Wheelchair Accessible Martin County, Florida: A Complete Guide

Martin County sits on Florida's Treasure Coast, about halfway between Miami and Orlando. It's deliberately small — the county caps building heights at four stories on Hutchinson Island, and roughly half of its total land area is protected natural space. The main towns are Stuart, the county seat, and Jensen Beach a few miles north. Both are flat, navigable, and on or near the water. Stuart has a compact historic downtown on the St. Lucie River. Jensen Beach is more casual, with direct access to what's arguably the best-equipped stretch of Atlantic coast in the county. Hobe Sound sits further south, quieter, with a nature-focused character and its own guarded beach.

This guide covers verified accessible places to stay, things to do, and where to eat across Martin County — with specific accessibility details for wheelchair users and travelers with mobility needs, sourced directly from Wheel the World's on-the-ground verification team.

Are Martin County Beaches Accessible?

Yes, and more concretely than most Florida counties. Martin County Ocean Rescue runs a free Beach Wheelchair Program at all three of its guarded beach locations:

• Jensen Beach
• Stuart Beach
• Hobe Sound Beach

The chairs are made of lightweight PVC with four air-filled balloon tires built to roll across soft sand. Each comes with a built-in umbrella and a storage pouch. They're manual chairs, so you'll need a companion to push, but they're designed for exactly this terrain.

To borrow one, just speak with a lifeguard at the guard tower when you arrive. No reservation, no fee, first-come-first-served. They operate weather permitting, so arriving early on busy weekends is the smart move.

Lizzy, a wheelchair user who visited Martin County with her family, described the beach experience at Jensen as the highlight of the entire trip:

"As a wheelchair user, the beach is usually somewhere I admire from a distance. Being able to roll across the sand and sit near the shoreline with my family felt incredibly special." - Lizzy, accessible family trip to Martin County

Jensen Beach (Jensen Sea Turtle Beach)

Officially called Jensen Sea Turtle Beach, this wide Atlantic beach sits on Hutchinson Island at the intersection of NE Ocean Boulevard and the Jensen Beach Causeway. It has lifeguards, clean restrooms and showers, a Sand Dune Café open seven days a week, and picnic tables. It's also one of Florida's most active sea turtle nesting sites — loggerhead, leatherback, and green sea turtle nests are marked seasonally along the shoreline. The beach wheelchair is available from the lifeguard tower. Hutchinson Shores Resort & Spa is right on this stretch of the island, making it easy to combine a hotel stay with direct beach access.

View full accessibility details for Jensen Beach →

Stuart Beach

Stuart Beach is on the southern end of Hutchinson Island, across the street from both the Elliott Museum and the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center — which makes it a natural hub for a full day out. The beach has paved parking, covered picnic areas, accessible restrooms with showers, beach volleyball and basketball courts, and a Seaside Café with outdoor Tiki Bar. USA Today named it one of the best beaches in the South, citing its accessibility program as a specific factor. Beach wheelchair available from the lifeguard tower.

View full accessibility details for Stuart Beach →

Hobe Sound Beach

The quietest of the three guarded beaches. It's about 15 miles south of Jensen Beach, reached by driving east on SE Bridge Road through a canopy of trees. If you're staying in the southern part of the county or want to avoid the crowds that build at Jensen and Stuart on weekends, this is the better call. Beach wheelchair available from the lifeguard station here too.

View full accessibility details for Hobe Sound Beach →

The Best Accessible Things to Do in Martin County

Of course the beaches here are top-notch, and we just went over those. However, Martin County has a lot to do outside of beaches, like museums, coastal centers, and outdoor trails.

Since Martin County is partnered with Wheel the World, an expert mapper has been sent to assess and measure accessibility. This includes dozens of attractions and activities. Below are some of the top things to consider, but make sure to view the full list so you don't miss out. You'll be able to actually see if it's something that works for your needs, giving you the options without all the stress.

Explore 57 Acres of Marine Life at Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center

The Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center sits on 57 acres on Hutchinson Island, directly across from Stuart Beach. The centerpiece is a 750,000-gallon game-fish lagoon with daily feeding programs where you can watch nurse sharks, tarpon, and other species at close range. Separate daily feedings happen at the stingray touch tank and sea star pavilion. A nature trail runs along the water's edge. Multiple visitors have specifically noted in reviews that the paths between exhibits are wide and easy to navigate in a wheelchair. Lizzy visited with her family and described it as a "calm, educational experience" where she could move through and fully participate alongside her kids. There's a gift shop on site and the facility sits steps from Stuart Beach if you want to make a full day of it.

