Had no idea this park is ground zero for all protected land the US has created! The boardwalk depicting the dates of each protected park created afterward is delightful! And the view at the top was truly special. A short walk at an easy pace. Very educational as well, the Fauna was off the chart!Whatever you do, enter the North Entrance AND EXIT the North Entrance! We drove the 5 mile jungle trail and it was quite the experience! Needed quite the car wash afterward. If you have a 4WD...go for it!!

Rode bike 10 miles on Jungle Road. Very sandy, sometimes covered in water but fun ride.

Very out of the way and quiet, but very sunny and no birds in late Sept (at least I didnt see any.)

Nice stop off the A1A near Sebastian Inlet, parking is free, nature walk, with restroom. Trails nice and open to walk easily, pretty sure mileage markers are not accurate, walk seemed alot longer then what was posted, butterfly garden and lots of wild bunnies hopping around. I will definitely go again when Im in the area.

We enjoyed the walk. Was annoyed the recommended QR code set up that was to detail various park details was not functioning (the results of scanning the QR code displayed page not found).We followed the signs for the Butterfly Garden, but never did find or see it).The walking path was level and wide.

One of my favorite drives! Love coming out here and seeing the wildlife and nature

This place is amazing! Wild Florida at its best. There a few different trail options, from short paved ones to longer (3 mile loop). If you decide to go the whole way bring comfortable shoes as you will be going through grassy areas. Extremely beautiful place, we saw tarpon, turtles, snake, pelicans and all kinds of birds

Well kept. Very nice place to hike and enjoy nature.

Was okay. Lots of mosquitos and snakes. Didn’t see any Pelicans when we went because it was raining. I love the drive there i like driving down the road.

We had a great time. Even though it was hot the trails were very nice. The board walk is the best.

Not a lot there, but the hike on the elevated Boardwalk to the Overlook platform is definitely worth doing. Its an easy 10 to 15 minute walk. While I was looking off the edge for wildlife, I almost stepped on this little guy!

Great boardwalk and overlook tower.

Sign up for a tour. Its free. Tour guides excellent. Go spend some time in this spectacular unspoiled and historic site.

We should have spent more time here...only walked one trail but it was great...bring binoculars...follow the historic jungle trail for a peaceful ride

So much history. Amazing place!

Bird watching at pelican island is an very pleasing experience. The trail is well maintained and beautiful to watch sunset along the trail.

Nice area to enjoy the outdoors. We enjoyed walking the trail to the look out of pelican island and watching the birds.

Nature at its finest.. a beautiful place to enjoy a a great relaxing walk with lots to admire among the way

Great place! Did a hiking trail could maybe have a little more cleared grass was up to my knees in spots. Will definitely be back.

Nice nature walk with viewing scopes. Could add more benches.

Oh my gosh, what a hidden treasure! If you like birding or think you might like it, or if you want to take a couple nice 3 - 4 mile hikes, this is your spot! Unfortunately, the pelicans seem to have migrated through (mid-January) or its the wrong time of day, but there are still lots of birds and butterflies to watch and identify. I forgot binoculars and am a complete amateur in birding, but this place makes me want to try!The Centennial Trail goes out to a platform that overlooks Pelican Island. There are two large telescopes that are FREE to use! They are also at heights convenient for an adult and a child or person in a wheelchair. The boardwalk out to the viewing platform is comprised of planks in date order naming all the National Wildlife Refuges in the USA. What a great way to record and display history!

One of my favorite local spots to go. The lookout tower and trails have become my top places for semi-regular walks. Very beautiful sights, peaceful walks, and the abundant wildlife make this a great place to just escape the noise surrounding, and enjoy the outdoors.

I always enjoy getting my nature fix and Pelican Island NWR was a great stop to do so. We were driving up A1A on our way back to Orlando and made a visit.The first parking lot has a map of the Refuge. We didnt have a lot of time so we opted to drive down the road a bit to the Centennial Trail so we cool look at the Observation Tower. Its about a 3/4 mile walk to and from and it is paved the whole way. A visual delight! Loved seeing a list of all of the NWR here in the USA.Next visit we will take a walk out to the Observation Deck.

