Jupiter Inlet: a shifting bar and no marked channel
The way in to Jupiter Sound, the Loxahatchee River and Lake Worth Creek, with the Intracoastal Waterway half a mile inside the entrance. Coast Pilot 4 calls it dangerous and particularly hazardous to small boats not designed for the open seas, and describes a sandbar across the whole inlet whose openings shift with the weather.
Channel depths come from dredged-area records and change between surveys. This is not a nautical chart – use official charts and the Local Notice to Mariners.
A northeast wind against the Stream builds the seas
NWS Melbourne publishes a nomogram of significant wave heights over the Gulf Stream by wind speed and direction, for an 18-hour wind duration. The office notes that boaters sometimes find the Coastal Waters Forecast underestimates wave heights in north to northeast winds.
Seas in the Stream · NWS Melbourne – Gulf Stream wave nomogram
What the Coast Pilot says
- How the Coast Pilot rates it Coast Pilot 4 calls Jupiter Inlet "dangerous and particularly hazardous to small boats not designed for the open seas" and says persons using it "should be experienced boatmen and have local knowledge".
- The bar A very shallow sandbar extends south and east from the north jetty across the entire inlet. Coast Pilot 4 reports it is "very deceptive and usually lies 1 or 2 feet below the surface", and that the openings through it "shift with rapidly changing weather conditions and can be very shallow".
- Current Coast Pilot 4 reports tidal currents reaching "a velocity of 6 knots", with eddies and extreme turbulence on flood and ebb, particularly near the south jetty.
- Sea state Breaking and confused seas frequently exist over the sandbars off the mouth of the jetty. Coast Pilot 4 says conditions are "worst with ebb tide and easterly winds" and "most hazardous during the winter months".
- Inside the inlet The inlet leads to Jupiter Sound on the north, the Loxahatchee River on the west and Lake Worth Creek on the south; the Intracoastal Waterway is 0.5 mile inside the entrance.
- Who to ask For local existing conditions Coast Pilot 4 gives Lake Worth Inlet Coast Guard Station, telephone 561-844-4470.
- A marked channel is being looked at A study published by the Jupiter Inlet District on 12 November 2025 states its goal as a "new full and objective analysis of the feasibility of establishing and maintaining a marked navigation channel at Jupiter Inlet". Coast Pilot 4 names no marked channel here.
Questions sailors ask
How deep is Jupiter Inlet?
Coast Pilot 4 gives no channel depth for Jupiter Inlet, and names no marked channel. What it describes is a very shallow sandbar reaching south and east from the north jetty across the entire inlet, reported to lie 1 or 2 feet below the surface, with openings that shift with rapidly changing weather and can be very shallow. Depths change; this page is not a chart.
How strong is the current in Jupiter Inlet?
Coast Pilot 4 reports tidal currents reaching a velocity of 6 knots. Eddies and extreme turbulence accompany flood and ebb, particularly near the south jetty.
Is there a marked channel at Jupiter Inlet?
Coast Pilot 4 names none. A study published by the Jupiter Inlet District on 12 November 2025 states its goal as a new analysis of the feasibility of establishing and maintaining a marked navigation channel here.
Who can tell me the conditions at Jupiter Inlet today?
For local existing conditions Coast Pilot 4 gives the Lake Worth Inlet Coast Guard Station, telephone 561-844-4470. The NWS forecast and the NOAA tide predictions for this stretch are linked on this page.
Sources & checks
- NOAA Coast Pilot 4, ch. 10 (2026) · 18 Oct 2026
- NOAA CO-OPS station 8722495 Jupiter Inlet – tidal datums · 22 Oct 2026
- NWS Melbourne – Gulf Stream wave nomogram · 22 Oct 2026
- Jupiter Inlet District – navigation feasibility, 12 Nov 2025 · 12 Nov 2025