No need to fly to the Bahamas for an island escape. Try Peanut Island, a spit of land in Palm Beach County near the mouth of the Lake Worth Inlet.
Pack a cooler, grab a beach chair and bring your family and friends. Even your dogs are welcome to play on this piece of paradise, home to Peanut Island Park.
Didn’t realize this unusual park existed? Then keep reading for 10 more things you should know.
Peanut Island’s name is rooted in history, not size. It was created in 1918 with material dredged during the digging of Lake Worth Inlet. Originally called Inlet Island, it became Peanut Island years later after a plan to use it as a terminal for shipping peanut oil. The plan was abandoned in 1946 but the name stuck.
For decades, the island was a free-wheeling place to drink and party. In 1999, Palm Beach County imposed a little sanity on the place. It opened Peanut Island Park, which lies around the island’s perimeter. (The rest of the island is a dredging repository. Once 10 acres, it’s now 80 due to its continued role as a dumping ground.) A $13 million renovation, completed in 2005, added more park amenities.
If you want silence and solitude, hit the island during the week. On weekends, it’s still rocking and rolling with lots of boats, people and parties. Alcohol is allowed in most areas of the park. Enough said.
In the old days, nature was your bathroom. The good news: Peanut Island Park has three restrooms, plus more. Picnic tables and grills. Group picnic pavilions. Outdoor showers. Lifeguards are stationed near the beach area and snorkeling lagoon. Even doggie bag dispensers dot the park so you can clean up after Fido. (He’s legal at the park.)
A 1.25-mile walkway circles the island. Just remember to leave your bikes, skates, skateboards, in-line skates and motorized vehicles at home. Enjoy a leisurely walk instead and check out the native vegetation, including gumbo limbo trees. The red peeling bark, which evokes images of a sunburn, is responsible for the tree’s nickname: tourist tree.
That same tour includes a walk through the Kennedy Bunker, a bomb shelter built in seven days in 1961 for then- President Kennedy. You’ll see photographs of Kennedy along with the original orders to build the shelter. Kennedy never had to use the shelter, but he and wife Jacqueline used Peanut Island as a starting point for water skiing. (Tours from 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Adults, $10; students, $5; seniors, $9; children 5 and younger free. Info: 561-832-7428.)
The tin-roofed house with the inviting porch isn’t for your relaxation. That’s home to the park supervisor who lives on the island year-round. The two-story building with the dormers and reddish roof that looks as if it belongs in New England is the former Coast Guard station built in 1936. It’s now leased to the Palm Beach Maritime Museum, a nonprofit group, which offers tours of the station.
Water, water all around. Folks fish off their boats anchored near the island, catching mullet and snapper. Others walk across a 230-foot boardwalk that takes them through a mangrove stand. On the island’s southeast side lies a snorkeling lagoon, but the water isn’t clear much of the time. That problem is still being tackled by county engineers.
If you can’t get enough of the park by day, reserve one of its 20 campsites. (Cost: $18.40) Individual camp fires aren’t permitted but a fire ring, where you can toast marshmallows and tell creepy ghost stories, is near the campground.
Boaters can cruise right up to the island and dock at three spots. One dock is for loading and unloading only. The other two are available on a first come-first served basis, so get an early start.
Liz Doup can be reached at or 954-356-4722.