Well maintained trails with several rain shelters.

Really cool park where you can walk a board walk out to a sight tower and see pelican island.

Beautiful nature preserve! Great trails but didnt see a single pelican! Very disappointed in that. Overall only saw a few birds and no other wildlife.

Well kept and very informative.

Nice little walk with binoculars to watch the island.

Nice place to walk. Biking allowed along the jungle trail. Can drive to trail head. Restrooms only available at the entrance. I didnt see any pelicans the day I went (Feb 2020).

Beautiful well kept park.

Great to view white pelican nesting area. Nice walk and trail area. The wild life preserve is located on the Jungle Trail a tranquil drive and a wonderful place for a bike ride.

Interesting with lots of info provided during the hike.

Similar to Galapagos Island. Theodore Roosevelt used to visit this place which fascinated him. Known for its brown pelicans.

A 1 mile walk to Joe Michaels overlook. In the pictures

There is a really amazing boardwalk that lists all of the NWS in the country on the planks of the boardwalk. This was the first one on the country. The trails were very well maintained. Great place to run.

Beautiful day for walking the trails and boardwalk. Enjoyed meeting others along our walk.

I hiked the Jungle trail, it had been raining so there was water, but the trail is wide and theres space to do alot. Most people were on their bikes, I definitely recommend it for that.

Great bike path...rode 14.6 miles (7.3 each way)

This was beautiful. Im glad we had the chance to see it. I will be back to hike the longer trails.

Quiet place to see lots of birds and other wildlife. Also has nice nature trails.

Nice walk through native Florida raised platform through woods has every nwr carved in floor boards and the date they were created

Great little hike to take kids

Great place to experience true nature and wild life

Tha bess place to walk with the family and kids

You have to love being able to hike on a berm for two miles into the IRL and return to a real bathroom. The kiosk information was great, there was a place to sit while we ate the sandwich we packed after seeing countless crustaceans.

Amazing experience . The volunteers were fabulous. With my walking issue and service dog I would have had some difficulty seeing it all. The wonderful volunteers took us around on a golf cart to see the area. Love this area, it is a must see if you are in the area. A great history lesson.

We didnt see any pelicans but we did see butterflies, dragonflies and gecos lol. Beautiful nature preserve. Its about a 2.5 mile trec around the trail.

Awesome place for just a small hike through the woods. and see some wildlife.

Great views, cant wait to visit during mating season.

This came up out of nowhere on our drive down A1A. We didnt see any pelicans sadly but its a beautiful spot for a walk or jog.

A beautiful, quiet spot to enjoy Nature. Lots of walking trails.

Nice walk and history but didnt see much wildlife.

Beautiful...go in thru main entrance but the mosquitoes are hungry...free, bathrooms, bring binoculars if you have them...great bird viewing and butterflies

Great spot with civilized trails and decked platforms. Worth it!

This place is great for the wildlife (which is its purpose), not so much for humans. Took the 2.5 mi loop. Mostly saw vegetation - boring. If you do this walk start to left of start. The best bird area is

Nice preserve loved walking the trails and taking in the sites

Nature is amazing... dont screw it up, its really you.

Short hike but very pretty with lots of birds

A good portion of It was closed due to a recent hurricane, but the trails were great and an easy hike for all levels. A very nice boardwalk over wetlands and trees take you to the waters edge view of pelican island.

Prepare for mosquito swarms. Lots of walking trails.

We really enjoyed the trail leading to the lookout platform. It was handicap accessible as well for those in need. An excellent park with clean facilities. Also an excellent historic value!

We ho by there every day for our beach walk

Great little walk out to the river.Would like to see more trails to go down. This is a large sanctuary and not many walking trails to go see the wildlife.

Beautiful walking trails, toilets available (and clean) just lovely!

This is such a beautiful place! If you love nature you will love Pelican Island. The boardwalk is a lot of fun in tells the history what other parks.

