Islands of Jupiter or Pennock Point: Two Ways to Live on the Loxahatchee

Same river. Same morning light on the water. Very different days.

Pennock Point and the Islands of Jupiter sit a few minutes apart on the Loxahatchee River. Both put a dock out back. Both get you to the sandbars and the Jupiter Inlet by boat. That’s where the similarity ends.

Pennock Point: the open one

Pennock Point is a small peninsula on the Loxahatchee, about three miles west of the Jupiter Inlet, right where the river widens out. It gives you what Jupiter rarely does: land, on wide water.

Riverfront estates sit on lots that can reach a few acres. Interior streets offer half-acre homesites at a lower entry point. There’s no gate and no single association. Most of the neighborhood has no HOA, which is why no two homes look alike. A few enclaves, like Pennock Point Estates and Loxahatchee Landing, do have associations, so check the specific property.

It’s also where Jupiter began. Fort Jupiter stood on this point in 1838, during the Second Seminole War.

A morning here is coffee on the dock with wide water in front of you, then a kayak or paddleboard straight off the seawall. Jonathan Dickinson State Park and Riverbend Park are a short drive. I-95, US-1 and downtown Jupiter are minutes away.

Two things to know. Riverfront and interior lots are different markets, priced and shopped differently. And the neighborhood is changing: older homes are giving way to new estates, so expect some construction nearby.

The Islands of Jupiter: the private one

The Islands of Jupiter is four islands in the Loxahatchee, about a hundred custom homes and one gate. Most lots back onto deep water with a private dock, and many have boat lifts. Tree-lined streets carry almost no through traffic.

Homes here are mostly large custom builds from the late 1990s and 2000s, many over 4,000 square feet, on lots from about a third of an acre to more than an acre. The streets feel consistent, and an HOA keeps them that way, with monthly dues and its own rules.

A morning here is a quiet bike loop inside the gate, then paddling the mangrove shoreline from your own dock before anyone else is up. Indiantown Road, I-95 and the Turnpike are a few minutes away.

The detail most buyers miss: it has a Jupiter address, but it sits in Martin County. Property taxes, permitting and school assignments follow Martin, not Palm Beach.

Check the water before you fall for the house

In both communities, the dock matters as much as the kitchen. Water depth and bridge clearances vary lot to lot. Most Islands lots run downriver to the inlet with no fixed bridges, but a few pass under one. At Pennock Point, check the dock depth against your boat’s draft. Measure your boat against the route before you write an offer, not after.

Our Waterfront | Boating lifestyle page walks through what to look for, and our Waterfront Living in Jupiter and Tequesta guide covers the wider market.

How to choose

• Land, character and wide water, with no gate and fewer rules? Pennock Point.
• Privacy, a lift for the boat and a gate at the end of the day? The Islands of Jupiter.
• Planning to build new on a bigger lot? Pennock Point, where older homes are making way for new estates.
• Want a finished custom home on a street that stays consistent? The Islands.

Our take: drive both on a weekday morning, then see them from the water if you can. Pennock Point will feel open. The Islands will feel tucked away. You’ll know which one you want to come home to.

Explore our Pennock Point and Islands of Jupiter community pages, or see the rest of Jupiter. Want to try river life first? Browse our waterfront rentals.

Live with intention. Start a conversation.