New Monrovia Park is located in New Monrovia, an African American community that was established…read morenear West Palm Beach in the area now known as Port Salerno. The park is across the street from Murray Middle School. Park amenities include a playground with climbing equipment, slides, and swings, a covered pavilion with several picnic tables, basketball court, and open space where cultural events are staged like the annual Bahamian Festival. As a history enthusiast I enjoyed discovering the historic 1934 Port Salerno Colored School which was one of the few schools in Martin County providing education to African-American students during segregation. Today the Salerno Colored School is one of the only single room schoolhouses left on the Treasure Coast. Next to the school is the Costella Williams Learning Center which was named in honor of one of the esteemed teachers at the school.

Kitching Creek Preserve is a 51 acre natural area managed by Martin County. They acquired this…read moreformer vegetation recycling facility in 2009 to help restore the Central Flow Way of Kitching Creek and the Loxahatchee River. An engineering firm helped the county develop a way to capture water from a nearby ditch, hold it on-site in a series of lakes and wetlands, and then slowly discharge the water back into Kitching Creek and flowing into the Loxahatchee River. The project involved constructing a 24-acre lake with 8-acres of shallow marsh and wetland habitat. The lake and its surrounding ponds are an excellent place to bird watch. Bald eagles, roseate spoonbills, tri-colored herons, and osprey have all been spotted here. You may also come across alligators, otters, song birds, raptors, herons, and egrets. Around the lake and ponds is a mile long loop trail on natural earth. As I made my way around the lake I could hear the splash of alligators as they left the bank for the water. It is nice to know they are more afraid of me than the other way around. I also saw a few birds like a great blue heron and a couple of egrets. This an easy and scenic hike that anyone can do. Martin County offers free guided hikes of this and their other natural areas on their website along with many other great events.

This park is part of a freshwater marsh or savana that used to cover the southeast coast of…read moreFlorida. This preserve is one of the longest remaining tracts of east coast savanna. It is 10 miles long stretching from Ft. Pierce to Jensen Beach.The term savanna for the marshland and ponds was first used by Lt. Colonel Benjamin Pierce during the Second Seminole Wars. In 1879 Captain Thomas Richards came here from Key West to plant pineapples which thrived in the sandy soil. From 1895 to 1920 Jensen Beach became the pineapple capital of the world. In 1977, 6,000 acres of land were acquired to create a park that protects this biologically unique ecosystem. Today the park offers many amenities to the nature enthusiast. There are 15 miles of trails for hikers, bikers, and equestrians. There is also a canoe and kayak launch. At 8:30 AM every Friday and Saturday morning volunteers lead two hour guided tours. Reservations are required and you can call this number: 772-398-2779. Fishing is available in the park if you have the proper license. If all of the fun outdoor sports makes you hungry there are a number of picnic shelters around the preserve. To learn more about the savannas you can go to the Visitor Center Education Center which is open Thursday through Monday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. I only got a chance to scratch the surface of this wonderful park and now I can't wait to come and explore it more fully. Admission to the park is $3 that you put into an envelope on the honor system. If you visit bring cash make sure to have the exact amount. The money goes to supporting a wonderful outdoor space rich in history, plants, and animals.

The four residential housing lots that make up this park were purchased in 1979 by WWII veteran…read moreCarl Reddish (1915-2012). After a career as an air plane mechanics in Miami for 30 years, Carl retired to Port St. Lucie with his wife June and built their home here where Carl spent his days building his backyard plant nursery. The three live oaks in the park were planted by Carl in honor of his children and grandchildren. In 2015 the Florida Department of Transportation purchased this land in order to create the Crosstown Parkway leaving a six acre open space at the Southeast corner of Crosstown Parkway and Floresta Drive. In 2019 a park was proposed for the site by the Treasure Coast Submarine Veterans who wanted to create a new memorial and place it in their very own park to honor the sixty-five submarines that have been lost in the U.S. Navy's history and the more than 4,000 submariners killed. The park has a memorial to honor all U.S. Navy submarines and crews lost since 1915, including the names of 65 U.S. Navy submarines and the dates they were lost displayed on granite stones. The park also contains a WWII era Mark 14 training torpedo. In addition to the memorial, the park has a parking lot, outdoor fitness equipment that uses your body weight, and a 1/3 mile paved walkway around the lake that people can use for exercise. If you are looking for a longer route can take the park path to where it connects to the route that takes you over the Crosstown Parkway. Whether you are here to attend one of the memorial events presented by the Treasure Coast Submarine Veterans or you are here to exercise, I think Carl Reddish would be pleased to know that people are making good use of the land he poured his heart and gardening skills into.

