North Hutchinson Island

North Hutchinson Island, Florida is an Atlantic coastal barrier island, lying north of the Fort Pierce Inlet in St. Lucie County, Florida. It is separated from the mainland by the Indian River Lagoon. North of the county line between St Lucie and Indian River counties, it is known as Orchid Island.^[1] In order to avoid confusion, this article deals only with North Hutchinson Island in St. Lucie County.

Description

The community of North Hutchinson Island in St. Lucie County, also known as North Beach or North Fort Pierce Beach, is entirely unincorporated and shares the Fort Pierce, Florida 34949 Zip Code with the part of Hutchinson Island lying north of Blind Creek, which is just north of the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant. State Road A1A is the main north-side road on the island and is the only bridge link to the mainland of St. Lucie County. For most of its length A-1-A is known as Atlantic Beach Boulevard.^[2]

Residential development on the island

East of A-1-A the residential development is largely high-rise condominium apartments, while west of A-1-A there is a mix of single-family houses, townhouses and low-rise condominium apartment buildings. There is also a large mobile home resort that started out as an RV park 30 or more years.

Sites of interest

Sites of interest on North Hutchinson Island include:^[3]

• Fort Pierce Inlet State Park lies on the beachside just north of the inlet.
• National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum lies on the east side of A-1-A just south of Pepper Park Beach.
• Pepper Beach Park operated by St. Lucie County, straddles A-1-A]
• Jack Island State Preserve is on the west side of A-1-A not too far north of Pepper Park.

References

1. ^ Orchid Island
2. ^ Map of Fort Peirce, etc., 1998, Fort Lauderdale, Dolph Map Co.
3. ^ Hutchinson Island on Florida's Treasure Coast

External links

• Navy UDT-SEAL Museum

Coordinates: 27°33′25″N 80°19′29″W / 27.55694°N 80.32472°W / 27.55694; -80.32472