North Hutchinson Island is a coastal

barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...

in Indian River and St. Lucie counties on the east coast of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the United States. The island is adjacent to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and is separated from the mainland on the west by the

Indian River Lagoon The Indian River Lagoon is a grouping of three lagoons: the Mosquito Lagoon, the Banana River, and the Indian River, on the Atlantic Coast of Florida; one of the most biodiverse estuaries in the Northern Hemisphere and is home to more than 4, ...

. The portion of the island in Indian River County is known as Orchid Island.

Description

North Hutchinson Island is an Atlantic barrier island located on Florida's

Treasure Coast The Treasure Coast is a region in the southeast of the U.S. state of Florida. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and comprises Indian River, Martin, and St. Lucie counties. The region, whose name refers to the Spanish Treasure Fleet that was lost ...

approximately north of

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

. The island extends from the

Sebastian Inlet Sebastian Inlet, located in Sebastian Inlet State Park in Brevard County, Florida and Indian River County, Florida, offers surfing and fishing opportunities. It is off State Road A1A just 12 miles north of Vero Beach. There are annual surf tou ...

on the north to the Fort Pierce Inlet on the south, and is about long. It has an area of . The island was once included with the barrier island ( Hutchinson Island) to the south as "Hutchinson Island", even though the Fort Pierce Inlet split it into two islands. In 1985, Indian River County renamed its portion of the island "Orchid Island", to distinguish it from the high density development occurring on Hutchinson Island in St. Lucie County.

State Road A1A State Road A1A (SR A1A) is a major north–south Florida State Road consisting of seven separate sections running a total of along the Atlantic Ocean, from Key West at the southern tip of Florida, to Fernandina Beach, just south of Geor ...

is the main road for the length of the island, and four bridges provide access to the mainland. For most of its length, A-1-A is known as Atlantic Beach Boulevard. North Hutchinson Island has many county and state parks and preserves, and is one of the few areas on the east coast of Florida with several accreting (growing) beaches. A number of restaurants, hotels and shops are located on, or easily accessible to the island. Activities on North Hutchinson Island include fishing,

snorkeling Snorkeling (American and British English spelling differences#Doubled in British English, British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of human swimming, swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing ...

, boating, kayaking, hiking, biking, surfing, parasurfing,

paddleboarding Paddleboarding is a water sport in which participants are propelled by a swimming motion using their arms while lying or kneeling on a paddleboard or surfboard in the ocean or other body of water. Paddleboarding is usually performed in the open ...

, and wildlife observation. On the northern end of the island is

Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), and part of the Everglades Headwaters NWR complex, located just off the western coast of Orchid Island, Florida in the Indian River Lagoon east of Sebast ...

, the nation's first refuge was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 with over of protected waters and lands. Avalon State Park located on A-1-A near the St. Lucie County line provides a number of recreational opportunities and its beach is used by visitors for swimming, snorkeling, surfing, and scuba diving. The area ecosystem provides a habitat for varied marine wildlife including manatees, dolphins, sea turtles, many species of fish, and birds.

Communities

The city of

Vero Beach Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed "The Hibiscus City", Vero is situated about southeast of Orlando along the ...

lies on both sides of the Indian River, with its main business and residential areas on the mainland. Two of the island's four bridges from the mainland lie within the city limits. Other communities on the island include the towns of Indian River Shores and

Orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

, and the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

s of

South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a Neighborhoods of Miami Beach, Florida, neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south ...

, Wabasso Beach and

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

Parks and protected areas

* Avalon State Park, north of Fort Pierce Inlet State Park. * Fort Pierce Inlet State Park * Sebastian Inlet State Park is located at the north end of Orchid Island and extends across the

into

Brevard County Brevard County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. It is on the Atlantic coast of eastern Central Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county se ...

. * Jack Island State Preserve, on the west side of A-1-A, north of Pepper Park Beachside. *

Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge The Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) System, located along a twenty-mile (30 km) section of coastline from Melbourne Beach to Wabasso Beach, Florida, along State Road A1A. T ...

, on the northern end of the island. The refuge was established for the protection of sea turtles. *

is located in the Indian River Lagoon north of Windsor. * Pepper Park Beachside, is a St. Lucie County park on the southern end of North Hutchinson Island along A-1-A. It has fishing piers and public beach access with picnic facilities. * Riverside Park is an Indian River County park located at the foot of the Merrill Barber Bridge on the island side. This location hosts the Vero Beach Art Museum, the Riverside Theatre and the Riverside Children's Theatre. * Round Island Park is an Indian River County park that abuts the county line on the south and runs from the ocean to the river.

Sites of interest

Sites of interest on/near North Hutchinson Island include: * In Sebastian Inlet State Park: ** McLarty Treasure Museum ** Site of

camp Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

used by survivors and salvagers of the wrecks of the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet. ** Sebastian Fishing Museum * National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum, on the east side of A-1-A just south of Pepper Park Beachside. (3300 N A1A) * The Driftwood Inn and Waldo's Restaurant, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, at Sexton Park on the Atlantic Ocean. *

Disney's Vero Beach Resort Disney's Vero Beach Resort is a Disney Vacation Club resort located eleven miles north of Vero Beach in Wabasso Beach, on State Route A1A in Florida. Established in 1995, it was the first Disney Vacation Club resort to be constructed outside ...

, in Wabasso Beach.

References

External links

Riverside Theatre
{{authority control Atlantic Coast barrier islands of Florida Indian River Lagoon Islands of St. Lucie County, Florida Beaches of St. Lucie County, Florida Port St. Lucie metropolitan area Islands of Florida