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    Bluegill Trail

    5.0 (1 review)

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    7 years ago

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    Sandhill Crane Access Park

    Sandhill Crane Access Park

    4.8
    (5 reviews)
    0.8 mi

    I arrived here just as a biking group arrived. They told me that the ride out and back along the…read moreBluegill Trail was beautiful and refreshing. They looked sweaty. I opted not to unpack my own bike and take the ride, instead climbing the flight of stairs to the observation deck to enjoy the view. The 1.5 acre park was officially renamed in 2012 to the Karen T. Marcus Sandhill Crane Access Park. Commissioner Marcus championed environmental preservation during her nearly three decades in office. The park includes a decent sized parking lot and a building with public restrooms. Be on the lookout for wildlife. [Review 468 of 2025 - 2111 in Florida - 24030 overall]

    Sandhill Crane Access Park started off as a gravel parking lot owned by Florida Power & Light. FPL…read morehad to give the land to the city as a concession having their Ryder substation east of the property approved. FPL removed the invasive plants and provided drainage and landscaping. Palm Beach Gardens spent $550,000, including $200,000 from Florida Department of Environmental Protection on improvements. In 2006, the city opened it as a park that serves as a point of entrance to the Bluegill Trail that runs along the C-18 Canal. The trail allows hikers, equestrian riders, and bikers to travel the North Everglades Natural Area. To Riverbend Park in Jupiter. In November 2012 the 1.5 acre Sandhill Crane Access Park was renamed Karen T. Marcus Sandhill Crane Access Park to honor commissioner Karen Marcus. Marcus was first elected to the Palm Beach commission in 1984. The park was named in her honor because the commission felt he helped control the development in northern Palm Beach to keep it from becoming overcrowded. In addition to the trail, the park has restrooms, an observation deck, fishing pier, picnic tables and a boat launch onto the C-18 Canal. Sadly I did not see any of my beloved sandhill cranes this trip although there were other birds willing to show off. Whether you are horse back riding, hiking, boating, or just stopping to enjoy nature, this park will allow you to access the best that Florida's Mother Nature has to offer.

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    Sandhill Crane Access Park, Palm Beach Gardens
    Sandhill Crane Access Park, Palm Beach Gardens
    Sandhill Crane Access Park, Palm Beach Gardens
    Sandhill Crane Access Park, Palm Beach Gardens
    Sandhill Crane Access Park, Palm Beach Gardens

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    Sandhill Crane Access Park, Palm Beach Gardens
    John D. MacArthur Beach State Park

    John D. MacArthur Beach State Park

    4.4
    (113 reviews)
    8.1 mi

    This was a nude beach when I was a kid. That ended in 1982 when it became a beloved state park…read more They have done a lot to preserve native plants. You can rent kayaks here or swim. It's usually not too crowded. This is where we would go to see sea turtles laying eggs. And that continues to this day. It's a great location and a beautiful park.

    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.

    Photos
    Just saying...
    Just saying...
    Kayaking on a sunny Monday in January
    Kayaking on a sunny Monday in January
    Canoeing on a sunny Monday in January

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    Canoeing on a sunny Monday in January
    Jonathan Dickinson State Park

    Jonathan Dickinson State Park

    4.1
    (118 reviews)
    11.4 mi

    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 place is great for those into the outdoors or nature in general. Kayaking, camping, fishing,…read moreand plenty of wildlife you might run into. There's overlooks and and an endless supply of trails to choose. I will definitely be back with some chairs and hoping for some quiet time to myself. The environment is so unique here you feel like you're in a different country at times.

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    Camp Food :: Pan-Seared Asian Style Wings!
    Camp Food :: Pan-Seared Asian Style Wings!
    Another outstanding weekend of training for Camino de Santiago. Love this park so much.
    Another outstanding weekend of training for Camino de Santiago. Love this park so much.
    The long boardwalk to the tower

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    The long boardwalk to the tower
    Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area

    Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area

    5.0
    (1 review)
    0.8 mi

    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.

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    Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area
    Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area
    Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area

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    Bluegill Trail - hiking - Updated August 2026

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