Port St. Lucie

Understand

Overview

Port St. Lucie is the largest city on a region known as the Treasure Coast, an area consisting of almost 600,000 people. Port St. Lucie is a coastal city on the Indian River Lagoon with many fun activities if you look around, like baseball, parks, bowling, and golf. With developments for a downtown area going into effect along US-1, PSL is modernizing one step at a time, though it maintains a suburban feel. It blossomed from a town of only 500 people in its first census in 1970 to a boom-town of 170,000 by 2010. Downtown is in its infancy of development, but plans have been revealed to build on the empty blocks surrounding the Civic Center.

A very special thing about Port St. Lucie is that it is the spring training home of the New York Mets; in Clover Park, the Mets play baseball against their Major League foes, like the Yankees and the Red Sox. The season normally lasts from January or February to late March to early April, when their minor league affiliates, the St. Lucie Mets, play in that very stadium.

The location of Port St. Lucie is roughly halfway between Orlando and West Palm Beach on the Turnpike, and halfway between WPB and Melbourne on the Space Coast on Interstate 95.

Climate

Like most of Florida, Port St. Lucie's climate is warm almost year round, except for the occasional cool winter day. The highest summer temperature recorded in the city was 101°F, and the lowest winter temperature recorded was 23°F. Average temperatures in PSL through the year mostly range from the low 60s to the mid to high 80s. Those who plan to visit in the summer months should pack light, or lightly colored (white, light blue, etc.), T-shirts, shorts, and sneakers; sandals are also advised, weather permitting of course, but flip-flops aren't recommended. The average heat index in the summer is around 99°F for daytime highs and 77°F for overnight lows, but high heat and humidity can raise those heat indices to 104°F or higher, with nighttime lows around 81°F or higher.

Get in

By plane

• Donald J Trump International Airport, West Palm Beach (DJT) is the closest commercial airport to Port St. Lucie, serving the U.S. and from Bahamas.

Larger airports are further south or north, including:

• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) is the closest large commercial hub to PSL.
• Miami International Airport (MIA), busiest airport in Florida, serving the U.S. and the world.
• Orlando International Airport (MCO), busiest airport in Central Florida, just a while up the Turnpike.

By car

PSL is easily accessible from many major Florida cities by car on three major highways: the Florida Turnpike, Interstate 95, and U.S. Highway 1. You can reach West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and other points in South Florida via Interstate 95, the Turnpike, and US 1; but if you want to get to Disney World, you can visit Orlando by Florida's Turnpike.

By I-95, you can exit to Port St. Lucie by these exits:

By Florida's Turnpike, you can get into Port St. Lucie by these exits: US Highway 1 spans entire length of the state, its route through the city extends from the Martin/St. Lucie County line to the south to Midway Road at the northern limits of the city. This stretch of US 1 is passes through town as Federal Highway which contains mostly strip malls and shopping centers.

By train

The closest train stations for the Amtrak Silver Service are in Okeechobee, West Palm Beach, and Orlando; the station in Sanford, is served by the Auto Train, a nonstop service from Lorton, Virginia (around Washington, DC) that carries the passengers' cars in specially designed autoracks. The nearest stations for Brightline are only in West Palm Beach and Orlando Airport which are in separate locations from Amtrak trains. There are no Amtrak Thruway connections to Port St Lucie or anywhere in Port St Lucie County from these Amtrak stations.

Get around

By car

Car is the easiest, if not only, way to get around Port St. Lucie. PSL is a relatively large city by area, so driving is the best option to get around. PSL stretches to all the way past I-95 to an in-city town called Tradition. The highways listed are also used to get around Port St. Lucie with ease, mostly US-1 and I-95; the Turnpike is rarely used due to it being a toll road, but it is used to avoid traffic and as a way to reach central Florida. There are no one-way streets in PSL, except for divided highways. There are only 4 major east-west routes throughout the city; including Crosstown Parkway, a six-lane thoroughfare that runs from US 1 to Interstate 95, which opened in 2019. At the intersection with Floresta Drive, there is a superstreet intersection that is considered to be an eyesore and a hindrance to navigation for those traveling on Floresta, so exercise caution in this area and follow all road signs.

There are two Enterprise rentals in the city.

Uber now has service around the Central Atlantic Coast of Florida and the Heartland, serving from Daytona Beach to Sebring, PSL, and Moore Haven. Fares start at a base rate of $2, adding $1.80 for every mile and $0.20 for every minute.

By boat

Port St. Lucie has a small canal system that can be used to navigate the southern and central parts of the city, including River Park, with the river functioning as the central canal. Local marinas give you easy access to the river, which empties into the St. Lucie Inlet, which in turn takes you to the Atlantic.

