“Geysers,” caves, and rocks—this is Florida?

Stretching more than a mile along Jupiter Island, a tall limestone terrace dominates the meeting of sand and sea, the longest and most dramatic stretch of rocky shoreline in Florida. Preserved by local residents in 1969 and turned over to The Nature Conservancy, the Blowing Rocks Preserve protects 73 acres of Jupiter Island, from the namesake rocks to sensitive estuarine habitats, mangroves, tropical and oak hammocks, and the beach dunes.

A tangled bower of sea grapes shades the sandy interpretive trail that leads away from the ticket kiosk and towards the sea. Volunteers have fought the invasion of non-native species such as Australian pine and Brazilian pepper, replanting these dunes with native plants grown in an on-site nursery. Pause to examine the odd peeling bark of a towering gumbo limbo tree, its reddish-brown exterior reminiscent of a tourist with a bad sunburn. Sea grapes form a long green tunnel, surprising visitors with their ivory blooms in summer and edible grapes that turn to red in autumn. There are a few places where you can peer out from the shade of the sea grapes and look out over the dramatic coastline.