Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area

Florida

The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area (ONA) is part of the Bureau of Land Management’s 27-million acre National Conservation Lands; and the only complete unit east of the Mississippi River. In close proximity to several million people, and embedded in Florida’s urbanized Treasure Coast, the 120-acre site in northern Palm Beach County has a remarkable array of natural and cultural resources. Its location at the confluence of the Loxahatchee River and Indian River Lagoon, just one and a half miles from the Atlantic Ocean, has made the site a popular and strategic site of human occupation for the past 5,000 years.

The ONA designation was established by Congress primarily to protect natural, historical, and cultural resources along with scenic, scientific, education and recreational values. The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse ONA is one of three sites afforded this designation. Congress established Oregon’s Yaquina Head in 1980; the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and the Piedras Blancas Light Station in California were established in May of 2008. Besides providing the public with opportunities to visit the historic Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, the ONA offers a variety of other visitor experiences. Take a gentle walk along a hardened trail and boardwalk though native and restored Florida coastal habitats, or participate in exciting interpretive programs regarding the site’s unique military history and its important role in World War II.