Scenic highways are scattered throughout Florida. The Sunshine State has no shortage of beautiful drives. In fact, Florida has 27 designated scenic byways at last count. Many of these routes offer spectacular ocean views as they hug our coastline. Some of the most beautiful stretches of road in Florida are right here in Martin County. The limbs of huge moss-draped live oaks, banyan trees, palms, and pines provide a towering, cooling canopy over roads that were once paths traveled by native tribes. Martin County has three canopy roads offering a peaceful sense of quiet adventure. It’s a chance to view charming old Florida. Take a ride with us as we tour Martin County Canopy Roads.

The Martin Grade Scenic Highway

Between Lake Okeechobee and Palm City/Stuart, in the southeast portion of the state, is a beautiful road that time seems to have forgotten. Take a drive in the country on the Martin Grade Scenic Highway – County Road 714 – A drive across the Martin Grade is a drive through Florida’s last frontier.

Locals simply call it “The Grade”. This beautiful historic 12-mile road is shaded by a canopy of 100-year-old oaks and is surrounded by pastures, groves, swamps, and woods just as it was when it was carved out of the wilderness by the region’s earliest settlers. The highway is one of Florida’s newest scenic highways officially designated in 2015.

Take a drive through the captivating tunnel of trees to feel the charming beauty of Old Florida. This rural area has a unique character all its own, representing what Florida was like 100 years ago. The drive is mesmerizing as sunlight filters through the trees. Canopy Roads in Florida have gracious old live trees that reach across the road. The branches hold hands, creating the effect of a canopy.

This is a drive not to be missed. Take a cool spring or fall day, turn the radio up, and roll the windows down with your hand soaring like a bird in the wind. Feel alive and just enjoy the drive.

Along the straight stretch of road lined with oak canopy, you will pass expansive vistas and open fields of still-active ranch land and grass flats reminiscent of Florida’s cowboy glory days. The area is teeming with wildlife, wildflowers, insects, and birds.

Allapattah Flats

Heading east the road takes you to the 22,000-acre Allapattah Flats Wildlife Management Area, which is open to the public year-round. Recreational opportunities include hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, primitive camping, and hunting. fishing and wildlife viewing. Visitors may hike or bike on the trail system leading to an open marsh popular with wading birds. There are separate trails for equestrians as well as a 150-acre riding area.

Palm City Farms

As you are headed back into Stuart, make a stop at the market. Palm City Farms Produce & Market is an old-fashioned country store with personal service and first-class produce. The big red barn is more than just a corner store, it is becoming a center where the community can come together — a tall, red, barn-like, open-air market with wide porches, a welcoming atmosphere, rockers on the porch where guests can sit in the shade and talk, and even a hitching post if you want to come on horseback. in fact, the folks here spent several years working to have the Martin Grade designated a Florida Scenic Highway. Keep an eye out for special events throughout the year such as pony rides, pumpkin patches, petting zoos, and animal encounters.

Hobe Sound’s Bridge Road

Drive the scenic Bridge Road in Hobe Sound, Florida. It will take you under an enchanting canopy leading you to Jupiter Island and Hobe Sound Beach. Bridge Road on Jupiter Island is about as magical as it sounds. While it isn’t an extremely long drive by any means, it is still enjoyable. Centuries-old Banyan trees line each side of the road casting their shade and creating a storybook setting.

Another way to see this beautiful road is to park at the beach parking lot and take the sidewalk that runs next to the road under the shade of the banyans. You can really appreciate the enormity of these huge trees. The soft green grass and scattered park benches provide inviting areas to stop and soak in nature.

Address:  SE Bridge Rd, Hobe Sound, FL 33455, USA

St. Lucie Blvd. Stuart

Next up, try taking a drive down Saint Lucie Blvd. in Stuart and going through the famous Banyan Tree Tunnel.  You can feel the temperature cool off as you enter the darkness. Here’s what it looks like on a bright sunny day.

The Banyan Tree is native to India and was introduced to Florida by Thomas Alva Edison in 1925 when he planted the first one in the US.  It was around 4 feet tall at the time.  This tree is still alive covering over 400 feet, reported to be the third-largest Banyan tree in the world. You can read more about this in my Fort Myers/ Sanibel Island post.

So as the weather cools off, pack the kids in the car or just take off yourself for a long-overdue Sunday drive down some of the prettiest roads in Martin County. It’s a perfect way to spend an afternoon.

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