Palm Beach Places Unknown | Pine Glades Natural Area

If you are looking for a quiet place to hike, away from development and busy streets, Pine Glades Natural Area contains 6,651 acres of restored wetlands open to visitors in northern Palm Beach County. Located just west of Jupiter Farms and a short drive from Palm Beach Gardens and The Town of Jupiter, Pine Glades Natural Area offers close to 8 miles of hiking trails, a kayak launch, a covered picnic area, a wheelchair accessible restroom, and several boardwalks surrounded by the sounds and sights of natural Florida.

Pine Glades Natural Area is part of the Loxahatchee River watershed and the Northeast Everglades Natural Area. The site had been previously used for now-defunct agricultural purposes and was acquired piece by piece over the course of 11 years. It faced extensive restoration to remove invasive plant species, restore the historic sheet flow of water down the area, as well as restore the pine flatwoods/wet prairie ecosystems.

The site contains five native south Florida ecosystems: mesic flatwoods, wet flatwoods, wet prairie, depression marsh, and dome swamp. Many different plant, flower, and animal species can be observed in the area, including numerous species of birds, white-tailed deer, American alligator, river otters, and fresh water turtles.

Sandhill Crane

Woodpecker

Tawny Boat-Tailed Grackle

Boat-Tailed Grackle

Sandhill Crane

Halloween Pennant

Agalinis Flower

One of the great things about the site is that, unlike many of Palm Beach Counties other natural areas that close hours before dark, Pine Glades Natural Area is open until sunset. This makes it a great place to catch amazing sunsets from the boardwalk overlooking the wetlands.