Florida Beach News

John D. MacArthur Beach State Park

John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, named for John D. MacArthur whose Foundation donated a portion of the land for its construction in the 1970s, is located on and just north of Singer Island, Florida in North Palm Beach, Florida. The park was first opened to the public in 1989. It covers 438 acres (1.8 km2) on land and underwater, including an estuary crossed by a 1,600-foot (490 m) boardwalk, and Munyon Island (named after James Munyon), a wilderness isle in the Intracoastal Waterway that was home to the lavish Hygeia Hotel at the turn of the twentieth century. The hotel burned to the ground in 1917. Hiking trails and pavilions are open for public use on Munyon Island, which is accessible only by kayak or boat. One section of the park was popularly known as Air Force Beach from the early 1940s until the renaming of the park because it was used by Palm Beach Air Force Base personnel. Nude bathing officially ended with the state's takeover of the park in 1982. MacArthur Beach is a nesting ground for rare sea turtles, including the threatened loggerhead, the endangered green sea turtle, and occasionally the rare leatherback. Many species of birds also visit the park, including peregrine falcons, wood storks, and least terns. In addition to state funds and gate fees, the park receives community support through a local organization, Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park. The William T. Kirby Nature Center features exhibits about the park's natural history, and includes live animal exhibits such as two loggerhead sea turtles. Beach Outfitters Gift Shop and Kayak Rentals, operated by Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park, offers a variety of gifts and provides rentals of kayaks, dive flags, lockers and binoculars.

Location
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Coordinates: 26.823925, -80.044079

Parking & Access
Access Typepublic

Nearby Beaches

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Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area occupies approximately the southern third of the island of Key Biscayne, at coordinates 25°40′25″N 80°09′34″W. This park includes the Cape Florida Light, the oldest standing structure in Greater Miami. In 2005, it was ranked as having the 8th best beach in the country, and in 2013 Forbes ranked it at 7th. The park was named in honor of Bill Baggs, editor of The Miami News from 1957 until his death in 1969. He worked to protect the land from development and to preserve some of the key in its natural state. In 2004 a large historical marker was erected at the site to mark it as part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Trail, as hundreds of Black Seminoles, many fugitive slaves, escaped from here to freedom in the Bahamas, settling mostly on Andros Island. In the early 1820s, some 300 American slaves reached the Bahamas, aboard 27 sloops and many canoes. The US National Park Service is working with the Bahamas, particularly the African Bahamanian Museum and Research Center (ABAC) in Nassau, to develop interpretive programs at Red Bays, Andros.

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Boca Raton ( BOH-kə rə-TOHN; Spanish: Boca Ratón [ˈboka raˈton]) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton postal address live outside of municipal boundaries, such as in West Boca Raton. As a business center, the city also experiences significant daytime population increases. Boca Raton is 45 miles (72 km) north of Miami and is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924 as "Bocaratone", and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" on May 26, 1925. While the area had been inhabited by the Glades culture, as well as Spanish and later British colonial empires prior to its annexation by the United States, the city's present form was developed predominantly by American architect Addison Mizner starting in the 1920s. Mizner contributed to many buildings in the area having Mediterranean Revival or Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. Boca Raton also became a key city in the development of the early computer industry. The city is the birthplace of IBM's first personal computer and various other technologies created by the company. Still centered around luxury beach culture, the city today is dotted by many malls and shopping centers, including the Town Center at Boca Raton. The ODP Corporation, which operates Office Depot and OfficeMax, is headquartered here. Boca Raton is also home to the main campus of Florida Atlantic University and the Evert Tennis Academy, owned by former professional tennis player Chris Evert. The city has a strict development code for the size and types of commercial buildings, building signs, and advertisements that may be erected within the city limit, which has led to major thoroughfares without billboards and large advertisements, as well as increased green spaces on roads.

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Coral Cove Park is a waterfront park located in Tequesta, Florida, right outside the city of Jupiter at 19450 State Road 707. The park is beside the Atlantic Ocean, near the Indian River and is managed by Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation. The park, which is almost 15 acres, includes approximately 2,610 feet of beach frontage (most of which is guarded) and 600 feet of intracoastal waterway frontage. The most prominent feature of the beach is the natural limestone, which is part of the Atlantic Coastal Ridge. These rocks, as well as the coral reefs, are inhabited by marine wildlife, including fish, sea turtles, eels, sharks and marine worms.