Palmetto Trailhead Park is located on land owned by the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County…read more(SWA). There are two trailheads you can hike from. I previously took the hike from the northern entrance, which begins at the SWA Administration parking lot. Today's hike started from the southern trailhead, located off the southwest corner of N. Jog Road just before 45th Street. In 1986, the SWA discovered endangered snail kites nesting on land that had been planned for a future landfill. Because the birds are federally protected, the agency was required to preserve approximately 300 acres of nesting habitat. This protected area also provides important habitat for other native wading birds, including the threatened wood stork. Wildlife that has been spotted here includes bald eagles, little blue herons, tricolored herons, great egrets, great blue herons, roseate spoonbills, sandhill cranes, red-shouldered hawks, pileated woodpeckers, deer, otters, alligators, and bobcats. The SWA has also partnered with universities to study the birds and their habitat. The trails opened to the public in 2008. The SWA Greenway Trail System includes five miles of the Ocean to Lake Trail, which also passes through Grassy Waters Preserve and Apoxee Park. In total, the Ocean to Lake Trail stretches 61 miles through natural areas from the Atlantic Ocean to Lake Okeechobee. The SWA Greenway Trail is also part of the East Coast Greenway, a long-distance trail network that allows hikers and cyclists to travel through natural areas from Biscayne National Park to the St. Croix River in Maine. The trails pass through several classic Florida ecosystems, including pine flatwoods, wet prairies, marshes, cypress swamps, and cabbage palm hammocks. They are clearly marked, with maps and interpretive signs at every trail junction. I hiked from the parking lot to the Owahee Trail, which follows the edge of the wetlands and protects one of the last remaining sections of the northern Everglades. Along the way, there were beautiful views of marshes, wet prairies, and cypress wetlands. This is usually an excellent place to spot alligators but I didn't see any today. I definitely heard them though. I did see a turtle, several fish, and plenty of ibis. I also saw a family of sandhill cranes, two adults and a juvenile at the entrance to the park. The trails are open seven days a week from sunrise to sunset. I'll definitely be back in the fall when the weather is cooler, and hopefully I'll spot a few gators when I return.

I have passed this park many times while getting on and off the Turnpike. Today was finally that…read moreday that I stopped to checked it out and it ended up being the perfect afternoon for a park stroll. PGA National Park is a 35 acre public recreational park in Palm Beach Gardens. In the mid-1980s the city negotiated with developers during the construction of the PGA National residential and golf course community. As part of the 1985 master development agreement, this land was preserved as public green space, so that local residents would have a place to enjoy the outdoors during the area's rapid growth. Located just off Northlake Boulevard and Ryder Cup Boulevard, the park has become an important community gathering place for outdoor recreation. Over the years, the city has continued to expand the park's amenities. Today it features three large multi purpose athletic fields for soccer, football, and lacrosse, along with tennis courts, basketball courts with varying rim heights for different age groups, a playground, a mini putting green, picnic pavilions, and a fishing dock overlooking the surrounding lake. The day I visited, the park was bustling with activity. A football game was underway on one of the fields, families were gathered under the pavilions, and others were out enjoying the walking paths and playground. It was great to see so many people making use of the park. Thanks to the city having the foresight to preserve this land decades ago instead of becoming another development, it remains a place where the community can play and enjoy a little bit of nature in the middle of a city.

I really wanna learn how to play tennis and or pickleball, but the basketball courts, they upgraded…read morethem or were upgraded, and the people are friendly.

Talk about a bit of greenery? This place was vibrant and oh so green. Wide swaths of rich emerald…read moregrass made more colorful by the recent rains. This park was gorgeous. There are four parking spaces -- and two of them are handicapped spaces -- on the other side of the open gates. A small covered pavilion and a playground area with swings and a climbing structure, etc. It was being well used by some little kids when we were there. The park rates high with walkers and runners with its half mile path circling the perimeter. The entire park is under ten acres. Throughout, there is the occasional bench for rest and contemplation. And a station with waste bags for the dog walkers. It's not just open grass as there are some trees for shade. We didn't see any, but we understand you can see ducks in season by the lake (pond?). Can you tell I really liked this park?

This is very nice neighborhood park. If you don't live in the area there is no reason to make a…read moretrip out here but if you do live near here this is a great place to take the kids to play and help you keep active. The park only has about 6 parking spaces. There is a small pavilion and playground. The main attraction of the park is the large green space perfect for kids to run around on or play football or soccer games. The perimeter fitness path that runs at the edge of the field is a half mile and can be used for running, walking, and biking. There are 12 health station intervals along the path if you would like additional exercises. Dogs are allowed if they are on leashes.

