After an awesome day of kayaking and snorkeling on our Peanut Island Adventure, we decided to follow it up by spending our last day in Jupiter on the Mangroves and Manatees Mystery Tour with Jupiter Outdoor Center.
JUPITER OUTDOOR CENTER
I came across Jupiter Outdoor Center (JOC) on TripAdvisor. They are rated the fourth most popular activity in Jupiter and with a rating that high and so many positive reviews, you just know you’re guaranteed a good time. You’ll find JOC on the Jupiter Inlet adjacent to the lighthouse; you can’t miss their shack, it’s painted in an array of bright colors and makes you feel as though you’re in the tropical Keys!
People flock to JOC (it rhymes!) to rent kayak or stand up paddleboard gear, participate in a variety of ongoing classes and summer camps, or to take part in one of the many guided snorkeling, kayaking, or stand up paddleboard tours that they offer.
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WHO? Jupiter Outdoor Center provide guided tours, classes and gear rentals daily.
WHAT? While offering many different activities and tours, we decided to go with the Mangroves & Manatees Mystery Tour (this is a guided tour). You can choose to either kayak or stand up paddleboard, depending on which you choose, JOC will provide you with gear for each as well as a lifejacket.
WHERE? JOC is located at 1116 Love St, Jupiter, Florida. Depending on the wind and tide, the Mangroves & Manatees Mystery Tour can take place in and around the Jupiter Inlet, the Loxahatchee River Preserve, or the Indian River Lagoon.
WHEN? Different tours run on different days at set times. Advanced reservations are required and dates and times can be viewed online for your desired tour.
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MANGROVES & MANATEES MYSTERY TOUR
JOC provides guests with three different tour offerings; Mangroves & Manatees Mystery Tour, Sunset & Stargazing Tour, and the Full Moon Paddle. Each will allow you to choose between a kayak or a stand up paddleboard (SUP). We went with the Mangroves & Manatees Mystery Tour SUP option as we’d been kayaking the day prior and wanted to switch it up a little.
Our daily, 90 minute, tour seeks out manatee sightings and explores the local mangrove-lined waterways of the lower Loxahatchee River and Indian River Lagoon. You can choose to paddle a one-person kayak, two-person-kayak, or paddleboard. Depending on the tide and the weather, we will take you on a trip, passing by the the Jupiter Lighthouse, to Sawfish Bay which holds two beautiful mangrove islands perfect for bird watching, or on an adventure to the Indian River Lagoon, the most bio-diverse estuary in the United States. All skill levels and ages welcome, your guide will give you basic paddle and safety instruction.
I had only SUP’d once prior but almost split my head open on the back of a boat while trying to actually stand up on my paddleboard, and my one girlfriend that was joining me had never SUP’d before in her life, so this was going to be an interesting experience. I also failed to mention that we had a video crew coming out to film us all day for an employee video-series that my company is putting together… splendid.
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STAND UP PADDLEBOARDING
This newly-created sport is catching on so quickly around the world due to how easy it is to learn… even kids can do it… which made me feel like complete crap haha. After a quick lesson, some basic instructions from our tour guide, and yet another impromptu photo shoot featuring Lauren, we push off the sand to get moving.
I apparently have extremely poor balance and coordination, because within only a minute of standing up, I had already fallen off – we’d barely left the shore too! Haha.
Even after following the tour guides instructions, I think I managed to stand and paddle at most for ten minutes before falling off again. I spent a majority of the tour kneeling and paddling or sitting with my legs crossed and paddling – still just as much fun, and it’s a bonus knowing you won’t fall off that way!
The hardest part for me was keeping my balance when a boat comes by and makes waves – I have no idea how people managed to stay up even though their paddle board was vigorously bouncing all up on the waves!!! Kudos to them, seriously.
We took the Indian River Lagoon route for our tour. Early on, we had to cross a busy stream full of boating traffic and our guide did a sensational job in getting us all across safely during clear intervals.
At the half way point, we stopped off at a narrow mangrove sandbar where we could dock our paddleboards and play in the clear water for a while. The area leading up to this sandbar is like one big party. There are kayaks and boats docked all along the narrow sides of the river with people blasting music from their radios, diving off rocks, grilling off the backs of their boats and drinking. I had the urge to paddle right on up and join them! It was a weekend though which explained the high levels of traffic and people out on the water.
After a short break on the sandbar, it was time to paddle back to JOC. The tour went for just under two hours which was just enough time to leave me waking up with sore arm muscles the morning after haha. Here is a photo of me paddling back on my butt… while the 12 year olds around me perfectly master what stand up paddleboarding is supposed to look like!
Although we didn’t see any manatees, we still had so much fun out on the water with Jupiter Outdoor Center. Next time I’m in Jupiter, I think I’ll rent kayaks from JOC and explore a different route outside of a tour. So much fun. If you’re a local or in the area on vacation, you should definitely check them out!
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MANGROVES & MANATEES MYSTERY TOUR TIPS
1. Lather yourself in sunscreen before you leave. It gets crazy hot out there with the sun beaming down on you.
2. Weekends make for lots of boat traffic and the waves from the boats can make stand up paddleboarding a challenge. If you want calmer waters, try going out on a weekday.
3. If you have a waterproof camera, definitely take it with you!
4. Drink plenty of water before you go. You’ll be in the hot sun for two hours with no access to food or drink for the duration of the tour.
Jupiter Outdoor Center Review
Jupiter Outdoor Center Review
Jupiter Outdoor Center Review
*Jupiter Outdoor Center kindly provided us with a complimentary Mangroves & Manatees Mystery Tour, but all opinions are my own.
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Excellent tips for this excursion. And these photos are so awesome…Jupiter Outdoor Center should be using them for their marketing! 🙂
Haha, ah, the beauty of Photoshop 🙂
Looks like there’s a lot of fun things to do in Jupiter! I have not tried stand up paddle boarding before and I hear its not as easy as it looks (requires a lot of balance?)
On a random note, I think I also have the exact same shorts like yours! If it’s Nike then its definitely the same haha 🙂 I just wore them today too!
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A lot of balance, clearly something I was born without. My friend was telling me earlier that it’s just as big a craze in Australia as it is here at the moment!
Haha, that is a very random note! I actually can’t recall what brand they are, I don’t think they are Nike though.
This is exactly what I was looking for because I couldn’t find any other reviews for this other than Trip advisor. Thanks Lynda. I am looking forward to making a booking with them while I’m in town the month after next. Any other suggestions?
Hey JD – let me know if you have any questions about it and I’d be more than happy to email you 🙂 Yeah, if you’re in the area I suggest the Peanut Island kayak/snorkeling adventure too, I wrote about it here: http://www.live-travel-blog.com/2014/07/25/peanut-island-adventure-visit-palm-beach/
If I went paddle boarding I’d probably end up sitting and paddling the whole time haha!
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Basically what I did – and this was the thing the film crew came out with us for, so whatever footage they got from it will basically show me failing the entire time LOL.