Drive through it on any morning
Shearwater is for active people who want to be outside. The first thing I tell buyers is to drive through it on any given morning. It is unbelievable how many people are out and about, walking dogs, running, and riding golf carts on the pathways. It is a golf cart community with walking trails all through it, and the people I have helped buy here tell me the trails are what they value most.
A community built around Trout Creek
Shearwater is a master planned community in St. Johns County built around Trout Creek, which connects to the St. Johns River. The water and the preserved land are the reason people come here. There is a kayak launch on the creek out back where you can take a kayak right out onto the water, and the community lays out twelve named trails plus a blueway for paddling, so a lot of daily life happens outside.
It is also central to all the new construction going on in St. Johns County, and it has its own school now. Trout Creek Academy, a St. Johns County K through 8 school, opened on land inside Shearwater for the 2024 to 2025 school year.
The Kayak Club, and the one catch
The main amenity center is the Kayak Club, and it is built for families. It has a winding lazy river called the Lazy Bird River, The Perch, which is a three story water slide tower, the Outpost Adventure Park, and a Fitness Lodge for the grown ups.
Here is the catch. The Kayak Club is so popular that if you are not there early in the morning, you are not getting a seat. With how much is still being built in Shearwater, that is not going to get easier, so it is worth knowing before you buy.
Five builders in one community
Shearwater has homes from Ryan Homes, Lennar, Meritage Homes, Dream Finders, and 360 Communities. That gives you a real range of floor plans and price points to compare without leaving the neighborhood, and it is also exactly why it pays to have someone on your side who knows which builder did which street.
The fees are part of the math
Like most of the newer communities in St. Johns County, Shearwater carries a CDD in addition to the HOA, and the amount depends on the homesite. It is not a reason to skip the community. It is a reason to know the real monthly number before you pick a lot, and I will get you that number for the specific home you are looking at.
How Shearwater compares
If you love the idea of trails and water but want the St. Johns River itself, look at RiverTown. If you want a new home at a price point that is getting harder to find, look at Beacon Lake. And for a lagoon instead of a creek, there is Beachwalk.
Shearwater
Want the real monthly number?
I will pull the CDD and HOA for the exact homesite you like, and tell you which builder did which street.
