Cool, hidden place to check it out. This beach was better than I expected. The sand was a dark…read morecolor like dark Grey, not what I was used to. It was a great color for pictures. The beach had a nice path connecting to the beach. It was a nice canopy of trees. A very enjoyable path. At the beach you see the beautiful rock formations. It was something different and beautiful. This beach had an education center across from the beach with nice clean bathrooms. This center had nice walking paths around the intercostal, the other side. The parking was free but limited. There was space to park on both sides. If you can find parking. I recommend checking the beach out.

Blowing Rocks is an amazing natural look at what the Florida Shoreline should look like. They have…read moretwo trails you can go through for the maritime hammock one close to the beach and the other by the intercoastal. The beach is unguarded and as the name suggests has exposed rocks. The rocks are super fun to explore. While I enjoyed my time there the parking area is quite limited so getting parking can be a hassle but one that is well worth it.

Amanda was amazing, so helpful with the kayak rentals! She accommodated us in every way possible,…read moredefinitely would recommended going there because of her.

Great place to relax and get some nice biking in or walks on the trails . Wide hard gravel bike or…read morewalking trails . At least 10-12 miles on the east side of the park and more by the lake and west side . Very clean , safe an

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.

This review is for the West Tract. I have driven by this natural area for decades and never once…read moreeven driven into the parking lot. From the roadside, it just looks like endless scrub, but I am happy to report that not only is it far more than 'just scrub,' it is full of surprises! Check out my photo at the bottom of the review of the map closeup; I outline the path I took in pink. For one, I can't believe how big this natural area is. Not only do I want to return to do the same path but go farther, I want to do all the paths, including the ones across Donald Ross Road that are not very accessible. There are only a handful of parking spots for this park, but the spots are decently far from US1, which is nice. We started off on a paved path that became a boardwalk, which ended at a little pavilion with 2 benches. After that, the path was just pure white sand. Not beach sand, not hard packed sand, but scrub sand that is not flat in any way (there is no way a stroller or walker could cross this). My kids Crocs came off right then, but they loved being barefoot in the park! Luckily it was a cool day, so the lack of shade was fine. Eventually, the sand turned to more of a dirt and grass path as we moved into a shadier area with taller trees. We turned right to follow the sign that said 'Boat Dock.' We wandered and meandered and eventually we could see peeks of the Intracoastal on our left and mangroves on our right. I was so thrilled to finally stumble onto a beautiful view of marsh water with a wooden lookout tower! Apparently the boat dock is also a canoe/kayak entrance to explore this marsh area. Bucket list! Anytime I stumble upon a water body, I am happy. Beyond the tower, the path headed straight towards the Intracoastal, which we could see a glimpse of from the stairs. but we had to head back at that point. We did see some moths and butterflies but otherwise no other animal life, but we also passed more people than we usually do on trails. The walk was lovely, if a little tougher due to all that sand. Looking forward to returning to cover all the trails.

Beautiful nature trail near the beach. It leads off to an over look not much of an overlook to…read moreGrassy to see anything. Another part of the trail leads to the beach pretty cool. No way to get lost in there and it's not long at all to do the whole thing. Lots of signs around to inform you about the trees and nature. Parking it free in this lot and there was lot of it.

I finally ventured further down the path in this park and was greatly pleased! On my first trip…read morehere, I stopped after reaching the first 'river' pavilion, because the path forward looked more like a side street than a park path, as it is wide enough for a car. But this time I kept going and found another river lookout, this one with a boardwalk that actually went out over the River. After that, the path went into another part of woods. It meandered along until we reached a tiny boardwalk bridge over a slightly marshy area and then found we had reached the very end of the park, where it intersected with a main road near the highway. Once again, we had the park all to ourselves, which was a treat. These days, with so little rain, so many plants looked brown and lifeless. We saw a gopher tortoise and a black snake.