Great place to view many species of wading birds and pelicans. Good photo opportunities. Trails there provide several miles of easy walking, but Limited viewing sites on a couple of the longer loops make for a fairly limited return on ones investment .Best viewing and photo ops on Centennial Trail. The walk to Joes Overlook is worth the trip if ypu have the time and are up for a two mile there and back walk or the whole 3 mile loop. This first established NWR is a local gem.

Excellent place in which to commune with Nature! The visitors center and river overlook both close at 7:00 PM approximately, but Jungle Trail, as it is a public road, is available 24 hours a day. The road is maintained by FWC personnel, but watch out for the occasional deep hole or rut, especially after a heavy rain; there are no street lights anywhere on the road except at intersections.Try this: at night during summer, at a dark place on the road, SAFELY pull off somewhere, shut the motor off, and switch off ALL lights and electronics. After a few minutes, youll see dozens of fireflies (I call them lightning bugs) appear seemingly from nowhere!

Easy walk on well maintained trails. The 1st national park initiated by Teddy Roosevelt. Great history lesson as well as impressive boardwalk and vistas over marshlands and the Indian river.

Very nice walk for the nature lover. Nothing to grueling so easy for most everyone to enjoy.

Very peaceful

Nice board walk to observation tower. Great views!

An excellent destination to visit again and again. Watch for Roseate Spoonbills. They are frequently seen.

Nice for taking a hike but didnt see much wildlife other than a cute little otter.

Good access trails; unfortunate abundance of trash along the trails.

Well.. its nature. Theres nothing to give it a star for its cleanliness or something. However, the reason I gave it a 4 start is that if you start this trail early in the morning at around 7 to 8am, then you can get a good exercise for yourself. There is not much sight seeing to do as both the sides are mostly filled with trees. You get a peek at water body once here and there. If you want to visit this place for photography,then Id suggest to look for some other place. Its not at all a photography friendly place.

Sick spot

Jungle trail rd can be dusty driving and has long areas of close in vegetation on both sides. Best spot is Pelican Island NWR Wildlife Viewing Area, Jungle Trail, Vero Beach, FL 32963

Lots of native plants, varieties of birds. Informative placards and very well maintained

So nice relaxing a beautiful can also get some good cardio.

Any outdoor adventure on the treasure coast should include Pelican island. So much to see, time of year will have some impact on what you see but this is a year around treat. Lots to explore.

Simply beautiful, take the time to go for a walk.

Lots of birds and nice walks

It is the first NWR

Awesome place to get out and enjoy nature and the quietness.

Come as you are type of place with directions to trailheads and viewing platforms. A very good half-day/day trip.

Amazing natural environmental area

Drove through sanctuary and did short hike on the centennial trail. (3/4 mile). Well maintained and accessible to everyone. A nice change of pace from the highway.

A beautiful place to visit in Florida, a photographers dream come true.

Nice rest area at the entrance to the walking trail. Clean rest room and drinking water available.

Beautiful, thought-provoking, well worth a visit!

Nice place to see pelican island

Geat place. Clean restrooms and water fountain.

Other than litter bugs this place is perfect. Even after a heavy rain.

Im happy that this refuge exists for the sake of the wildlife but thats about it really. The trails arent really marked, theres drainage ditches on both sides of the walkway, very close to where youre stepping, and to clueless northerners who have read that there are gators in every drainage ditch in Florida, lets just say it was a very sweaty and brisk walk. :-) We also didnt see a single bird. Maybe it was just the wrong time of year, ( late November) but I dont think I would visit again. Which is probably just as well, since its really meant for the wildlife anyway. :-)

Walk to the observation tower is impressive!

A great place to be with nature. Whether you walk or drive your car its a great place to be one with nature. They have restrooms. They provide information on what your seeing.

Quiet place, lots of natural beauty

I enjoyed the park, but the amount of invasive plants that are present took away from the experience.

Nice quiet drive

Nicely tucked in along the Jungle Trail. Classic and beautiful.