Blind Creek Update, Nov-Dec 2021

Well it's me again, seems like I'm sort of hogging this forum. Oh well, maybe I can inspire a few more posters.

We're back to Blind Creek naturist beach on beautiful Hutchinson Island near Jensen Beach/ Port St. Lucie/Ft. Pierce, FL for another month. This trip is a repeat of last year's stay in a condo (found on Airbnb) just 3 miles south of the beach. After a stretch of rainy weather we've finally had a few nice bright sunny days, albeit a bit cool. Since we brought our windscreen, we are nice and toasty for the most part.

The King tides and waves have done a number on some beaches in western FL (wiped out a section of Playalinda we hear) and Blind Creek is one of them. At the main south beach parking area, the beach area at high tide is very narrow, about 15 ft from the dunes to a 2-3 ft cliff down to the wet sand. Made things really crowded there on the weekend. BUT we avoided all that by going to the north, boat launch parking area, 1 mile north of the main parking area, and hanging out on the beach there. Uncrowded and plenty of wide beach in that stretch. It's almost as if the beach sand has shifted north for some reason. Anyway, we've enjoyed several days of bright sunshine, mild breezes and 70F-75F temps. The regulars say that the erosion at the main beach is temporary and it was fine all summer.

For dining we've discovered the Piehole Pizza place just a few miles north of the beach toward Ft. Pierce. Great pizza and other Italian dishes plus nice selection of draft beers, all at reasonable prices. It was really busy Friday night with phone orders so we had a bit of a wait then but otherwise the service has been excellent and we've had no trouble securing a table on their screened in patio deck. There are also lots of good restaurants farther north in Ft. Pierce as well as south in Jensen Beach and Stuart. We hope to be checking them out when (if?) we tire of the Piehole.

Magic Oyster in Jensen Beach is outstanding

I meant EASTERN Florida of course!

Thanks for the tip about the Magic Oyster. Will try to get there. We did the happy hour at outdoor bar area of the Manatee Island Bar and Grill on the Ft. Pierce causeway today. Very good, cheap apps and a buck off drinks. https://www.manateeislandbarandgrill.com/. Last night we had dinner at Crawdaddy's in Jensen Beach. Our dinners were good and they had live music in the airy side patio dining area. https://crawdaddysjensenbeach.com/

The beach was delightful this morning, light breeze, sunny and mild. But by early afternoon the wind picked up to over 10 mph from the north and it was tough without a windscreen. Ours saved us. Low tide so lots of beach space, even though the south lot was full, like a weekend! Got there at 10AM, still plenty of parking then.

In Fort Pierce we always enjoy Archies also in Jensen Kyle G’s was very good. brunch on the weekend was solid and lunch outside on the patio overlooking the ocean was great. Sat at the bar inside for brunch and at the bar outside for lunch. Great vibe and coconut mojito

Thanks so much for all of these suggestions. We’re scheduled to spend the month of March on Jensen Beach & hope to try out many of these.

Let us know what you find and recommend

12A Buoy in Ft. Pierce is another great option.

We ate at the Magic Oyster last night and it was excellent. Bourbon salmon, scallops and Tropical Chicken were great! Call ahead to get a table. Next, Conchy Joes.

Back to the beach, the mosquitoes on the path to the beach at the north entrance were horrid yesterday. All the rain lately. If you go there, first spray with Deet! Our friends used some kind of organic stuff and the skeeters lapped it up. The south end was fine and fairly uncrowded for a Sunday due to the spotty showers.

Sounds like great Beer,and Burger places are close.Beach sounds awesome.If you do get a warmer than usual day how is the water temperature this time of year? How far out is The Gulf Stream?

Our friend checks the water temp each day at BCB, it's ranged from 74F to 78F lately. It was 77F today and low waves made for a good day to skinny dip! Air temps in the low 80s. Don't know the answer to your question about the Gulf Stream but I saw that it is pretty close to shore by Jupiter which is not far south of here.

Thanks! Sounds like winter swimming is a go! Got some property north of there.Have to check it out soon. Have a nice Holiday.

Checked out 2 more eateries. The 2nd Street Bistro in Ft. Pierce was ok for the food but we wanted to eat on their deck for the ventilation and then had to put up with people smoking near us! A risk you take in FL I guess. And the reason we went there was for the Happy Hour advertised on their web site (and experienced by our friends a couple of months ago) but it no longer exists! The waitress was surprised that we asked about it- "oh we haven't had that for months (you dummies)".

Also tried Conchy Joe's in Jensen Beach, on the bay just north of the causeway. Really cool place, and huge! We again were there for the Happy Hour, 5PM-ish, and again were disappointed a bit. No Happy Hour discounts out on the well-ventilated deck, only inside by the bar. In other words, you have to balance Covid protocol vs saving a buck or two. But we got a great outside table smack on the bay and liked the huge food menu. Portions were modest in size but good. The best feature of this place is that it's only 15 min from Blind Creek!