I've been wanting to visit this ERM park ever since visiting its neighbor, Juno Dunes Natural Area…read more The last time I tried to visit, the very small parking lot was full. From the road, this park looks to be all scrub, but like the other park, it contains multiple habitats inside. The first paved walk leads to a very nice pavilion overlooking the River. The view was peaceful and beautiful. Trying to access the unpaved trails, however, proved problematic. We turned onto the red path, only to find that the marker stakes had most of the red faded away and were difficult to find. At one point there is a huge fork in the path with no direction on which way to go. The end of the trail is practically non existent, with no clear path, but it does return us to the park entrance. I insisted on trying to get to Ski Beach- whatever that was! It looked about a 1/3 the way of the yellow trail. The path was very sandy, and difficult to walk on for that reason, and it seemed to take forever! When we finally found Ski Beach, we found another Park kiosk, a garbage can, and a tiny path down to... a beach! and the Intracoastal. We watched fish swim by, and lots of boats go by. This could be a nice place to wade or further explore, if you lugged all of your things here. ERM, would have loved finding a bench here, so we had someplace to take our shoes on and off. We did not continue down the yellow trail due to being exhausted, but I would like to do this again. The landscape was nice- just difficult to walk in due to the white sand. We saw a cactus in bloom, a snake, and a TON of lichen. Lichen everywhere! It really looked like little fairy landscapes to me. I think I finally identified Florida rosemary too! Kudo to ERM for the map/brochures. My kids pore over every aspect of it while we walk, trying to find all the natural items pictured, excitedly matching the pictures to plants. Thank you!

Jupiter Ridge is located south of the Jupiter inlet. It is part of the Great Florida Bird and…read moreWildlife Trail. This natural area is made up of 274 acres of scrub that contain five native Florida ecosystems: scrub, scrubby flatwoods, mesic flatwoods, depression marsh and mangrove swamp, It is one of the few places you can go in Jupiter to see how Florida looked before it was developed. Thirty one plant species live here as well as threatened and endangered species like the large-flowered rosemary, the Florida scrub-jay; and the gopher tortoise. Jupiter Ridge is owned by the state Conservation and Recreation Lands project which is managed by Palm beach County. This natural area has the longest shoreline along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway of any other natural area in Palm Beach County. There is also 7,600 feet of water frontage along the Intracoastal Waterway along the Loxahatchee River/Lake Worth Creek Aquatic Preserve. There are three hiking trails, the paved Little Blue Heron Trail, (0.2 miles), the sand Scrub Lizard Trail (1.7 miles). and the sand Pawpaw Trail (0.6 miles). The sand trails really give your legs a work out and there is no shade so the sun can be brutal. The natural area has canoe and kayak access from Ski Beach and you may be able to spot manatees. There is also an observation platform on the Little Blue heron Trail that overlooks Old Lake Worth Creek. Jupiter Ridge Natural Area is open to the public, sunrise to sunset, seven days a week.

Flamingo Park is a 2 acre open green space in the Flamingo Park neighborhood of Palm Beach. The…read morepark has a small swing sweet, benches, and majestic banyan trees. What most people don't know about the park is that it is also a cemetery. Approximately 100 bodies lie beneath the grass. No one knows how many exactly because people who could not afford a formal burial would come here in the middle of the night to bury their dead. The land the park sits on was once owned by the Lakeside Cemetery Association who purchased the property from the city in 1902. They then used it as an African-American cemetery while white people were buried in Pioneer Memorial Park on land where the Norton Museum of Art now resides. In 1913 the city wanted the land back so they could sell it for development but they were blocked by the Supreme Court. Burials were stopped and five years later the land was donated to the city who turned it into a park named Dixie Playground and later the name changed to Flamingo Park, the same as the historic neighborhood that surrounds it. The city didn't give up on selling the land first in 1966 for houses and in 1991 as an exotic car shoot room. Neighborhood protest blocked both projects. The city seems to be resigned to having a park here now and they have made improvements including a walkway and benches. A statue called Girl With a Shawl was added to act as a memorial to the people who are buried here but whose names have been lost to time. You can read about the history of the park on a historical marker that has been placed in the park. The park is now mainly used by homeless people but the centuries old banyan trees will sometimes attract people posing for a picture. This park is a piece of the history of Palm Beach. Thanks to community activists we still have it to enjoy today.

