Wildlife viewing near Palm Beach Gardens

Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area

The county's largest and most biologically diverse preserve, spread across both sides of PGA Boulevard west of the Turnpike. Three access points get you in: the Beeline Highway entrance has a paved trail, a covered accessible observation platform and a tower, Sandhill Crane Access Park on PGA has a second tower and the Bluegill Trail, and a launch on PGA puts paddlers on a two mile kayak trail. Summer and fall leave the interior genuinely wet, so the county tells hikers to bring mud boots or stay on the perimeter multiuse trails. It is the closest thing to a real Everglades walk you can do from Palm Beach Gardens without a drive.

Sweetbay Natural Area

A quiet slice of the Loxahatchee Slough sitting beside the North County Airport, and unusual in that the county's airport department pays for its upkeep. The visit is short and easy: about a third of a mile of paved trail out to an observation platform over the wetlands. The draw is the tree island in the middle of the wet prairie, where snowy egrets, black-crowned night-herons and endangered wood storks roost and nest. Birders also come for reliable Bachman's sparrows in spring. Good for an hour with kids or a stroller, less so if you want a long hike.

Frenchman's Forest Natural Area

The most convenient natural area to central Palm Beach Gardens, right on Prosperity Farms Road, and the one with the most habitat packed into the least space. Four short trails loop through seven ecosystems, including a boardwalk over an old-growth cypress strand and a platform over a tidal swamp. Over 500 animal species have been recorded here, from gopher tortoises to manatees in the tidal creek, and more than 25 kinds of wood-warbler pass through. Check before you drive over: the county currently posts a temporary closure for final trail maintenance.

Juno Dunes Natural Area

Two tracts on either side of US-1 that together run from the Atlantic to the Intracoastal. The oceanfront tract climbs to the highest natural point in Palm Beach County, with a paved accessible trail to a covered platform and a sandy path down to a beach where sea turtles nest; parking for it is over at Loggerhead Park. The west tract, listed here, is the longer walk: a couple of miles of sandy scrub trail, a boardwalk through sawgrass and an observation tower over the marsh, with floating docks on the waterway. Birders rate the west tract as the more rewarding of the two.

Jupiter Ridge Natural Area

A narrow strip of scrub and mangrove along US-1 south of the Jupiter Inlet, with the longest Intracoastal shoreline of any county natural area. The short paved trail is easy and the sandy Scrub Lizard Trail runs most of two miles through hilly scrub, which counts as serious topography in South Florida. The reason to come is Ski Beach at the end of the path, a good spot to watch for manatees passing in the waterway and the likeliest place on the property to find Florida scrub-jays. It doubles as a stop on the Riverwalk corridor, so it can be busier than a preserve usually is.

Cypress Creek Natural Area

Over two thousand acres straddling Indiantown Road, with separate north and south parking lots and a different visit from each. The north side has a trailhead, covered wildlife observation platforms over the wetland and hiking, equestrian and multiuse trails; the south side has a fishing pier, an observation tower and a kayak launch. Shade is the selling point, which matters in a Florida summer. Sandhill cranes, swallow-tailed kites and several kinds of heron nest on the site, and the history runs from Native American middens to the Loxahatchee River battle.

Pine Glades Natural Area

The biggest wading bird show near Jupiter, and the county calls it the best place in Palm Beach County to watch a sunset. Roseate spoonbills, great blue herons, little blue herons and white ibis work the restored marsh, and the loop trails range from an easy 0.8 mile walk to a 4.4 mile circuit. You can also put a kayak or canoe in and paddle the wetlands. It sits a long way west on Indiantown Road with very little shade, so go early or late.

Winding Waters Natural Area

An urban wetland off Haverhill Road that was farmed before the county restored it to shallow and deep water marsh. The payoff comes early: a paved half mile trail reaches an observation platform and boardwalk that birders rate as one of the best viewing spots in the county. Beyond that, a 4.3 mile sandy trail circles the whole wetland and a 3.3 mile canoe and kayak trail crosses it. Bald eagles, roseate spoonbills, wood storks and snail kites all turn up, and there are alligators and turtles at the water's edge.

Riverbend Park

The county park at the heart of the Loxahatchee River headwaters, and the busiest place on this list for good reason: 17 combined miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trail plus five miles of paddling, with canoe, kayak and bike rentals on site. Hikers report armadillos, white-tailed deer and wild turkeys along with woodpeckers and wading birds. Seminole War battle sites and a restored Cracker farmstead sit along the trails, and the Bluegill Trail connects north into Loxahatchee Slough. Dogs are not permitted and the gates close an hour before sunset.

John D. MacArthur Beach State Park

The only state park on Singer Island, and the one place near Palm Beach Gardens where a single visit takes in a sea turtle nesting beach, a mangrove estuary and a tropical hammock. A long boardwalk crosses the lagoon to the beach overlooks, and the Satinleaf Trail loops through maritime hammock that pulls in migrating songbirds in spring and fall. Over 175 bird species have been recorded, and at low tide the lagoon flats draw reddish egrets, spoonbills and shorebirds. It gets busy with beachgoers, there are no lifeguards, and unlike the county sites it charges to get in.

Grassy Waters Preserve

West Palm Beach's drinking water supply doubles as the largest piece of remnant Everglades you can walk into from this side of the county. Five trails fan out from three entrances, from a one mile cypress boardwalk beside the nature center to longer crushed shell routes open to bikes, plus guided canoe trips led by staff naturalists. Snail kites, wood storks, white ibis and great blue herons are common, and so are alligators, otters, bobcats and white-tailed deer. Unlike the county natural areas it keeps set opening hours rather than running sunrise to sunset, and each entrance has its own, so check which trail you want first.

Busch Wildlife Sanctuary

A wildlife hospital you can walk through, and the surest sighting near Palm Beach Gardens: the animals on display are rescued Florida natives that cannot be released, so black bears, panthers, bald eagles, foxes and alligators are all a few feet away. The sanctuary moved to a much larger campus on Rocky Pines Road, with paved trails through habitats and keeper programs running through the day. Give it about an hour. There is no ticket price, but the sanctuary runs on the donation you leave at the welcome center, and last admission is 4:15 p.m.

Loggerhead Marinelife Center

A working sea turtle hospital on the beach in Juno Beach, free to walk into, with outdoor tanks where you can see the current patients and read what happened to each one. The stretch of sand outside is one of the densest loggerhead nesting beaches in the world, and the center runs nesting and hatchling programs in season. This is a campus visit rather than a hike, mostly outdoors with shade in patches, so summer afternoons are hot. USA Today readers voted it the country's best free attraction two years running.

Jonathan Dickinson State Park

About twenty five minutes north in Hobe Sound, and the largest genuinely wild area within reach of Palm Beach Gardens. Miles of trail run through pine flatwoods and sand pine scrub, and the ranger station will point you toward the Florida scrub-jays; hairy and red-headed woodpeckers breed here and swallow-tailed kites pass overhead. A concession on the Loxahatchee River runs guided boat tours and rents canoes for the quiet upper reaches. Birding is best in the cooler months, since the open scrub is hot and buggy in summer, and there is an entrance fee at the gate.