What I love about living in the SW area of Greater West Palm Beach is the abundance of parks and…read morewilderness areas that you can enjoy. The Apoxee Trail is one of the "wilderness urban areas", which I find amazing: when visiting these areas (and big parks) you would think you are far away from civilization, when in fact you don't have to drive for hours to enjoy some open, green and wild places! I knew of this trail for many years because I used to drive by the entrance in my daily commutes to work, but only recently we finally visited it. This trail is "wild" from the very start: there is only a small street bringing you to the entrance and back to Jog Rd, and no parking lot - you will have to park on the side of the street, and depending on the time and the day, you may find it challenging to find a free spot. The park however is so big that it will rarely be crowded! At the entrance of the Apoxee Trail there is also a ¼ mile paved trail, which we checked out before continuing our walk into the park. This trail is very easy and all in the wood's shade. The trail runs on wetlands through boardwalks and natural surfaces in the woods: such surfaces are of course not even, so watch out for roots and stones when walking. It is an extremely peaceful walk where you'll make several stops for wildlife observation (bring your binoculars!), as well for letting through people on bikes. At the end of the Apoxee Trail you can either go back the same way, or continue your walk/ride on the outer loop (called Owahee Trail) before reconnecting with the second part of the Apoxee Trail. If you do this whole trail you will walk over 4 miles. Just so you know, the loop is all under the sun and has a stream on one side. We saw a huge alligator on the opposite side, which means... they could have been on our side too! We encountered a couple of families with kids running and playing very close to the stream, and I don't think that's a great idea... As for every other wilderness area, you will also need to pay extra attention to your surroundings during the alligator's mating season (we usually just avoid going to those areas in that period). The Trail is open every day from sunrise to sunset, but may be closed for flooding after heavy or constant rainfalls. There are portable toilets at the entrance but no access to water, so make sure you go in properly prepared. We will certainly go back to this trail other times!

This trail area is a great spot to enjoy some nature right outside the city. All the pictures in…read morethis review were taken on a single 2-3 hour hike one morning/afternoon but on the Owahee canal trail, not Apoxee. I live right behind this trail, walking distance from my apartment (a rarity in this part of WPB) so I care about it quite a bit. There are certainly plenty of improvements that could be made. If you're not walking the Owahee canal trails on the outskirts, and trying to walk the actual Apoxee trail, it's almost always too flooded by rainfall to make it very far. There has been word of more elevated boardwalks for the trail, but no progress has been visible for a while. Still a great place for a nature hike in WPB.

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!

This was a very fun random find in Hypoluxo. Just westbound off Hypoluxo Rd from a Dollar General…read moreand a Winn Dixie, we spotted a park which triggered our curiosity after hitting up the beach. The main portion has a boardwalk with two lookout towers. Behind the boardwalk is a fenced in walking trail with a gazebo at the halfwayish point. This was a nice hike in exploring preserved land.

I'm on the fence about this place. The tower to walk up was spacious , however not stroller…read morefriendly after the first level, which was a huge bummer! We went mid November and the scenery wasn't the best considering it's been dry and hot outside. We did see a few gopher turtles and a ton of spiders ‍ I couldn't find the trail until after coming home and going back through the photos to configure the direction to go down. Not too many parking spaces, but I don't think that is a dealbreaker considering it's more of an observation area. My son walked to the top to grab a few photos since I couldn't get his sleeping sister up there in the stroller.

What a pretty small wild area this is!…read more It's located just north of Hypoluxo Island, very close to the Lantana Municipal Beach (reachable by foot) and has one side on the Intracoastal. It is a busy road, but it's kind of hidden and there are no big signs indicating the entrance. The parking lot is very small, but when we went there, we were actually the only ones. There is a gazebo at the beginning of the path, which is not paved, but no restrooms. The preserve is very small and you will walk it for just about 15 minutes, but it is so peaceful! I also love the fact that it's so full of trees and that makes the path completely shaded; there are also a few benches outside the main trail, where you can spend some relaxing time.

