Jonathan Dickinson State Park and nearby Riverbend Park in coastal South Florida

Images of Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Florida - Photos: Stillgravity.
Jonathan Dickinson State Park seen from the tower and old dead tree - License our images here.         

Jonathan Dickinson State Park

This is a huge state park in Southeast Florida that is said to has the highest elevation south of Lake Okeechobee. Two campgrounds and plenty of trails here, including one for mountain bikes. There are canoe and kayak rentals by the river. Also tours to the home of Trapper Nelson, the "Tarzan of Loxahatchee". 

The highest point is at the Hobe Mountain Tower. Nearby was Camp Murphy, a radar training military school from WW2.

The state park is named after Jonathan Dickinson, a Jamaican that shipwrecked here in 1696. He wrote a journal about his ordeal seen as one of the best in the genre of captivity narrative. The diary is hard to read. Get the idea from his description of the arrival to the coast after the shipwreck:

I went, with one Negyo, to view the Land, and feek the mofl: convenient place for that purpofe. But the Wildernefs Country looked very difmal, having no Trees, but only Sand-Hills, cover- ed with fhrubby Valmetto^ the ftalks of which were prickly, that there was no walking amongft them: I efpied a place almofl: a Furlong withitj that Beach, being a Bottom to this place 1 v^'ith my itegro foon CUE a PafTage, the Storm and Rain continuing. Thither I got my Wife and Sick Child, being fix Months, and twelve days old,

(You can read his diary free in the Internet Archive.)

We hiked and rode the bikes in this park. Some areas are very sandy.  

Ruins from old house in Riverbend Park, Florida - Photo: Stillgravity.
Remains from an old house in Riverbend Park, Florida.  

Riverbend Park

Riverbend Park is close to Jonathan Dickinson State Park. It has 15 miles of trails and here is the historic site of the Loxahatchee River Battlefield - Loxahatchee means "river of the turtles" in the Seminole language. This battle of the Second Seminole War happened in January 1838 - there were two battles between the Indians and the American forces. There are markers on the positions of the fighting forces and still survives the old oak that gave refuge to the wounded Seminoles. It's known as the "tree of tears".

We found a family of sandhill cranes in a trail - check our video. 

Now more photos. 

Closed road in the old Camp Murphy area in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Florida - Photo: Stillgravity
There are parts of the former Camp Murphy in Jonathan Dickinson State Park that are closed. We saw ruins of buildings in this section. 

Images of the trails of Excellent trails of Riverbend Park, Florida - Photos: Stillgravity.
The excellent trails and beautiful nature of Riverbend Park.

The "Tree of tears" in the Loxahatchee River Battlefield, Florida - Photo: Stillgravity.
The "tree of tears" in the Loxahatchee River Battlefield. The wounded Seminole were collected under this tree. It's said that the oak is 300-year-old and sits over a burial mound.

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