Small little park with a lot of history. This park use to be an African American cemetery back in…read more1902. Its located in down town West Palm beach not far from City Place and Clematis Street. Flamingo park has a monument of a girl and around the girl are some benches. I am told by a friend that knows the area that there are a lot of vagrant people in this area . So we stayed for a short time. We could see that there were a lot of beers cans laying around .What a shame to trash a park that should be respected because of its history. The park has beautiful large trees and even a small playground. Come check out this neighborhood park. Parking is not good.

Whenever I pass by a Veterans Park, I make it a point to stop and pay my respects. Nearly every…read moretown has a dignified green space where communities can honor local service members and gather for commemorative events such as Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies. Some are humble, while others are grand. I would place this one somewhere in the middle, adequate and well maintained. The five stars are for all of the service members honored here. This half-acre park is tucked behind the North Palm Beach Library. It features an outdoor amphitheater, commemorative plaques, memorial benches, flags, and a walkway lined with bricks from the Memorial Brick Program. A large open area with surrounding seating makes this the ideal setting for Veterans Day or Memorial Day ceremonies. This park offers a peaceful place for the community to come together in remembrance of our military heroes.

No, this low-key neighborhood park has nothing to do with Sylvester Stallone's Rambo character. But…read moreof course, that's the first thing that comes to mind. We cut through on 57th Avenue and passed by and that is how we found this park. Unless you lived in the neighborhood, you wouldn't normally know it was here. The park is open everyday, sunrise to 10 pm. No drugs; no smoking; and dogs must be on leashes. They have a couple signs re picking up after your dogs and even a special trash can for dog waste. While we're there, a guy was practicing his shots on the basketball court and a mom was working while her kid enjoyed the playground equipment. Other amenities include picnic benches, mini pavilions, and bbq grills. There were over a dozen parking places. So no problems at all finding a space. The small park -- about two acres -- is pretty chill. Several gorgeous, old tall trees providing bits of shade and some large swaths of very green grass.

Rambo Park may be small in size at only 2 acres, but a lot of recreational resources are packed…read moreinto this neighborhood park. This Greenacres town park was named for Roy Rambo, a retired plasterer who always helped out with repairs at City Hall. When he was 73, Rambo was hired as a maintenance man which he enjoyed until he was forced to retire a second time because of his health. He was known for always donating his time and skills wherever they were needed. The town council honored his service by naming this park after him. Rambo Park is open daily from 7 AM until 10 PM. Rambo Park amenities include a lighted soccer field, two basketball courts with lights, a colorful playground with climbing equipment, slides, and swings, and picnic pavilions with tables and grills. I enjoyed a walk through the park for exercise. This park is ideal for a picnic or cookout while the kids play nearby on the playground equipment. This park has both wide open green space as well as shade areas. Bring your own tennis equipment or a basketball to play on the courts which are lit at night so you can play well into the evening when it is cooler. If there is a downside to this park, it is that parking is somewhat limited although I was able to find a spot.

Lake Clarke Shores is a small residential town in Palm Beach County. It was founded by John Newton…read moreClarke who arrived in Lake Worth in 1889. He worked various jobs before establishing a homestead and fishing camp. Lake Clarke bears his name. The land was developed into a town when West Palm Beach attorney William Travers purchased land that became exposed when the waters of Lake Clarke fell. He developed the land and sold lots and by 1956 there were 150 registered voters living in the area. The town was fearful of being annexed into West Palm Beach so in 1957 they voted to incorporate themselves as the town of Lake Clarke Shores. Memorial Park was created with public land at the head of Lake Clarke. Walter Travers deeded the land to the town in exchange for issuing a permit for his water company. For years it remained an unnamed area although some people referred to it as Travers Park. When Paul H. Cline became Lake Clarke Shores first casualty in Vietnam on February 6, 1968, the council decided to name it Memorial Park to honor Paul and anyone else who would pass away during war time. Another young man who lost his life is also honored here. Scott Alan Powell was only thirteen when he was struck and killed by a car as he bicycled along Pine Tree Lane while delivering newspapers. Donations from residents provided the plaque in Memorial Park for Scott. Memorial Park has benches and picnic tables so you can sit and take in the view of Lake Clarke. It also is the site of the town Christmas tree. The memorial plaques are by the fountain. A few steps away from Memorial Park is Pine Tree Park that has a heart course. I have driven by this park so many times. I am glad I finally stopped in today for a few minutes to take in the peaceful vibe and calming water view.