Turkey Creek Sanctuary, Palm Bay Florida

Walk through an undeveloped, native Florida landscape, on a well maintained boardwalk with a few creek overlooks. Then when you're done, head over to Mee Maws for some southern BBQ.

Author

Kathleen McQuaid Holdridge
March 06, 2025

Turkey Creek Sanctuary

Entrance to Turkey Creek Sanctuary and Turtle Swimming in Turkey Creek

Turkey Creek Sanctuary was a great find in Palm Bay Florida! This 130 acres of undeveloped, native Florida land is owned jointly by the City of Palm Bay and the Florida Audubon Society. The sanctuary is home to birds, native plants, manatees, gopher tortoises, alligators, bobcats and other wildlife.

We walked their boardwalk on the Creek Overlook Trail end to end, and even though the Hammock Loop trail was closed, we still got to overlook the creek in two places and see lots of interesting plants, trees and even a turtle! The boardwalk is wheelchair and stroller friendly, so it’s great for everyone to stroll on.

There are several other sandy and woodchipped trails that can be explored too. And if you are interested in kayaking, canoeing or mountain biking they have a kayak/canoe launch and bike trails off Briar Creek Blvd.

View of Turkey Creek from Overlook

View of native trees and plants from Boardwalk Overlook

Florida Native Plant - Large Flowering Rosemary

Margaret Hames Nature Center

Either before or after your walk, take a moment to explore their nature center. It’s open 7 days a week - 9am to 4pm. In addition to offering clean restrooms, they have exhibits and information about the wildlife found in the sanctuary, and they sell water and souvenirs including t-shirts and hats. All proceeds from the gift shop support the sanctuary.

Margaret Hames Exhibits (right and left) and Entrance (middle)

Turkey Creek Sanctuary Trail Signage

Hungry for BBQ? Head over to Mee Maws!

After you’ve worked up an appetite from exploring the sanctuary, drive on over to Mee Maws BBQ. It’s just an 8-10 minute drive, and is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, breakfast on the weekends.

They have an extensive menu of any BBQ you may want, at super reasonable prices. Service was friendly and quick too.

Mee Maw’s Chicken Lunch Platter (Missing the applesauce that was also included): $12.50

We hope you enjoyed the sights of Turkey Creek Sanctuary and got your mouth watering for some southern cooking!

I’m excited to share more of our adventures next week!
Kathleen

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