St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park Visitor Guide

St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park is a free day-use state park west of Sebastian at 1000 Buffer Preserve Drive, Fellsmere, open 8 a.m. to sunset every day of the year.

No fee is required for day use, and the park phone is 321-953-5005 (Florida State Parks). The preserve's 60 miles of trail are split equally between Brevard and Indian River counties (Florida State Parks), and the DEP places its pine flatwoods, sand hills and strand swamp near Sebastian, which sits at the junction of the Saint Sebastian River and the Indian River (Florida DEP Coastal Access Guide). Pine flatwoods anchor more than 23 distinct natural communities, and cypress domes, strand swamps and scrub ridges hold over 70 listed species of threatened plants and animals (Florida State Parks).

Two state listings give different sizes for the St. Sebastian River Preserve. The FWC birding trail page lists 21,628 acres and names the DEP Division of Recreation and Parks as manager (Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail), while the DEP coastal guide lists 21,362 acres and files the park under Brevard (Florida DEP).

Last verified: October 14, 2026, on the Florida State Parks website (hours and fees page).

The south side of the St. Sebastian River Preserve, reached from County Road 512 in Indian River County, is the side closest to Sebastian; the visitor center is on the north side in Brevard County.

FWC lists two entrance addresses: 990 Buffer Preserve Drive, Fellsmere, for the north side and WW Ranch Road, Sebastian, FL 32958, for the south side, both open 8 a.m. to sunset (Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail). On the County Road 512 side, two picnic pavilions sit on the southeast part of the preserve, first come, first served, and can be rented by calling the park office Monday through Thursday at 321-953-5005 (Florida State Parks). An interpretive kiosk with historical photographs and artist renderings stands on the same south side.

The north side is where the services are. The visitor center at the Babcock Road entrance, open Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., hands out trail maps for each section of the preserve, and restrooms are at that County Road 507 entrance; an accessible Clivus Multrum toilet also serves the north side (Florida State Parks). A practical point for a Monday to Thursday trip from Sebastian: the visitor center is closed, so a printed map matters more on those days.

Pets are allowed in the St. Sebastian River Preserve on a hand-held leash of 6 feet, may not be left unattended, and owners must pick up after them (Florida State Parks). Alcohol is prohibited at the picnic areas.

From Oct. 5 to Nov. 5, 2026, a road improvement project at St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park closes the Babcock entrance on weekdays, with segments shut Monday through Thursday in three phases.

Florida State Parks posted the schedule on the park page, effective Oct. 5, 2026, and says the Babcock entrance stays open on weekends unless otherwise noted (Florida State Parks). The three phases of the St. Sebastian River Preserve project are listed in the table.

The posted schedule names only the Babcock entrance and these three segments; it lists no closure for the County Road 512 entrance near Sebastian (Florida State Parks). The timing overlaps the start of manatee season at the C-54 canal overlook, which the park dates from November, so a weekday visit to the Manatee Overlook in late October or the first days of November 2026 runs into the closure. Calling 321-953-5005 before driving out from Sebastian is the quickest way to confirm which segment is shut on a given day.

St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park is one of only two Florida state parks with red-cockaded woodpeckers, which are seen on the northeast side, while Florida State Parks sends scrub-jay seekers to the southwest side off County Road 512.

The park sends scrub-jay seekers to the southwest side, 1 mile west of Interstate 95 off County Road 512, and woodpecker watchers to the Stumper Flats or Horseman's Headquarters parking areas (Florida State Parks). FWC adds a specific route: head east on Buffer Preserve Drive, park at the equestrian trailhead and hike the yellow trail, where Bachman's sparrow, eastern towhee and brown-headed nuthatch are also possible. The same FWC page places scrub-jays in the northwest parcel instead and says to ask the ranger at the main entrance for directions, so asking on arrival is the safer plan (Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail). Sandhill cranes, wood storks, bald eagles and American kestrels are among the more common sightings, and a seasonal bird checklist is kept at the ranger station (Florida State Parks).

Manatees come in winter. West Indian manatees gather from November through March in the C-54 canal at the eastern end of Buffer Preserve Drive in Brevard County, and an accessible manatee observation deck overlooks the canal (Florida State Parks). The DEP coastal guide also names the Manatee Overlook as a spot for pelicans and herons (Florida DEP). Deer, bobcat, wild turkey, eastern indigo snakes and gopher tortoises live in the St. Sebastian River Preserve, and alligators are seen in the river and the C-54 canal, where the park asks visitors to keep their distance.

The St. Sebastian River Preserve has no boat ramp or launch of its own, so boats and kayaks come up the St. Sebastian River from boat ramps on Roseland Road in Sebastian.

Florida State Parks names Dale Wimbrow County Park as one of those Roseland Road ramps, and says both the North and South prongs of the river enter the park (Florida State Parks). All launching facilities are outside the preserve, and two canoe landings give paddlers a way into the trail system (Florida State Parks). Indian River County lists Dale Wimbrow Park at 11805 Roseland Road, Sebastian, open 7:30 a.m. to sunset, with a launch 7 feet deep at the end of the ramp and 8 boat trailer spaces (Indian River County).

Paddlers have a second county option on the South Prong. The Sebastian Canoe Launch is a 1.03 acre county site open daily 7 a.m. to sunset (Indian River County). Note the park spells the ramp Dale Windrow on its boating listing; the county name is Dale Wimbrow.

Fishing is allowed in the preserve ponds, along the C-54 canal shoreline and in the St. Sebastian River, whose brackish water holds tarpon, snook, bass and mullet (Florida State Parks). State fishing rules and licenses apply, and licenses are sold at most bait and tackle shops and at any county tax collector office, including the Indian River County office.

Camping at St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park is primitive and by reservation: six hike-in tent sites, two off County Road 507 in Brevard County and four off County Road 512 in Indian River County.

In the St. Sebastian River Preserve, five of the six sites take groups of up to 20 people at $5 per person, per night, payable by cash or check, and campers must give a vehicle tag number for each car staying overnight (Florida State Parks). Everything is packed in and out, firewood collection is prohibited, and hammock camping is allowed. Reservations go through the park at 321-953-5005 Monday through Thursday or 321-953-5004 Friday through Sunday.

Three of the primitive sites in the St. Sebastian River Preserve take horses. Storytelling Camp, also called Horsemen's Headquarters, in Brevard County has five paddocks and a pavilion; Ranch Camp in Indian River County has four paddocks; and Eagle Camp in Indian River County is ride-in only, 5 miles each way from the parking area (Florida State Parks). Riders must carry proof of a negative Coggins test. The County Road 512 and County Road 507 gates lock at sunset and open by 8 a.m., and campers arriving after 5 p.m. should call that day for the gate combination (Florida State Parks).

Before the state began buying it in 1995, the St. Sebastian River Preserve land west of Sebastian was used for citrus, ranching, turpentining and logging.

The Hernandez-Capron Trail crossed this ground: Florida State Parks says it was built during the Second Seminole War to link St. Augustine with Fort Pierce, opened the Brevard and Indian River area to settlers after the war, and carried cattle drives until the 1970s (Florida State Parks history). Around 1889 the Herndon family settled the land, and their homestead burned in the early 1940s; none of the homesteads built here survive. The visitor center displays artifacts and tools from that past (Florida State Parks).