This is a very nice hike through the northeast portion of the Everglades. You start off from the…read moreparking lot on the Bracken Fern Nature Trail which is paved and wheelchair accessible. It is flanked on either side by slash pine which provides shade. There are also sections of scrubby flatwoods and bracken fern. The length of this trail is 1/4 mile. When the pavement ends the trail turns to the left and becomes the Gallberry Hiking Trail which parallels a canal. Mangroves grow along the waters edge and there is a lookout pavilion and a fishing pier. If you come during the winter you might be able to catch sight of manatees in the C-18 canal. This part of the trail backs a neighborhood and you can enter from the street to join the trail here. The final portion of the trail veers of through a denser forest before transitioning into scrubby flatwoods. You cross over a bridge that goes over a small stream that once fed into the Loxahatchee River. The trail ends at the Island Way Road. If you walk the trail and back to the parking lot you will have traveled 1.2 miles. I didn't see any wildlife on this trip but I still enjoyed my hike. It was mostly shaded which I appreciated and the three distinct parts of the trail made the hike interesting. I plan to come back during the colder months to see if I can spot a manatee.

Camping over Labor Day weekend was such a great time at the state park! We spent the weekend doing…read morevarious things at the camp as well as in Jupiter area! I highly suggest hiking up to the top of Hobe Mountain Tower! The view is beautiful and it's only a 10 min walk from the parking lot! Another favorite from the weekend was fishing from the dock at the end of river camp! We caught puffer fish, garr, and stripped mojarra (may be spelled wrong lol)! It was a good time but be careful not to touch the puffer fish because they're poisonous!! The next highlight was walking the trails in the park! The Kitching Creek Nature Trail - Overlook is closed as of right now so the hike is pretty much the same the whole way. It's about a 1.5 mile walk. We camped at the River Campground, with 52 sites, is 4 miles from the park entrance, near the Loxahatchee River. That is where we fished in the evenings and mornings! I would say that close to all 52 sites were full for Labor Day, but it didn't seem crowded at all! The bathhouses held two showers and 3 bathrooms-quite clean as well! I would recommend stopping in if you get the chance! Plus super close to beautiful beaches!

Cool park! We drive by often and it's always something we've wanted to stop and check out. I had no…read moreidea this park is so huge! You could drive for 30 minutes and still not see everything! We stopped by on a weekday and the park was pretty and relaxing. Not too many people on the couple of trails we did. The observation tower is closed but they still have a nice boardwalk up to that area that makes for a great walk! It's pretty highly elevated for Florida - kind of impressive in person! Entry is $6 per car, and the lady provided a map and recommended her favorite trail. We checked that trail out as well (the white trail), but the height of the observation tower trail was really the star! We decided to drive around after doing both trails, and we saw their campgrounds. So surprising at how busy this place was! It seemed there was hardly an empty spot! Must be a happening place to camp! We'd definitely return for more adventures, as this is a cool park!

The water was very nice and clear, enjoyed the beach. We rode our bikes over the long boardwalk…read morethat crosses over the intracoastal, we were hoping for more bike trails but there was not much as far as bike riding trails. The boardwalk is pretty long if crossing over carrying a lot of stuff on a hot day that may not be too enjoyable for some. It's also pretty bumpy on a bike. But the beach was great and it's a great scenic boardwalk.

John D. MacArthur Beach State Park seemed like such a hidden gem from everything I had read and…read moreseen online. I loved that it offers so many activities in one place--kayaking, paddleboarding, the beach, picnic areas, a gift shop, and educational exhibits--all at very reasonable prices. Parking was only $5, and the kayak and paddleboard rentals were affordable too. Unfortunately, I happened to visit on a day with an extremely low tide. Paddleboard rentals were suspended, but kayak rentals were still available. The staff did warn us about the low tide and advised us to stay near the edges to avoid getting stuck. However, as someone new to kayaking, I didn't realize just how much the tide would impact the experience. For a large portion of our trip, the water was so shallow that our kayaks constantly got stuck. We had to repeatedly get out and drag them through the water. At times, the water wasn't even ankle deep. I completely understand that the staff can't control the tides, but I honestly wish kayak rentals had also been paused that day because the conditions made it difficult to really enjoy the experience. By the time we finished kayaking, we were exhausted and felt pretty gross from walking through the murky water, so we ended up skipping the beach altogether. Outside of that, the park itself looked lovely. There was a nice picnic area, a cute gift shop, and they even had a rescued sea turtle with a volunteer sharing information about sea turtle conservation, which was a really nice touch. There also appeared to be several educational exhibits throughout the park, although they happened to be closed during our visit. One downside was a pretty unpleasant smell near the gift shop, but I'm guessing that may have also been related to the unusually low tide. Despite my experience, I haven't written the park off. The photos I've seen online make it look absolutely beautiful, and I think we were just unlucky with the timing. I'd definitely consider coming back on a day with higher water levels to give it another chance. It sounds like a great park overall--I just recommend checking the tide conditions before planning to kayak or paddleboard so you can enjoy it at its best.