Which was fantastic this week, weather-wise! Really lucked out for our last week in paradise! We've stuck with the main beach (south end) and arrived there by 10AM or so which was good because the parking lot filled up by noon! Even on weekdays! If you do go and can't find parking, go north 1 miie to the Blind Creek Northside entrance by the boat ramp. Always plenty of space there. Spray for skeeters, walk down the path to the beach and settle down south for the nude section. Whatta great beach! (no facilities there though so use the porta potties at the south beach, then head north)

Time to head home after 30 days on Blind Creek Beach. The weather was great the last 2 weeks, just a bit windy a few days but well-handled with a windscreen. Temps in upper 70s with mostly full sun. Even the high tide was gracious, not coming up all that high so lots of space to spread out. Which was good since the beach was fairly crowded (by BCB standards at least) every day almost, with the parking lot at the south entrance filling up by noon. No issue for us, since we love the mornings there and arrived around 9.

Til next year...

We returned to Blind Creek for 3 glorious days in February! Some news items: the north beach is being monitored by the Sheriffs after a fisherman complained about a couple having sex there. (PLEASE don't do that, people!) Latest word is that they are discouraging nudity there but no citations for now. All is still AOK on the sanctioned, main Blind Creek beach area a mile to the south. In fact I heard that the construction plans for that area have been approved and are out for bids, with the goal for the work to be completed by Fall. Work includes paving and expanding the parking lot, adding plumbed bathrooms near the parking lot entrance and showers near the beach path. Hopefully they will improve the path over the dune to the beach as well.

Our friends on the TCNaturists' Board of Directors visited us this weekend (March 5-6) at Cypress Cove and came with a positive update relating to the "legal" Blind Creek nude area: nudity is ok again as far north as the path from the north (Mud Creek, boat ramp) parking lot but NO FARTHER north. So if you park in the north lot and want to go au naturel on the beach, please walk south (right) on the beach from the end of the path that starts by the boat ramp. As far as our friends knew the construction planning was moving along with the hope of completion by/in the Fall.

Thanks for the update Chuck.

We’re currently enjoying Blind Creek & look forward to the improvements.

Arehouse, Happy to hear it! Just curious, where are you staying or is this a day trip?

We’re renting at Dune Walk for the month.
Easy commute to the beach!

Perfect location! Close enough that someone could take bikes to Blind Creek if they so choose! We were next door at Sand Dollar for a month and really enjoyed it, going back this November and hoping the improvements at BCB will be done by then.

Yet another development in nude access to the north entrance to Blind Creek: the county apparently has put up a "No nudity" sign by the path in from the boat launch, and the signs keep getting stolen. Not good, even though the signs diverge from the guidance given to the Treasure Coast Naturists folks that nudity IS ok south from that entrance. So the county ain't happy about the stolen signs and could make things more difficult for naturists needing to park there if the south lot is full. Please don't steal signs no matter how "cool" they are!!

I wouldn’t want a sign that said “No Nudity”. Where would you have any use for that.

Probably just vandalism. Some folks feel that if they don't want to do something, then no one should do it, so they steal the signs thinking it will stop the activity.

Looks like they had a great turnout for Skinny Dip Day at Blind Creek- cars lining the highway!
Before:
https://youtu.be/A4xuJsVJH8o
After:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5YCfI2vCL0&ab_channel=ChrisG.Georgas

Thanks for the link. I will sit down later and watch the whole thing.

Some bad news, best to avoid the north end now:
COUNTY SHERIFFS STEP UP ACTIVITY TO REMOVE NATURISTS FROM FAR NORTH END OF BLIND CREEK BEACH (LITTLE MUD)

We recently learned that St Lucie County sheriffs are now chasing naturists off the beach at the "Little Mud" parking area. We had a phone conversation with the sheriffs a few days ago, and unfortunately the news is not good. They told us they have been charged to react to any complaints of nudity at that section of beach. They will first educate beachgoers to take themselves to the main beach, and after that they will start issuing citations.

Simple nudity is not illegal per FL 800.03, and if you were cited and went to court you'd likely win... but you should evaluate your own personal situation to determine if you want to take that chance. We are advising you that, unless things change, you are now using that part of the beach at your own risk.

The "officially designated" nude area starts at the FPL property line and goes north about 2000 feet. The Little Mud trailhead is 6000 feet from the FPL property line and has never been part of the designated nude area... but there has never been any interference until recently. The TCN Board will be meeting to discuss what next steps we may want to take. We will keep you advised.

Thanks for the update. Not good news, but a valuable update nonetheless.

TCN's most recent email said that deputies are just waving to those still using the north end au naturel as long as folks are south of the entrance and kids aren't around. So who knows? Worst case would just be a warning no doubt.