I was in the area looking for a place where I could get some walking exercise, and I found this…read moregreat park. There is plenty of parking, making it very convenient for a quick excursion. The highlight of Oaks Park is the clay walking trail that winds throughout the park. Tall trees provide welcome shade, and the small canal alongside the back portion of the path is lovely. The park also features a butterfly garden, a large picnic pavilion with tables, two tennis courts, and plenty of grassy open space perfect for picnics or play. Along the walking path are poignant tributes. Every few feet, there are memorial trees lining the trail. I took a moment to read some of the memorial plaques. They reminded me that even after we leave this earth, our love for those left behind lives on.

Oaks Park is a great fitness park in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It has a red clay walking path…read morethat snakes through the park and wide grassy areas to play ball, read a book, or just fly a kite. Well-maintained tennis courts offer space to play for two games at a time. The courts are available at night with lights that go on for 60 minutes and then shut off automatically. The park is very pretty and has many containers for recycling and trash. There is no water source for people but there is a nice pavilion for shade. Pets are not allowed but parking at Oaks Park and then walking along the pretty street lined sidewalks is an option that I have done a few times.

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.

Cute little park to let the kiddos play, walking distance to the beach, or the Marine life Center…read more Perfect day out with the family.

I have driven by this park many times, but I didn't realize it was separate from 'the parking lot…read moreof the Marinelife Center.' But, it is its own park, and it stretches from A1A Beach Road to US1! It contains: -a big parking lot that allows access to the beach across the street -a grassy area of pavilions and picnic tables -a pirate playground -the (elusive) entrance to the East side of the Juno Dunes Natural Area, which I wasn't sure actually existed. -a bathroom facility -its own nature trail This parking lot is a decent size with free parking. The pavilion of bathrooms are clean and well-maintained, especially if you are headed to the beach. The picnic tables are calling out for (kid birthday) party use, especially with the beach, playground and marinelife center all in walking distance. I came here specifically for the playground. It is shaped like a pirate ship. It has a sandy bottom. It has some swings also. It is not fenced, but it is set back from the parking lot decently and no where near the roads. I didn't get too involved with the pirate ship (because I perched at the closest bench) but my kids definitely loved it.

This is a large natural area of more than 2,000 acres spanning both sides of Indiantown Road. From…read morethe back of Riverbend Park I came upon the historic Jupiter-Indiantown Trail which runs for 2 miles northwest. I took the trail until it reached an observation pavilion overlooking wetlands. If I had a bike I would have taken the trail further down but that was all about I could hike in the heat that day. The main part of this natural area is located on the north side of Indiantown Road, east and west of Gulfstream Citrus Road. There you will find a parking lot, observation platforms, and educational displays. The land in this area is part of the Northeast Everglades Natural Area and it acts as a buffer for the Loxahatchee River. The mesic flatwoods, wet flatwoods, hydric hammock, wet prairie, depression marsh, dome swamp, and blackwater stream provide a home for over 500 species of plants and 200 species of animals. At the area where the Loxahatchee River battle took place historical artifacts have been found. This area can be explored by foot, bicycle, horse, or boats that can be paddled. The north portion of the natural area contains the historic Jupiter-Indiantown Trail which I partially hiked. It was a road used from the 1900's to the 1950's to travel from Jupiter to Indiantown. Here you will also find the Jesup Trail which is 6 miles that will eventually lead into Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Also in this area is the trailhead, covered observation platforms, 2 acres of restored wetlands, and other hiking trails. The south portion of the natural area contains a fishing pier, observation tower, kayak/ canoe launch, the historic Jupiter Indiantown trail and other hiking trails. This is a wonderful area to explore and I hope I get back to see more of it in the cooler months. It is historical land that is providing a safe haven to Florida's endangered animals and plants.

We came from the Jupiter entrance off of West Indiantown Road. We originally thought it would be a…read morenice walk to the nearby lake, although this area is nowhere nearly advertised like in the pictures. This doesn't have a any lakes which was pretty disappointing. It's a nice bike trail and horse walking path. Other than that, its not a very good walking path. 1 path leads you through back of a neighborhood and straight to another neighborhood. There is another path but that one leads you in the middle of nowhere.

This is a new to me park! It is located at Northernmost part of Jupiter Community Park- you have to…read moredrive through this park to find it. 160 acres with wooded areas and trails, but also the park begins with water!Enter by crossing a bridge over part of the Loxahatchee River. This leads to a short path along the water to get to a fishing pier with a pavilion. My kids fished on the pier, bridge, and along the shore. We parked in the plentiful Community Park parking lot, in front of the Flatwoods sign. I dropped off my kids here for the Fishing Camp from Building Up Sports Academy, which hosts the camp at various municipalities across Palm Beach County, this one offered by the Town of Jupiter. What a great spot to hang out in all day, especially for a camp.! My kids caught fish here successfully. I'm excited to revisit and walk the trails.