View full accessibility details →

See Classic Cars, Vintage Boats, and Local History at Elliott Museum

The Elliott Museum is named after Sterling Elliott, a prolific inventor who held patents ranging from a self-addressing envelope to an early iteration of the automobile. That inventive spirit runs through the collection: antique automobiles, vintage wooden boats, a significant baseball memorabilia gallery, rotating art exhibitions, and deep archives of Treasure Coast history. It sits right next to Stuart Beach — the practical layout of this corner of Hutchinson Island means you can move between the beach, the museum, and the Coastal Center without getting back in a vehicle. The building is modern and purpose-built.

View full accessibility details →

Walk to the River at Kiplinger Nature Preserve

Kiplinger Nature Preserve is 164 acres of mangrove-fringed riverfront just south of Veterans Memorial Bridge on South Kanner Highway. It's less than two miles from downtown Stuart. The 1.1-mile loop trail runs through sand pine scrub, pine flatwoods, wetlands, and mangrove tidal swamp, with only about 9 feet of total elevation change across the whole route. Midway through the loop, a boardwalk leads out to a floating dock on the South Fork of the St. Lucie River. That dock is the centerpiece — you can fish from it, watch for manatees (there are informational signs about them along the trail), or just sit on the water with nothing around you but mangroves. The preserve is also on the Great Florida Birding Trail, and the mix of habitats means you'll regularly see great blue herons, egrets, sandhill cranes, and woodpeckers.

View full accessibility details →

Hands-On Exhibits for Families — Children's Museum of the Treasure Coast

The Children's Museum of the Treasure Coast in Jensen Beach has fully interactive exhibits across multiple themed environments — a fire station, a ship, a construction zone, and more. For families traveling with kids who have sensory differences, the museum runs monthly Sensory Friendly Days on select Sundays. Attendance is capped at 75 people, lights and sounds in certain exhibits are modified, and registration is required in advance. Lizzy visited with her two children and said they "absolutely loved it" — the space let her move alongside them rather than watch from the periphery.

View full accessibility details →

Paved Trails Through Florida River Forest at Halpatiokee Regional Park

Halpatiokee Regional Park in Stuart has paved multi-use trails running through a floodplain forest along the South Fork of the St. Lucie River. The terrain is flat and the paths are wide enough for power chairs and wider manual chairs. It's the kind of place where you're genuinely in Florida ecosystem — birds, turtles, the occasional alligator visible from a safe distance — without the uneven terrain that makes most natural areas inaccessible. There's also a fishing dock and covered picnic areas on site.

View full accessibility details →

Cruise the St. Lucie River With Treasure Coast River Cruises

Treasure Coast River Cruises runs pontoon boat tours on the Indian and St. Lucie Rivers out of Stuart. Four cruise options: a 1.5-hour Sunset Cruise, a 2-hour Sandbar Cruise with a stop at a natural sand island, a private St. Lucie River Cruise for 6 or fewer passengers, and the St. Lucie Inlet Preserve State Park Cruise — a 3-hour ranger-guided excursion running the first and fourth Saturday of each month to a park only reachable by water.

We have not personally verified accessibility for these cruises, but locals they offer two boats that can accommodate passengers with manual wheelchairs. Visit their website below for more info.

Visit Treasure Coast River Cruises →

Where Should I Stay in Martin County?

The verified properties fall into two natural groups: those on or near Hutchinson Island with beach access, and those in or around downtown Stuart. Which makes more sense depends on how you want to spend your days.

On Hutchinson Island

Hutchinson Shores Resort & Spa is the only beachfront option among the verified properties. It sits directly on the Atlantic side of the island in Jensen Beach, with the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center and Jensen Beach both within a short drive. The property has a pool, jacuzzi, Opal Spa, and the Drift Kitchen + Bar — an oceanfront restaurant on site that's consistently well-reviewed for its food. Accessible rooms with roll-in showers are available. Families should ask specifically about accessible king suites with pull-out sofas when booking — they exist in the inventory and make a meaningful difference with kids in tow. Lizzy stayed here and described the accessible room as genuinely comfortable: the roll-in shower worked, the grab bars were properly placed, and the bathroom layout gave her room to move.

"The entire property was accessible with a pool, jacuzzi, spa, and beach. This matters a lot when you're traveling with a family and want everyone to be able to use the same spaces." Lizzy, accessible family trip to Martin County

Downtown Stuart

The Hampton Inn & Suites Stuart-North and Courtyard by Marriott Stuart are both major-chain properties with the consistent accessibility specs those brands are required to maintain — accessible rooms, pool, breakfast options, and proximity to the downtown restaurants and riverfront. The Old Colorado Inn is a smaller boutique property right in the historic district on the St. Lucie River. Room specs and amenities will vary more than a chain hotel, so reading the full Wheel the World verified details carefully before booking matters here.

