Peanut Island is a small 79-acre island in Lake Worth Lagoon, just north of the Port of Palm Beach in southeastern Florida. Accessible only by boat or water taxi, the island is known for its sandy beaches, clear lagoon waters, picnic areas, and views of the surrounding Palm Beach County coastline. A network of paths crosses the island, connecting its beaches and recreation areas. Peanut Island is also notable for its location near the Lake Worth Inlet, where the lagoon meets the Atlantic Ocean, making the surrounding waters popular for boating, fishing, kayaking, and paddleboarding.

The island was created from material dredged during the construction and expansion of the Port of Palm Beach, giving it a distinctly engineered origin. Its most unusual historical feature is a Cold War-era underground emergency bunker built for President John F. Kennedy. The bunker was intended as a secure communications and command facility during a national emergency and remained secret for many years. Today, the bunker is the island’s best-known historic site. The island also has connections to the Kennedy family through the nearby Kennedy Compound in Palm Beach, which can be viewed from the surrounding waterways.

Peanut Island’s compact landscape contains beaches, coastal vegetation, mangrove areas, and shallow lagoon waters. Visitors can swim, snorkel, fish, kayak, paddleboard, or walk along the island’s trails. The surrounding Lake Worth Lagoon supports manatees, sea turtles, rays, dolphins, and numerous bird species, although wildlife sightings vary with conditions. The island’s shoreline also provides broad views toward Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, and the Port of Palm Beach. Because it sits within the lagoon rather than directly on the Atlantic, many areas have calmer water than the nearby open ocean.

There is no permanent restaurant district on Peanut Island, so visitors generally bring food and drinks for picnics or camping. The island has picnic shelters, grills, restrooms, and a designated campground, making it one of the few places in the Palm Beach area where visitors can camp on an island in the lagoon. Its small size is another distinctive feature: much of the island can be explored on foot in a relatively short time. Peanut Island therefore combines an artificial island landscape, a presidential history site, and accessible marine recreation within the waters of Lake Worth Lagoon.