Rolling beach wheelchairs are available for free use at all Martin County guarded beach locations, including Stuart Beach, Hobe Sound Beach, and Jensen Beach. These light, all-terrain chairs allow people with a wide variety of limitations to enjoy the beauty of our coastal areas. Constructed of polyvinyl chloride, the chairs have four air-filled balloon tires, making them light and easy to navigate. Each chair also includes its own umbrella and a storage pouch, large enough to haul most beach essentials. These are free and available on a first-come, first-serve basis – simply request one from the lifeguard towers.

Family-friendly attractions like the Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast in Jensen Beach host monthly sensory-friendly events. These programs enable children with autism spectrum disorder (or those who have sensory differences) to enjoy the museum in a sensory-friendly environment. Visitors can explore the museum in a modified and supportive setting, including limited admission, lowered sound stimulation, soft lighting, and more.

Jonathan Dickinson State Park offers visitors a free, all-terrain track chair that is able to go from paved surfaces to dirt, mud, and even through sand without missing a beat. This enables visitors with mobility needs to experience the park as never before. The chair is easily controlled by the user, allowing the freedom to get out on the trails and explore with ease. The chair is free to borrow and can be reserved in two-hour increments.

There are plenty of accessible activities experiences throughout Martin County. For example, Treasure Coast River Cruises offers two boats can accommodate passengers with manual wheelchairs.

We recently worked with travel writer Penny Zibula of Six Legs Will Travel. Penny is blind, and she visited with her husband, Simon, and her guide dog, Splendid. The trio enjoyed exploring the various exhibits at The Elliott Museum, and Splendid even got a photo in the iconic yellow school bus. The team at The Elliott is always extremely accommodating and their knowledgeable docents enjoy guiding visitors through this popular attraction. Gentle reminder: do not assume you can pet someone’s guide dog. Always ask its owner permission first, and be understanding if the answer is “no.”

ADA compliant hotel rooms and suites are not hard to come by in Martin County, including at the stunning Hutchinson Shores Resort & Spa. Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, this property offers a range of accessible room styles to choose from, including features like spacious doorway entrances, accessible bed height (less than 30 inches), and wide clearance around the toilets and mostly-flat (less than one inch lip) shower entrances. The resort also has accessible dining options, ample accessible car and van parking, and two pools (plus a hot-tub) with ADA pool lifts and ramps.

There are multiple local transportation options for visitors that prefer mobility assistance. TC Mobility rents, repairs, and sells all mobility equipment, including scooters, power chairs, wheelchairs, beach wheelchairs, walkers, knee walkers, wheelchair accessible vans, ramps, lift chairs, and more. Their knowledgeable team can also provide personalized deliveries and perform service calls. TransMobility also offers safe and reliable transportation throughout the Treasure Coast region.

The Martin County Office of Tourism & Marketing is an official Aira partner. Aira is a live, human-to-human professional assistance service for people who are blind or have low vision. Using the powerful combination of a camera and the Aira app on a smartphone, a professionally-trained agent will assist by visually interpreting what is in the camera’s view or shared on screen, from describing to reading, from explaining to navigating – just about anything, safely and securely. Aira operates 24/7/365 in five countries worldwide and supports service wherever there is an internet connection. We provide this service for free for all visitors to make exploring the destination more convenient and enjoyable. Learn more about this partnership here.

Martin County is an official partner of Wheel the World, an innovative travel solution for people with disabilities that allows users to research destinations and book hotels and experiences that match their accessibility needs. Wheel the World recently completed in-depth accessibility assessments at more than 30 local points of interest, including local hotels, restaurants, attractions, and more. They analyze over 200 data points across mobility-related, sensorial, and cognitive disabilities.