In the wet prairies and tropical hammocks of Apoxee Park, the first urban wilderness area in Palm Beach County, you’ll walk over and through the water supply of West Palm Beach.
A fascinating 4.7-mile day hike showcasing the sheet flow of water through habitats that thrive in humidity and dampness, the Apoxee Wilderness Trail features a mix of boardwalks, crushed limestone, and natural surfaces underfoot.
The loop includes a section of the Owahee Trail, a lengthy berm that runs through all of Grassy Waters Preserve.
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Overview
Location: West Palm Beach
Length: 4.7 miles
Trailhead: 26.727542,-80.151119
Address: 3125 Jog Rd, West Palm Beach
Fees: Free
Restroom: At the trailhead
Land Manager: City of West Palm Beach
Phone: 561-822-2222
Open 7 AM – 6 PM. Pets are not permitted. Except in winter, expect to get your feet wet. A shorter accessible trail, the Butterfly Orchid Trail, is also a part of this hike.
It can be walked directly from the trailhead for a brief loop through the tropical hammock. We used a portion of the Owahee Trail of Grassy Waters Preserve to turn the trails of Apoxee Wilderness into a loop.
Directions
From Interstate 95 at Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, drive west for 4.6 miles to Jog Road. From Florida’s Turnpike, exit at Okeechobee Blvd and drive west 0.9 mile to Jog Road. Turn north off Okeechobee Blvd and watch for the park entrance on the left, just as the road starts a curve to the right, at 3125 N Jog Road.
Hike
Starting out on the paved Butterfly Orchid Trail into a tropical hammock, you soon come to the turnoff at a kiosk for the Apoxee (Ah-PO-EE) Trail.
Turn right and follow the trail along boardwalks and between (and sometimes in) large prairie ponds beneath power lines to reach the beginning of the large loop at a kiosk with a chickee top.
We walked it counterclockwise, ensuring that the bulk of the wading we’d do would be along our return trip.
Highlights include tunneling through tropical hammocks, a lengthy boardwalk across a large wet prairie, and plenty of wildlife sightings along both the Apoxee Trail and the Owahee (Oh-WHA-Hee) Trail. Both trails are well marked.
Atop a dike, the Owahee Trail lets you look across prairies and a broad canal lined with cypress; it is multiuse, but provides a connector between the two sections of the Apoxee Trail.
Returning along the Apoxee Trail, you’ll walk across several boardwalks and through lush palm hammocks before encountering a fork in the trail. To the right is the shorter route; the left side follows a prairie rim.
After they come together, expect more wading where prairies slosh into each other in the wet season. There is a chickee on a small hill, usable as a rain shelter. When you reach the kiosk again, you’ve completed the big loop.
Turn right to exit, crossing under the power lines again. Back at the paved trail, turn right to walk the remainder of the Butterfly Orchid Loop, which ends a little farther down along the parking area. Turn left to complete the loop.
Trail Map
Explore More!
Learn more about Grassy Waters Preserve
Grassy Waters Preserve Protecting a sheet flow of rainfall moving steadily southward and parallel to the Atlantic Ocean, Grassy Waters Preserve bears a striking resemblance to the Everglades - because it is.Slideshow
See our photos from this hike
Nearby Adventures
Grassy Waters Eagle Trail On a slender causeway between the marshes of Gator Lake and Loxahatchee Slough, the Eagle Trail balances immersion in a tropical hammock with scenic views.
Grassy Waters Hog Hammock Trail At the north end of Grassy Waters Preserve, traverse an Ice Age ridge protruding above the sheet flow of Loxahatchee Slough on a series of islands topped with tropical hammock. 
Florida Trail, Ocean to Lake: Corbett to Luckey Tract On this 12.1 miles of the Florida Trail between campsites at Corbett WMA and Luckey Hammock, discover the natural wonders of Hungryland Slough and Loxahatchee Slough.
Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area Escape to a vast watery wilderness where you can hike, bike, or paddle through Northern Everglades habitats on the outskirts of residential Palm Beach County 
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