Pine Glades is a 6,651 acre natural area that protects environmentally sensitive pine forest and…read morewetland habitats. It opened in 2014 making it one of Palm Beach's newest natural areas. There are five native Florida ecoystems here: mesic flatwoods, wet flatwoods, wet prairie, depression marsh, and dome swamp. Previously the land was used for agriculture and was purchased for the preserve between 1999-2010 with some of the funds coming from the Florida Communities Trust. Non-native invasive plant were removed including 576 acres of melaleuca, an invasive tree, water flow was restored across the site, and the pine flatwoods/wet prairie mosaic community that were removed for farming were replaced. This natural area is part of the Northeast Everglades Natural Area and Loxahatchee River watershed. Most of the acres of this natural area are wet prairies, marshes, ponds and wet flatwoods with cypress domes, slash pines and cabbage palms. The wetlands attract native wading birds like the roseate spoonbill, great blue heron, little blue heron and white ibis. Other animals that have been recorded here include the great horned owl, raccoons, deer, river otters, bob cats, box turtles, and alligators. Plants that live here include goldenrod, pickerelweed, slash pine, giant wild pine, and beauty berry. There are several hiking trails here. The Flagfish Loop Trail is paved and is only .8 miles. There are two overlooks along the trail that give you a great view of the birds on the wetlands. The Wiregrass Loop Trail is 4.4 miles and is natural earth as is the 1.5 mile Quail Trail. The Old Wire trail is .6 miles and it connects the two ends of the Wiregrass Loop Trail. There wasn't any shade here so it was pretty brutal in the sun. Maps are available on a board adjacent to the parking lot. Bikes are not permitted on the trail. In addition to hiking there is a canoe/kayak launch so you can launch your non motorized boat here. I brought my inflatable kayak. This natural area is also wonderful for nature photography and bird watching. There is no drinking water here here but there is portable toilets. Pine Glades is open until sunset and is listed as one of the best places to see the sunset in Palm Beach County. Unfortunately I had to leave early and get ready for work the next day but I hope to come back and see the sunset and explore the trails I missed.

The Maggy of Maggy's Hammock was environmentalist and long time county Martin County commissioner,…read moreMaggy Hurchalla. Before being renamed in Maggy's honor this was known as Rocky Point Hammock. This is a 22 acre natural conservation area consisting of scrub and maritime hammock communities. Scrub habitats are particularly endangered in Florida. They used to cover many miles but have been reduced to small patches since they occur at higher elevations which is exactly where developers like to build. This park is like walking back in time to before Florida was turned into strip malls and subdivisions. There is a paved trail that is ADA accessible and leads to a picnic area and playground. Along the presenter of the hammock is a one mile natural earth loop trail. As you walk along the trails you will see gumbo limbo trees nicknamed the tourist tree because the peeling bark looks like sunburn. Also look for white stopper known for its skunk like smell, the thorny acacia, oak and paradise trees, slash pines, strangler fig, wild coffee, beauty berry, resurrection ferns, hickory, the white blooming marlberry, Florida and scrub rosemary, wild lime, and saw palmetto. The large number of berry producing plants attracts an assortment songbirds. Look for them in the trees. This park is part of the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail. On the ground you may be able to spot the state protected gopher tortoises. The destruction of their habitat has dealt a blow to their population. I was excited to see two tortoises walking around the preserve. Although I can form easily spot their burrows I rarely see them walking around as they spend up to 80 percent of their time burrowed under dry sandy ground. I loved my walk through this natural area. Martin County has 93,000 acres parks and preserves to explore and it is always fun to discover a new one. A visit to Twin Rivers Park a half a mile away is also well worth your time. There is a gorgeous view of the St. Lucie River and the chance to spot even more gopher tortoises.

Sunset is beautiful and the fishing is pretty good. Has a small gator in it. Seen large mouth that…read moreare pretty aggressive and peacock bass that are very docile. But might be able to catch with some hard work. Little over grown though near waters edge. Few spots to actually fish from bank

This lovely lakeside park was named in honor of Port St. Lucie pioneer Oliver L Peacock. Mr…read more Peacock is among the founding fathers credited with the creation of Port St. Lucie. The Peacock family owned a 4,614-acre ranch in St. Lucie West. After the family home was abandoned, the St. Lucie historical society stepped in and saved the Peacock house and had it moved to Pioneer Park where you can see the restored home and learn more about the Peacock family in the nearby Port St. Lucie History Museum. This serene 100 acre park was established in 2008. The park has a 75 acre lake and surrounding natural area. Fishing and motor boating is allowed on the lake. The FWC and the City of Port St. Lucie have worked together to remove invasive plants and to restore the aquatic habitat to improve fishing in the lake. Right now there are few amenities in the park but if Port St. Lucie is awarded the Land Water Conservation Fund Grant, they plan to build by early 2027 restrooms, a large pavilion, bike racks, fencing, a nature trail around the lake, fencing, a wetlands boardwalk trail, a kayak launch area, and restore the lake bank. In the meantime this park is still a peaceful place to enjoy passive recreation.

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.