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Hobe Sound, Florida: Trapper Nelson's Zoo and Jungle Garden

Trapper Nelson, the "Wildman of the Loxahatchee," lived off the land at first, then turned the 800 acres he owned into a wildlife zoo attraction from the 1940s until 1960. He'd wrestle gators and wrap himself in snakes. His cabin has been preserved in a state park.

Jonathan Dickinson State Park

Address:
16450 S.E. Federal Hwy., Hobe Sound, FL
Directions:
Jonathan Dickinson State Park, north of Jupiter on US Hwy 1.
Hours:
Trapper's site open Th-M 9:30-4:30. Tu-W closed. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:
772-546-2771
Admission:
$6 per car Park entrance fee + Cost of boat transportation varies.
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Visitor Tips and News About Trapper Nelson's Zoo and Jungle Garden

Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.

Trapper Nelson Tour

Take Boat tour down the Loxahatchee River to Trapper Nelson Camp, where he lived in the 1930s. The tour starts from the riverside dock located inside Johnathan Dickinson State Park. Very interesting history, and a real look at what wild Florida is like. The trip to the campsite is a treat by itself, with aquatic bird life and alligator sightings. There is a fee but I don't remember the cost. [Robert McBride, 06/27/2021]

Trapper Nelson's Zoo and Jungle Garden

You have to either rent a kayak or canoe or take the boat to here, which costs 20 bucks. Once out to the zoo there's no animals, but there is a park ranger with a lot of information. It's interesting and the boat ride is nice. It takes a couple of hours.

[Lizzypetrov, 09/16/2015]

Trapper Nelson cabin.

Trapper Nelson's Zoo and Jungle Garden

"Trapper Nelson's Zoo and Jungle Garden" was a popular, privately owned tourist spot from the 1940s until 1960. Vincent Natulkiewicz, better known as Vince "Trapper" Nelson, came from New Jersey to Florida in the early 1930s and turned his homestead into a zoo and gardens along the shores of the Loxahatchee River, filled with exotic fruit trees, plants and wild animals.

In the 1940s and '50s, Trapper had hundreds of people -- including Palm Beach millionaires and national and Hollywood celebrities like Gary Cooper and Gene Tunny -- visit his jungle hideaway and come see the Loxahatchee's mystery and beauty. The flamboyant "Wild Man of the Loxahatchee" would wrap himself with snakes and wrestled alligators for tourists, and was also known locally as the "Tarzan of the Loxahatchee."

Trapper was forced by the state to close his attraction to tourists in 1960. After that, Trapper became a recluse and little was heard about him until he was found shot to death in his remote camp on the Loxahatchee in 1968. Although the county coroner ruled the death a suicide, many locals suspected foul play. There are even reports Trapper's ghost still haunts the site!

Trapper's land was acquired by the Florida Park Service after his death and incorporated into Jonathan Dickinson State Park which now protects this "Wild and Scenic" designated river and Trapper's former zoo and homestead. Most of "Trapper Nelson's Zoo and Jungle Garden" hand-built docks, cages, cabins and "Chickee" shelter still stand on the site. Trapper's can only be reached by boat and you can explore the site yourself or take the free Ranger guided tour ... once you decide how you will get there!

Visitors must pay a Park entrance fee before deciding how they will reach Trapper Nelson's former homesite.

You can rent a boat from the park concessionaire for a reasonable fee, or ride the 25 passenger "Loxahatchee Queen" cruise boat up river to Trapper's. You'll see osprey, turtles, alligators and, on my last trip, we also saw several manatees, including a cow and newborn calf. The "Loxahatchee Queen" ride includes historical information about the river and Trapper's role in developing the area and insuring that the river didn't disappear under a developer's bulldozer blade.

[Charles R Pudwill, 01/01/2012]

Nearby Offbeat Places

Blowing Rocks PreserveBlowing Rocks Preserve, Hobe Sound, FL - 2 mi.
Underground Shark Attack!Underground Shark Attack!, Palm Beach Gardens, FL - 11 mi.
9/11 Memorial Plaza - WTC Steel Beam9/11 Memorial Plaza - WTC Steel Beam, Palm Beach Gardens, FL - 13 mi.
In the region:
Space Shuttle Pet Grooming, Port St. Lucie, FL - 26 mi.

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