History
The park is named after Jonathan Dickinson, a Quaker merchant who was shipwrecked in 1696, with his family and others, on the Florida coast near the present-day park. He wrote a journal describing their encounters with local tribes, and their journey up the coast to St. Augustine.
A man known as Trapper Nelson homesteaded on the banks of the Loxahatchee River after coming to the area in the 1930s, living off the land trapping and selling furs. He soon became known as the Wildman of the Loxahatchee. After he died in 1968 the state acquired his land, and deeded it to the park.
The United States Army established Camp Murphy, a top-secret radar training school, in the area that is now the park, in 1942. The camp included over 1,000 buildings, and housed more than 6,000 officers and soldiers. The camp was deactivated in 1944, after only two years of operation. Most of the camp buildings were torn down, but some of the building foundations remain. The property was transferred to the State of Florida in 1947, and opened as a state park in 1950.
Martin County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,431. Its county seat is Stuart. Martin County is in the Port St. Lucie, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Lake Norman State Park, formerly Duke Power State Park, is a 1,942-acre (7.86 km2) North Carolina state park near Troutman, Iredell County, North Carolina in the United States. The park is on the northern shore of Lake Norman at the mouth of Hicks Creek. The park is open for year-round recreation including, boating, fishing, water skiing, swimming and camping. Lake Norman State Park is on Inland Sea Road in Troutman just off U.S. Route 70 between Interstates 40 and 77.
Oscar Scherer State Park is a Florida State Park located between Sarasota and Venice, near Osprey. The address is 1843 South Tamiami Trail. There are more than 250,000 visitors a year. The park is home to habitat for various plants and animals including birds such as the Florida scrub jay and butterflies. It has areas for cycling, hiking, and paddle craft boating.
Hontoon Island State Park is a 1,648-acre (6.67 km2) Florida State Park located on Hontoon Island between the St. Johns River and the Hontoon Dead River in Volusia County. It is six miles (10 km) west of DeLand, off SR 44, and can only be reached by boat or park-operated passenger ferry. No motorized vehicles, other than wheelchairs, are allowed to be brought onto the island and there is no swimming. The island has pine flatwoods, palm and oak hammocks, bald cypress swamps and marshes. Hontoon Island is surrounded by the St. Johns River, the Hontoon Dead River, and Snake Creek.
Three Rivers Park District is a special park district serving the suburban areas of the Twin Cities including suburban Hennepin, Carver, Dakota, Scott, and Ramsey counties. Three Rivers's mission is "To promote environmental stewardship through recreation and education in a natural resources-based park system." Three Rivers operates twenty parks and ten regional trails, with at least two more regional trails planned. Nearly seven million people visit Three Rivers facilities each year. It has over 27,000 acres (11,000 ha) of parks and trails.
Kikomun Creek Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada.
Lake Bemidji State Park is a state park of Minnesota, United States, on the north shore of 6,765-acre (27.38 km2) Lake Bemidji. The northern half of the park preserves a spruce-tamarack bog. A district of National Park Service rustic structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps and National Youth Administration in the 1930s is on the National Register of Historic Places. The park is located 5 miles (8.0 km) north of the city of Bemidji.
The United States Army Signal Corps established Camp Murphy, a top-secret radar training school in 1942. Camp Murphy was located between Stuart and Jupiter in what is now Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County in southeastern Florida.
The Trapper Nelson Zoo Historic District, also known as Trapper Nelson Hunting Camp and Trapper Nelson Interpretive Site, is an historic district located south of Hobe Sound, Florida, in the United States. It is inside Jonathan Dickinson State Park at 16450 Southeast Federal Highway. On October 3, 2006, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Loxahatchee River is a 7.6 mile river near the southeast coast of Florida. It is a National Wild and Scenic River, one of only two in the state, and received its federal designation on May 17, 1985. The source of the Loxahatchee River is in Riverbend Park on the south side of Indiantown Road about 1.5 miles west of I-95 and Florida's Turnpike in Jupiter, Florida. The Loxahatchee River flows out of the Jupiter Inlet and into the Atlantic Ocean. This river was the inspiration for Florida film producer Elam Stoltzfus' 2005 project Our Signature: the Wild and Scenic Loxahatchee River, a film done in conjunction with the Loxahatchee River Preservation Initiative.
Buffalo Pound Provincial Park is in southern Saskatchewan, Canada, about 30 kilometres (19 mi) north-east of Moose Jaw and 86 kilometres (53 mi) north-west of the city of Regina. Access to the provincial park is from Highways 301 and 202.
Colt Creek State Park is a Florida State Park in Central Florida, 16 miles (26 km) north of Lakeland off of State Road 471. This 5,067 acre park nestled within the Green Swamp Wilderness Area and named after one of the tributaries that flows through the property was opened to the public on January 20, 2007. Composed mainly of pine flatwoods, cypress domes and open pasture land, this piece of pristine wilderness is home to many animal species including the American bald eagle, Southern fox squirrel, gopher tortoise, white-tailed deer, wild turkey and bobcat.
Vince "Trapper" Nelson was an American trapper, hunter and zoo founder. Though he was born in New Jersey, and lived in Mexico and Texas, Nelson is best known for establishing a homestead-turned-zoo on the shore of Florida's Loxahatchee River. Filled with exotic and wild animals, his zoo was a popular tourist spot in the 1940s and 1950s, visited by local and national celebrities. Because of this, he became known locally as "Tarzan of the Loxahatchee".
Heyburn State Park is a public recreation area in the U.S. state of Idaho. It is located almost entirely in Benewah County, with a small portion extending into southern Kootenai County. The park was founded in 1908 and is the oldest state or provincial park in the Pacific Northwest. The park has 5,744 acres (23.2 km2) of land and 2,332 acres (9.4 km2) of water on three lakes: Benewah, Chatcolet, and Hidden. A dam constructed on the Spokane River in Post Falls in 1906 raised the level of Lake Coeur d'Alene, connecting it to the park's three lakes. The surface elevation of the lakes is 2,125 feet (648 m) above sea level. The park's year-round recreational opportunities include camping, boating, hiking, horseback riding, fishing, and picnicking.
Holly State Recreation Area is a state recreation area in Groveland Township, near Holly, Michigan.
The Foot Hills State Forest is a state forest located in Cass and Hubbard counties, Minnesota. The forest is a popular recreation spot due to its proximity to the greater Minneapolis – Saint Paul metropolitan area.
The General C. C. Andrew State Forest is a state forest located in Pine County, Minnesota. The forest is named in honor of major general Christopher Columbus Andrews, a Civil War veteran, and an early Minnesota state Forestry Commissioner and proponent for scientific forestry and forest management. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources manages the majority of the forest.
Riverbend Park is a 680-acre (280 ha) park in the Jupiter Farms section of Jupiter, in Palm Beach County, Florida. The area includes the Riverbend Regional Park Historic District with Indian middens and a preserved battlefield from the Seminole War at the Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park adjacent to Riverbend. The park includes 10 miles of hiking/biking trails, 7 miles of equestrian trails and 5 miles of canoeing/kayaking trails and includes a section of the Loxahatchee River, a National Wild and Scenic River. A Florida cracker farmstead is displayed, as well as a Seminole-style chickee for picnics. The battlefield area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2024.
Ocean to Lake Trail is a 63-mile greenway spur off the Florida Trail. It starts at Hobe Sound Beach and ends at Lake Okeechobee in Port Mayaca. The trail is under development as of 2012 and portions are open to the public in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Corbett Wildlife Management Area, and DuPuis Reserve. The 2012 Ocean To Lake Greenway Celebration included horseback riding, cycling, hiking and trail running.
