Treasure Coast Recreation Guide

The Fort Pierce Jetty Park and inlet fishing guide covers the south jetty and its snook rules, and this hub answers the regional questions on boat ramps, lagoon rules, shore fishing, reefs and the Urca de Lima.

The guides in this section cover St. Lucie and Indian River counties. Beaches, lifeguards, dogs on the sand and horseback riding at Frederick Douglass Memorial Park are covered in the Treasure Coast parks guides, including the Hutchinson Island beaches guide and the Pepper Park guide, rather than here. St. Lucie County says it operates Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, the spring training home of the New York Mets (St. Lucie County Clover Park page).

The northern edge of the region has its own set. Sebastian, at the Indian River County end of the Treasure Coast, has a long list of fishing guides, including the Sebastian Inlet jetty closures guide, the night snook fishing guide and the Sebastian boat ramps guide, so this hub does not repeat Sebastian Inlet details. The Treasure Coast citrus guides, including the Florida orange season guide, sit in the guides section.

St. Lucie County lists five intracoastal ramps and two river ramps, the City of Port St. Lucie runs launches at C-24 Canal Park and Veterans Park at Rivergate, and Indian River County has two ramps at Round Island Riverside Park on A1A.

The county list names Stan Blum, the Fort Pierce Manatee Center, Fishermans Wharf, South Beach Causeway and Little Mud Creek as intracoastal ramps, and White City Park and River Park Marina as river ramps (St. Lucie County boat ramp list). The county parks and recreation closures page lists North Causeway Park, 500 N. Causeway on North Hutchinson Island, as closed for renovations that replace and expand the boat ramp and parking area and add a kayak and canoe launch area (St. Lucie County parks and recreation closures).

The city describes C-24 Canal Park as about 9 acres with direct river and ocean access and lists 772-878-2277 as its contact (C-24 Canal Park listing). Veterans Park at Rivergate, established in 1984, adds a lighted Riverwalk Boardwalk with fishing and a handicapped boat entry lift arranged through Parks and Recreation staff (Veterans Park at Rivergate page). Round Island Riverside Park covers 82.8 acres and also has a fishing pier, an observation tower and a 400 foot manatee boardwalk; pets are not permitted in any Indian River County park (Round Island Riverside Park page).

The lagoon between Vero Beach and Fort Pierce is a state aquatic preserve that protects seagrass, and the FWC Indian River Lagoon snook region reaches south to the Martin and Palm Beach county line.

The Indian River, Vero Beach to Fort Pierce Aquatic Preserve, established in 1969, covers 11,000 acres of shallow estuary, barrier island and spoil islands in Indian River and St. Lucie counties, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection lists fishing, boating, hiking, birding, beach activities and camping among its uses (DEP aquatic preserve page). The preserve is open 24/7 through access points run by others, offers no parking of its own, and points visitors to Fort Pierce Inlet State Park. DEP asks boaters to avoid shallow water and raise the motor over seagrass, warns that seagrass damage can bring a fine of up to $1,000, and tells visitors to follow current FWC fishing and boating rules.

FWC's Indian River Lagoon snook region runs from Lytle Avenue/South Causeway in New Smyrna Beach south to the Martin and Palm Beach county line, with closed seasons from December 15 through January 31 and from June 1 through August 31, a slot of 28 to 32 inches total length and a bag of one fish per person per day (FWC snook regulations). Keeping a snook needs both the snook permit and a recreational fishing license. The Fort Pierce Jetty Park guide sets out the main license exemptions.

Public shore and pier fishing on the Treasure Coast lagoon includes the lighted Riverwalk Boardwalk at Veterans Park at Rivergate in Port St. Lucie, C-24 Canal Park, where fishing is permitted, and the island fishing pier at Round Island Riverside Park south of Vero Beach.

The City of Port St. Lucie describes the Riverwalk Boardwalk at Veterans Park at Rivergate as a lighted boardwalk through natural habitat with fishing (Veterans Park at Rivergate page), and its C-24 Canal Park listing includes Fishing Permitted among the park amenities (C-24 Canal Park listing). At Round Island Riverside Park, Indian River County says visitors cross a foot bridge to a small island with trails leading to an observation tower and a fishing pier, and the Round Island South Conservation Area lies south of the park (Round Island Riverside Park page).

The Round Island page also reminds visitors that the boardwalk there is built for watching manatees, and that under the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act harassing a manatee carries a possible maximum state fine of $500, imprisonment for up to 60 days, or both, and a federal fine of up to $50,000, one year in prison, or both. On the ocean side, the Fort Pierce Jetty Park guide covers the south jetty, and the state park guide covers fishing from the north jetty.

St. Lucie County deploys artificial reefs built from donated concrete and steel, and the Urca de Lima, a 1715 fleet wreck, lies about 200 yards offshore north of Pepper Beach Park in a state underwater archaeological preserve open free all year.

The county Public Works reef program says its reefs are made from donated culverts, concrete pilings, light poles and steel vessels to give anglers and divers more hard bottom (St. Lucie County Artificial Reef Program). It reports that four barges of light poles donated by Florida Power and Light were placed in December 2012 and January 2013 to make two reefs, one in 62 foot depths with a 27 foot profile and one in 102 foot depths with a 25 foot profile. The county says these reefs were deployed with help from an FWC Artificial Reef Construction Grant and give habitat to over 110 species of fish.

The National Park Service places the Urca de Lima 200 yards offshore in 10 to 15 feet of water about 1,000 yards north of Pepper Beach Park, asks divers to use the mooring buoy placed at the site instead of anchoring, and says the preserve is open year round free of charge (NPS Urca de Lima article). The Pepper Park guide covers the wreck's history and the nearshore reefs off that beach.

Last verified: October 22, 2026, after rereading the St. Lucie County ramp, closures, reef and Clover Park pages, the Port St. Lucie C-24 Canal Park and Rivergate pages, the Indian River County Round Island Riverside page, the DEP aquatic preserve page, the FWC snook page and the NPS Urca de Lima article.