For groups

Both Dolphin House and Parrot Head Tiki are verified full-house rentals. Having a private space with a kitchen changes the dynamic of a trip considerably when you're managing multiple people with different mobility needs — meals on your own schedule, space to spread equipment out, no navigating hotel common areas when you don't feel like it.

Where to Eat and Drink

There are plenty of places to eat, but below are spots verified by Wheel the World, meaning you can view detailed, accurate and trusted accessibility info to see if it'll work for you.

Conchy Joe's Seafood — Jensen Beach

Conchy Joe's has been on the Indian River in Jensen Beach since 1983. The open-air tiki-style setup is built over the water, and the menu runs through the full spectrum of Florida seafood — grouper, shrimp, conch fritters, lobster bisque, daily fish specials. It's loud and casual and genuinely fun. Lizzy called it her personal favorite of the trip. The waterfront setting means you're watching boats move on the Indian River while you eat, which adds something most restaurants in the county can't match.

Serves: fresh local seafood, grouper, shrimp, conch fritters, daily specials; full bar.

View full accessibility details →

Dolphin Bar & Shrimp House — Jensen Beach

Built originally by actress and entertainer Frances Langford, the Dolphin Bar sits right on the Indian River with a wrap-around terrace over the water. The entire menu orbits around shrimp — steamed, fried, in cocktail, in chowder, in every reasonable configuration. It's one of those places that feels genuinely local rather than tourist-facing, and the portion sizes are characteristically generous.

Serves: shrimp in every preparation, seafood, American fare; full bar with waterfront terrace.

View full accessibility details →

The Gafford — Downtown Stuart

The Gafford is in the historic district of Downtown Stuart and is the kind of place locals take visitors when they want to make an impression. The menu is creative American with locally sourced ingredients and changes regularly — the cooking here is clearly deliberate rather than formulaic. It's a dinner spot, more elevated than the other options in this list without being stuffy about it. If you have one nicer night out planned, this is where to spend it.

Serves: creative American cuisine, locally sourced; full bar, craft cocktails, wine list.

View full accessibility details →

Berry Fresh Cafe — Palm City

Berry Fresh is a breakfast and lunch institution with a following that's been building for years. The menu is built around fresh and local — farm eggs, acai bowls, smoothies, house-baked items, and a full egg-based menu that goes well beyond diner standards. It fills up on weekends, so arriving early is worth it. Good option for the morning before a beach day.

Serves: breakfast and lunch; fresh eggs, acai bowls, smoothies, farm-to-table sourcing.

View full accessibility details →

Black Marlin — Downtown Stuart

Black Marlin is built on the site of the oldest tavern in Stuart, right in the middle of the historic downtown. It serves fresh-catch seafood and American fare with a bar program that takes its cocktails seriously. It stays open later than most of the downtown options, draws a genuine mix of locals and visitors, and has a lively atmosphere without veering into tourist-trap territory.

Serves: fresh-catch seafood, American fare, burgers; craft cocktails, full bar.

View full accessibility details →

Getting To and Around Martin County

Flying in

The closest major airport is Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) in West Palm Beach, about 40 miles south of Stuart. The drive north on I-95 or the Florida Turnpike takes roughly 45–50 minutes without traffic. Uber operates at PBI and the ride to Stuart runs around the same time. There's no dedicated wheelchair-accessible shuttle between PBI and Stuart, so renting a vehicle is your best bet.

Should I rent a vehicle?

It depends, but we would recommend it unless you plan on staying primarily at your hotel and near the beach. Martin County is spread out, and the beaches, nature areas, and towns don't connect by foot or reliable transit. Hutchinson Island is only reachable by bridge from Stuart or Jensen Beach. There's no fixed bus route to the island or to most tourist areas.

Lizzy, one of our travelers to Martin County, rented an adapted vehicle through Florida Van Rentals which offer excellent accessibility options. They are available for pickup at Palm Beach International Airport. Another option you could consider is MobilityWorks. They offer wheelchair adapted vans and operate in West Palm Beach.

Local transit

MARTY (Martin County's public bus system) runs Monday through Friday, 6am–8pm. All buses have wheelchair lifts and four-point securement. Routes connect Stuart, Palm City, Jensen Beach, and Hobe Sound, but coverage is limited and won't get you to most beaches or attractions. For visitors with qualifying disabilities, MARTY Access is the county's ADA paratransit service: door-to-door shared rides for $3, operating the same hours as fixed routes. It requires an eligibility application — this is not a same-day walk-up service. Call (772) 463-2860 for information.

Ride-share

Uber and Lyft both operate in Martin County, but availability outside of Stuart and Jensen Beach is inconsistent. Neither guarantees wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Standard ride-share works for many users who can transfer; for power wheelchair users or anyone who needs a ramp-equipped vehicle, TransMobility or another pre-arranged provider is the safer option.

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