Still the most lovely park, especially the Intracoastal side. Ample parking right along the shore,…read moreand a large shallow are ripe for snorkeling, far from boats which might pass by. We arrived early and staked our spot in the shade under mangroves. My kids take their kayaks out to explore the mangrove islands and paddle around. It's so protected without currents pulling them out or speeding boats close by, which is such wonderful freedom for them. This is a popular spot on the weekends, and some folks bring out tents and equipment for the whole day. This is a perfect first-time snorkeling spot for beginners, because the water is so shallow. We swam with a sea turtle this time. Even not at high tide, it's still a lovely way to be on saltwater without waves or seaweed. It seems that dogs and fires are welcome.

Traveled to "Jupiter" looking for a nice beach as I heard their beaches are clear and clean…read more. stumbled across this beach park. There was plenty of parking, which we liked. The boardwalk was closed for repairs so we had to walk thru the sand with our stuff (coolers etc). Part of the beach was on a small like hill, you had to jump down to get towards the water which was annoying. The beach was filled with seaweed. I did like there was a lifeguard on duty. It wasn't crowded for a Sunday. Probably won't be back to this one.

The Loxahatchee Slough is a 10,391 acre Natural Area that was acquired by Palm Beach in 1996. An…read moreadditional 2,190 acres were purchased in between 2000 and 2007. The County also leases 257 acres from the South Florida Water Management District and 3 acres from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Loxahatchee Slough is actually three separate tracts, the largest of which sits north of PGA Boulevard. There are two access points to the main trail. One is the Bluegill Trail at Sandhill Crane Access Park where there is water, parking and restrooms, and the other is the Pantano Trail from River Bend Park along Indiantown Road. According to the county's Environmental Resources Management Department, Loxahatchee Sloughis the largest and most biologically diverse natural area managed by Palm Beach County. This preserve contains the historic headwaters of the Loxahatchee Wild and Scenic River and has nine native Florida ecosystems: mesic flatwoods, wet flatwoods, mesic hammock, hydric hammock, wet prairie, depression marsh, slough marsh, strand swamp, and dome swamp. This area attracts many birds. Ninety three different species of birds have been recorded here including limpkins, white ibis, fish crows, common grackles, rock pigeons, red wing blackbirds, American robins, and cedar waxwings. There are also hundreds of plant and animal species. Some of the plants that have been seen are the pineland daisy, jack-in-the-pulpit, Florida tassel flower, fringed yellow star grass, southeastern primrose willow, swamp forest beaks edge, bull tongue arrowhead, fire flag, red mulberry, and swamp bay. Animals found here include the Florida apple snail, handsome Florida grasshopper, gray-green club tail, red ear sunfish, little grass frog, striped mud turtle, wood duck, Florida sandhill crane, bobolink, and Sherman's fox squirrel. Many of the plants and animals found here are endangered or threatened. Through the years this area has been negatively impacted by over drainage, agricultural use, and invasion of non native plant species. Extensive restoration has been done to remove removal invasive non native plants, fill in the drainage ditches and shell mining pits, and replace the culverts leading to the C-18 Canal. This natural area is part of the Northeast Everglades Natural Area. Palm Beach County manages the site with the assistance of the City of Palm Beach Gardens. The Florida Trail Association maintains the 4.5-mile segment of the Ocean to Lake Trail that passes through this area. This area can be biked, hiked, paddled, or traversed by horseback.