Dark skies meant random cloudbursts but the turkeys didn’t mind - they were out in droves at Riverbend Park in Jupiter this morning. Lush, green, and wet - especially unusually extremely wet - made me happy, for once, that this urban park has raised shellrock trails. My friends Jack and Liz wanted to show me [...]

Years ago, I had a wonderful time hiking with a bunch of friends at Grassy Waters Preserve, a nature center with trails north and south of Northlake Blvd in northern Palm Beach County. At the time, the fellow who led the hike mentioned that plans were in the works for hiking trails to be built [...]

One of the unexpected delights at Riverbend County Park - given how manicured the park is - was the amount of wildlife we saw. Within a few minutes of wandering down the first trail, deer dashed ahead of us through the forest. Walking the Ocean-to-Lake Trail, we encountered an extremely nearsighted armadillo.
Hawks, osprey, ibis, and [...]

Another exploration last week was a full morning spent roaming through Riverbend County Park in Jupiter Farms. We’ve waited more than 10 years for this particular park to open, and now I understand why it took that long.
It stands in stark contrast to adjacent Jonathan Dickinson State Park, which is a wild place for hikers [...]

I’ve generally been curious about the evolving path of the Ocean to Lake Trail ever since I backpacked it in 2004 on the first annual Ocean to Lake Hike.  While in Palm Beach County last week I took some time to trace some of the route and find out where it’s gone. Sweetbay Natural Area [...]