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'Hutchinson Island' is a barrier island on the coast of Martin and St. Lucie counties, Florida. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the St. Lucie Inlet, on the west by the Indian River, and on the north by the Fort Pierce Inlet, which separates it from what is known in St Lucie County as North Hutchinson Island, or sometimes "North Beach." North Hutchinson Island extends into Indian River County, but it is rarely called that north of the county line. In fact the Indian River county portion which extends to the Sebastian Inlet is usually called Orchid Island, although it is not a separate island.

Contents

Martin County portion

Points of interest

Martin County Public Beaches

St, Lucie County portion

Martin County portion

The Martin County portion of the island is all unincorporated and the southern part receives its mail from Stuart Zip Code 34996, while the northern part receives its mail from Jensen Beach Zip Code 34957. Martin County has successfully limited buildings on the island to four stories and thus has no highrise buildings, unlike St. Lucie County to the north.

Points of interest

★ The House of Refuge is a National Historic Site located on S.E. MacArthur Boulevard near the southern end of the island.

★ The Elliott Museum is on N.E. Ocean Boulevard.

★ The Florida Oceanographic Society is across the road from the Elliott

Martin County Public Beaches

★ Large Full Service Beaches: Martin County has two large public beaches with lifeguard stations, pavillions, concessions, restrooms, outdoor showers, and ample parking. ''Jensen Sea Turtle Beach'' is located at the intersection of N.E. Ocean Boulevard and the Jensen Beach Causeway, while ''Stuart Beach'' is located east of the Elliott Museum off Northeast Ocean Boulevard.

★ Smaller Beaches and Beach Strips: Martin County also owns smaller beach strips along the oceanfront from ''Bathtub Beach'' on the south end of MacArthur Boulevard to one located just south of the St. Lucie County line on the north. Bathtub Beach is the only one of theses to have any amenities beyond the standard wooden stairs over the dunes. It is very popular with families with children because of the calm, shallow pools at water's edge warmed by the sun's rays and protected from the breaking surf by large offshore rock formations. The smallest beach strip is the Park-N-Fish located just north of the House of Refuse.

St, Lucie County portion

The southern part of the St. Lucie County portion comprises the Hutchinson Island South Census Designated Place, but that name is rarely used by residents, who receive their mail from Jensen Beach Zip Code 34957. The ocean front is lined with mid-rise luxury condominium apartment buildings with a few hotels or motels mixed in. On the Indian River side there isa mix of single family homes, duplexes and mobile home or travel trailer communities, the largest of which is Nettles Island. There county building codes have allowed what started as as travel trailer lots to be used for site-built homes.
In the middle of the St. Lucie County portion is the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant. Most of the area north of the power plant is in the Fort Pierce city limits and is locally called "Fort Pierce Beach" or sometimes "South Beach," not to be confused with the area of Miami Beach by the same name or with the C.D.P. in Indian River County called South Beach, Florida.