rides and red-cockaded woodpeckers at the St. Sebastian River Preserve. Each of these places has its own page on Digital Towns, so this guide compares them rather than retelling each one, using the hours, fees and facility counts published by the agencies themselves as of October 2026.

At Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the main activities are walking about seven miles of trails off the Historic Jungle Trail and viewing the island from an accessible observation tower, daily from 7:30 am until sunset (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).

Pelican Island is the reason the city calls itself the Home of Pelican Island. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service describes the island as a dot on the map in the Indian River Lagoon, surrounded by 5400+ acres of protected waters and lands, and notes that in 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt's executive order made it the nation's first national wildlife refuge. The trails and the tower that look out on it are on the Orchid Island shore.

According to the Service's visit page, the public use areas are on the Historic Jungle Trail off A1A, 3.3 miles south of Sebastian Inlet, and they are open daily from 7:30 am until sunset. The refuge manages approximately seven miles of trails. Two 3-mile loops circle managed salt marsh impoundments, and the three-quarter-mile Centennial Trail ends at an accessible observation tower and boardwalk looking out at Pelican Island proper. Bicycles are not allowed on the trails and pets are not allowed, only service animals; there is no drinking water on site.

Timing matters here more than anywhere else on this list. The Service names fall through spring as the best time to see white pelicans and nesting brown pelicans at Pelican Island. Through December 26, 2026, refuge volunteers hold a free meet-and-greet every Friday from 10:30am to 1:30pm at the Centennial Trailhead on Jungle Trail Road, with no reservations required.

Besides the beach, Sebastian Inlet State Park offers surfing at First Peak, jetty fishing, a cove for calm swimming, a 51-site campground and two museums, open 24 hours for $8 per vehicle (Florida State Parks).

Florida State Parks lists Sebastian Inlet State Park at 9700 South Highway A1A, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for $8 per vehicle. The park has parking on both the north and south sides of the inlet, and its range of activities is the widest of any public site near Sebastian: surfing, jetty fishing, a boat ramp, kayaking on the lagoon side, a campground and two museums.

The park amenities page gives the specifics. The surf break called First Peak sits next to the north jetty, and Monster Hole is a shoal about a third of a mile off the beach on the south side. For swimmers who want no waves, the cove on the north side of Sebastian Inlet is a protected area with a hard bottom and a gentle slope. Birders can log over 180 species of birds during a year, and the park is part of the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail. The campground has 51 campsites with water and electric hook-ups, a fire ring and a picnic table each, with a maximum RV length of 40 feet.

The two museums are small and inexpensive. The McLarty Treasure Museum sits at the south boundary of the park on a survivors camp of the wrecked 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet; it is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and entry is $2 a person. The Sebastian Fishing Museum, on the north side, commemorates the Sembler, Smith and Judah fish-house families and has no fee beyond park entry. Two cautions for 2026: the park warns that the north side may reach capacity and close to incoming cars on weekends, and construction on the Sebastian Inlet bridge was scheduled to begin in May 2026, with beach access from the south side unavailable during the work.

On the Sebastian riverfront, Riverview Park on U.S. 1 offers a splash pad, twin piers, volleyball courts and the start of the Indian River Drive walkways, and it hosts the city's largest festivals (City of Sebastian).

In town, the riverfront is the public living room. The City of Sebastian describes Riverview Park, at the corner of U.S. 1 and C.R. 512/Sebastian Boulevard, as the primary event and gathering point for the city. Between events it offers a splash pad, the Veteran's War Memorial, sand volleyball courts, picnic pavilions and twin piers used for watching the river or fishing, and it is the starting point for the walkways that follow the shore of the Riverfront District along Indian River Drive.

The calendar is what sets Riverview Park apart from the refuge and the inlet. The city lists the Clambake festival, the Sebastian Fine Arts and Music event, the 4th of July Freedom Festival, Shrimpfest and Craft Brew Hullabaloo, and the seasonal Rhythm on the River concert series among its yearly events.

Riverview Park is one piece of a larger city system. The Parks and Recreation Department maintains over 165 acres of park land and counts 23 parks and facilities, among them Barber Street Sports Complex, Hardee Park, Friendship Park and the Bark Park, and it runs special events such as Star Gaze and Summer Concerts in the Park. The city also owns the Sebastian golf course at 100 Brush Foot, open from 6:45 AM to 5:00 PM seven days a week since November 3, 2024.

The quieter natural lands near Sebastian are St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park near Fellsmere, with over 60 miles of trails, and Captain Forster Hammock Preserve on the Jungle Trail (Florida State Parks).

The largest public land near the city is inland. St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park lists its entrance at 1000 Buffer Preserve Drive in Fellsmere, open 8 a.m. to sunset with no fee required for day use. Pine flatwoods are the focal point, set among over 23 distinct natural communities, and the park offers over 60 miles of multi-use trails for hiking, horseback riding and bicycling. It is one of only two state parks in Florida that harbor red-cockaded woodpeckers, and a manatee overlook on the St. Sebastian River gives a raised view of the brackish water. Six primitive campsites and two equestrian camping areas are available; boat launching facilities are outside the preserve.

Back on Orchid Island, the Jungle Trail continues south past the refuge. Indian River County manages Captain Forster Hammock Preserve, a 110-acre state-owned parcel one mile south of County Road 510, open from 7:30 am to sunset year-round. Its trail runs about a mile through maritime hammock, which covers roughly 68% of the site, and a riverfront dock sits on the lagoon. Fishing and the taking of plants are prohibited there, unlike at the inlet.

For a guided look at the lagoon itself, the Environmental Learning Center describes a 64-acre lagoon-island nature center in the lagoon at Vero Beach, open seven days a week. Its published admission is $10 for adults 12 and over, $8 for seniors 65+ and military, and $5 for children 2 to 11.

Among the main Sebastian attractions, only Sebastian Inlet State Park charges a vehicle fee and stays open 24 hours, while the refuge, the county hammock and the state preserve close at sunset.

Read side by side, the agency figures sort the Sebastian sites into free and fee-based, and into all-day and daylight-only. St. Sebastian River Preserve lists no fee for day use, and the Pelican Island Friday program is free. Sebastian Inlet State Park is the one site that charges per vehicle, and it is also the only one open around the clock, and it is the one with a campground for RVs and tents. The McLarty museum adds $2 a person and keeps a Wednesday through Sunday schedule, so a Monday or Tuesday trip to the inlet misses it.

Opening times follow the land manager. The refuge and the county preserve on the Jungle Trail both open at 7:30 am and close at sunset; the state preserve near Fellsmere opens at 8 a.m. The difference in rules is just as sharp: pets are not allowed on Pelican Island trails, while St. Sebastian River Preserve lists pets and horseback riding among its experiences, and Captain Forster Hammock allows leashed dogs.

Access for wheelchairs also differs. Pelican Island's Centennial Trail is the refuge's accessible route, ending at the boardwalk and tower. Florida State Parks states that all facilities at Sebastian Inlet State Park are wheelchair accessible, that a beach wheelchair is available on request, and that accessible restrooms are at the Sebastian Fishing Museum, the L-dock and the boat ramp. In the north-side cove, water depth ranges from a few inches to 15 feet, and the park notes that lifeguards are not present at all parks that offer swimming.