We stopped here on our way back from lunch. We weren't sure about walking the trail(s) as it had…read morejust started to rain and thunder. There's parking in a small lot. The preserve is located on the north side of Ocean Avenue. There's a separate entrance and exit for cars. So we only got to see a very little bit of the preserve. However, I loved that they had great signage telling you what to look for in plant and animal life. And a small covered area just as you started the trail(s). This place is great for a little bit of hiking/walking, some birdwatching, photography, and communing with nature. You get to see a little bit of what Florida used to look like before all the construction and increase in human population. We will have to come back when it's cooler and drier to explore some more.

Was driving through the A1A around north of Fort Lauderdale and stumbled upon this spot at Hobe…read moreSound. It is very educational as you learn more about the wildlife and also find ways to volunteer in the community, such as beach cleanups, sea turtle conservation and more! One of the highlights is that there was a baby owl today that was being cared for. It was so cute and never seen one so tiny up close.

Staff are so nice and I will definitely be back! The beach isn't crowded and this place is worth…read morecoming to and supporting. Saved for future!

The Bingham islands are a series of six islands in the Lake Worth Lagoon. The islands house a…read moretreasure of trees and plants including a 300 year old Gumbo Limbo tree and 150 year old Sabal Palms. Since 1942 the islands have been a wildlife sanctuary managed by the Audubon Society under a 99 year lease until 2041 from the Bingham Blossom Bolton family. Visitors are not allowed to step foot on the islands or launch from them but you can kayak and canoe between them. As you paddle by you can see coves and tidal pools that shelter native and migratory birds. Over the years invasive species and garbage have taken over the islands. Years of lightening strikes and hurricanes have made the center of the islands impenetrable. There is however a plan in the works to remove invasive species and replace them with native plants that will restore the islands. Audubon also wants to create an oyster reef that will clean the water of the Lake Worth Lagoon by filtering it. Plans for hiking trails and educational displays have been scraped because Palm Beach zoning won't allow it. For now the parking lot has been closed and the area is surrounded by a chain link fence with no trespassing signs. There is no way into the area and to make sure no one tries I saw the police keeping a close watch. This may have something to do with the islands close location to Trumps Mar a Lago. It's so close that reporters have used the island to camp out on as they reported on the President. It doesn't seem like anything will be done with area soon. The nearby Snook Islands have been restored to great success. If you look out at them you can see that they are covered in birds and they already have the oyster beds in place. Hopefully something similar is in store for the Bingham Islands.

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.

This natural area was such a pleasant surprise! It is not a well-kept secret, since the small…read moreparking lot was full, but it is someplace I would never find without purposefully seeking it out, as it is in a mostly residential area. This park has a paved loop and a longer unpaved loop. The paved loop has 1 (shaded) bench and even a little pavilion with benches. We saw a large gopher tortoise along here. On the sandy path, we found the ridge! Yes, we actually 'hiked' uphill. In this section, everything was particularly sandy with lots of cacti around. We saw numerous tortoise holes and a smallish gopher tortoise, who completely ignored us. The path here is twisty and meandering, which I have now learned keeps my children happy. If they can see the end of the path far away, and the path is straight, they get bored: no mystery. But this park kept our path moving through scrub and trees. There is also a shaded bench along the sandy trail. My littles were so excited by the promise of the beginning of the sandy trail that they begged to keep going. They were so excited by the 'hills' that they took off running! We will definitely return to this park.

7400 high ridge road Boyton beach Fl…read more I came here with my brother and went for a short walk in the sand for about a mile and a half . Not my favorite walk as I could see the highway and listen to the cars passing by . We did see some bones from an iguana and I saw some turtle holes and one lone turtle . I would never come here alone super isolated . Parking is limited to maybe 6 cars.

Wonderful place for seeing wild birds. There are many different trails that explore different…read morehabitats. I saw the iconic Roseate Spoonbill here, but there are hundreds of other species to see. The visitor's center and gift shop are very nice, and I met some friendly and dedicated volunteers there.

The Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge was created in 1951 because of the migratory bird…read moreconservation act. There are 143,874 acres in this northern Everglades habitat. This area provides water storage & flood control. It is a natural habitat for fish, alligators, heron, storks ... There is a Nature Center with all kinds of displays, clean bathrooms, and a store. The trails are well maintained and meticulous. Admission is free with my national parks pass; without a pass it's $10

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.