Marinas in the area:

By bus

Port Saint Lucie offers limited, fixed-route bus service including connections to Fort Pierce, Jensen Beach, and Vero Beach through the Area Regional Transit (ART). Service extends from 43rd Street in Vero Beach to Avenue D in Fort Pierce via the northern routes, and from St. Lucie West in Port St. Lucie to the Treasure Coast Square Mall in Jensen Beach.

• Route 1 runs from the Treasure Coast Square Mall in Jensen Beach at the South End up US-1 to the Fort Pierce Intermodal Facility at the North End.
• Route 4 runs around downtown Port St. Lucie in a "trolley-style" bus; the downtown area contains a hospital and the PSL Civic Center. The route extends from the PSL Civic Center to the Sam's Club on US-1.
• Route 5 runs along Port St. Lucie and Gatlin Blvds, from PSL City Hall at the east end to "The Landing" strip mall on the west end.
• Route 6 runs from the Prima Vista Crossings along Prima Vista Blvd/St. Lucie West Blvd, with the western terminus being the Hilton Garden Inn in St. Lucie West.
• Route 8 runs along Airoso Blvd and 25th Street from the Port St. Lucie Community Center to the Fort Pierce Intermodal Facility.

Stay safe

• Driving -- Florida has "no fault" auto accident laws, which means you are responsible for up to $10,000 in damage to your car, even if you are not responsible for the accident. Make sure your rental car comes with collision insurance, or obtain separate insurance. Florida also has a very high rate of auto fatalities, so take extra care on the roads. A lot of drivers in PSL can be very reckless at times and the amount of traffic is high for a city of its size.
• Crime -- There is not much crime to worry about in Port St. Lucie depending on where you want to be. The safest areas tend to border I-95, the St. Lucie Inlet, and the St. Lucie River, as well as the St. Lucie West neighborhood. You may want to avoid staying in the Prima Vista Blvd area as well as the Lennard Road area; however, there are very few hotels in those areas.
• Weather -- Here are the most common weather factors to look out for in Port St. Lucie:
• Heat -- Most people are already aware that South Florida tends to get extremely hot during the summer months, so it would be best to stay hydrated and not leave anyone in the car. Even with the window cracked open for those in the car, it's not a smart idea; the internal temperature of a car can reach a maximum of over 100°F or 38°C, so make sure everyone is out of the car before locking. If one must be left in the car, leave the air conditioning on as a precautionary measure.
• Hurricanes, tropical storms, and tornadoes are another thing to look out for during the summer. They may not be common, but you'll never know when the next will strike; it would be best to prepare for the worst in any part of Port St. Lucie because hurricanes are just as powerful on the land as they are on the water.
• Lightning is a very common weather phenomenon in Florida; in fact, South Florida is considered the Lightning Capital of America, especially Tampa. If you're caught outside and hear the crackling, find shelter immediately, be it indoors or under a pavilion; if you're in the water, get out because water conducts electricity extremely well.

Go next

Port St. Lucie is truly a city for all ages; if you want to travel to another nearby city, here are some cities close by:

Treasure Coast

• Fort Pierce, a little ways north; just take the highways listed in "Get in"
• Jensen Beach, CDP suburb of Stuart and neighbor city of PSL; just take US-1 south
• Sebastian, a small coastal town; treasure of the 1715 wreck found here, but much is left undiscovered
• Stuart, the Sailfish Capital of the World and home to a waterpark
• Vero Beach, in neighboring Indian River County, just take US-1 or I-95 north

Central Florida

• Daytona Beach, referred to by visitors as the greatest beach in America; this city is home to one of the most recognized NASCAR races in America, the Daytona 500
• Kissimmee, small town close to Orlando, up the Turnpike about an hour or two.
• Melbourne, one of the closest cities to the Kennedy Space Center
• Orlando, the Theme Park Capital of the World, just a while up the Turnpike
• Tampa, Clearwater, and St. Petersburg are easy to get into; take I-95 to Vero Beach and take the exit at State Road 60. Enjoy Busch Gardens, the local Gasparilla festival, the Salvador Dali Museum, and the Clearwater Aquarium.

For cities farther north or south, I-95 and the Florida Turnpike are the fastest routes and most of these destinations can be reached within a few hours.

• Jacksonville, the largest city in Florida, home to amazing architecture and breath-taking beaches
• Miami, this metropolis is the self-proclaimed capital of South Florida, home to a large Hispanic population
• Fort Lauderdale, major city on the Gold Coast, called the "Venice of America" because of the hundreds of miles of navigable waterways and canals
• Key West, a small town and big vacation spot at the end of US-1; the southernmost point in the continental US.
• St. Augustine, the first establishment by Europeans in America
• Tallahassee, the proud capital of Florida, on the Panhandle