This is a 160 acre natural area preserve. Entrance to the preserve is in Jupiter Community Park…read more This natural area was identified has having environmentally important land and it was preserved as part of the county's 1999 Bond Referendum for Land Acquisitionfor Conservation Purposes. The county purchased this land in 2000 from Watermark Communities. There are two trails, a .55 paved trail and a 1.44 mile sandy trail. The trails go through mesic flatwoods, wet flatwoods, depression marsh, and dome swamp ecosystems. The trail has boardwalks, a swing, benches, a fishing pier and an observation platform. The preserve has several populations of rare plants including Atlantic St. John's-wort, trumpet creeper, and yellow jessamine. Other plants you will include saw palmetto, slash pine, gallberry, beautyberry, cypress, ferns, gopher apple, tarflower, and pinebarren goldenrod. During my hike I saw eastern cotton tail rabbits, blue jay's, butterflies, squirrels, and lizards. Other animals that have been recorded here include raccoon, bob cat, red shoulder hawk, osprey, and gopher tortoises. This natural area is part of the Florida's Greenways and Trails System, a system of linked conservation lands creating a wildlife corridor adjacent to the Loxahatchee River. Something really unique about this trail that I love and have never seen before is it has been certified as autism friendly in April 2019 by the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities. The Learning Academy, a group of professionals that includes speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, teachers, behavior analysts and representatives from Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management developed improvements to the Flatwoods Natural Area to make the trail more inviting to people with sensory issues. Added were the half mile of ADA paved trails, visual signage, benches to allow people to take a break, a swing, physical barriers, a nature trail scavenger hunt, and sensory stations. I have been on a lot of trails that do not take people with disabilities into consideration so I was so impressed to see the accommodations that have been made to make this trail user friendly for all members of the community. This is the first trail in the Florida to be certified as autism friendly and hopefully it is the start of more to come. The county has designed this area to be enjoyed passively while still protecting it. It is ideal for hiking, photography, and bird watching. Smoking, hunting, feeding wildlife, biking, and taking anything are all prohibited activities. Flatwoods is open every day of the year from sunrise to sunset.

Love this natural area It's a little slice of peace in the increasingly chaotic area that…read moreLoxahatchee is becoming. It's a great way to spend time in nature and see the wildlife in their natural habitat! Makes you truly appreciate what mother nature has to offer.

You can find the Acreage Pines Natural area located at the back of Acreage Pines Community Park…read more The site was purchased by the county of Palm Beach in 2001 and they manage it along with assistance from the Indian Trail Improvement District. It is part of the Northeast Everglades Natural Area. Entrance to the trail is next to the playground. This natural area protects 124 acres of pine lands and wet prairie. It contains mesic flatwoods, wet prairie, depression marsh, and wet flatwoods communities. It is the home of some rare species of birds, butterflies and wildflowers. A boardwalk takes you over the wetlands where you can see birds such as egrets, herons, ibis, red bellied woodpeckers, cardinals, pin-tailed pondhawk, snowy egret, hooded merganser, limpkin, great horned owl, red-shouldered hawk, pileated woodpecker, and mockingbirds. Other animals found here include the squirrel treefrog, Florida softshell turtle, and raccoons. At the end of the boardwalk is an observation platform with seating. There is also two natural earth hiking trail that takes you through slash pines and saw palmettos. Plants found here include rare asters, passion flowers, tarflower, coastalplain staggerbush, wiregrass, chestnutleaf false croton, fireflag, St. John's-wort, yelloweyed grass, swamp flatsedge, flattened pipewort, and pond apple as well as carnivorous plants including the yellow-horned bladderwort, eastern pipewort and pink sundew. Events held here include a Swamp Tromp which will be held on August 19th. You can attend a 1.5 mile hike in knee deep water guided by ERM (Palm Beach Environmental Resource Management) staff. The preserve is open daily from sunrise to sunset. It is a wonderful place to hike, take pictures, and view wildlife. Come and experience the wilder side of Florida.

The Kiplinger Nature Preserve Park is a 164 acre natural area in Stuart. The land used to belong to…read morethe Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. and the Kiplinger Foundation Inc. until Martin County purchased it to preserve the land. In 2020 the Kiplinger family donated another 7 acres to the preserve protecting it from retail development. Ecological communities making up the preserve include freshwater and mangrove swamps, wet prairie and estuarine river. The preserve contains stands of sand pine and scrub oak as well as pine and scrubby flatwoods. Animals that have been spotted here include the Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, the Golden Silk Spider, raccoons, and alligators. In the past I have seem sandhill cranes and this time I spotted a marsh bunny hopping across the trail. The trail that runs through Kiplinger is an easy one mile loop. It runs behind condos, past wetlands, across some raised boardwalks and back along the river. The nature center was closed for improvements to the parking lot and I was delighted to see that they are back open although parts of the trail were muddy. In addition to the trail there is a free parking lot, three foot bridges, a floating fishing dock, and a place to launch a kayak or a canoe. It is a great place to enjoy nature, get some exercise and fresh air.

This park is a natural area in Stuart. The 164 acre mangrove area is located in the South Fork of…read morethe St. Lucie River. There is easy public parking at the entrance and a picnic pavilion. I walked the easy picturesque hiking trail and crossed two of the three footbridges before reaching the river. There is a floating dock for fishing. I only spotted one ibis and the crabs in the mangrove and a variety of Florida wild flowers.

Multitasking! While waiting on my Dads dental visit to end.i decided to go for a brisk walk and…read morelight jog. This was a magnificent time to walk, just enough sun accompanied by the cool breeze flowing from the tall trees.

After brunching at PGA Commons I was looking for a park to exercise in and found this one along…read moreLake Catherine, located on the east side MacArthur Boulevard just north of Northlake Boulevard. The park is surrounded by the Lake Catherine neighborhood. Parking is on the street alongside the park. Lake Catherine Park has a very nice half mile red earth trail that runs alongside the lake. There are beautiful shade trees along the trail. The park has a restroom but it was closed. Fishing is allowed in the lake and there is boat ramp to provide access to the water. I saw several other people exercising and a family having their New Year picnic. My favorite part of the park was the birds it attracted. I saw a lot of ducks, ibis, an anhinga, and a limpkin. Further up the street on the opposite side of the park is the Lake Catherine Sportsplex that contains athletic fields, grills, a restroom, picnic pavilions, and a playground. This is a great park for people of all ages to picnic, play, exercise, and enjoy the start of the new year.