Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach is a lovely spot, especially worth visiting this winter with the Washed Ashore exhibit of giant sculptures made of plastic trash picked up on beaches. These sculptures, the pinnacle of recycling, do their job: They delight us but they also make us think.
One of the best places to see wood storks and other wading birds nesting up close in winter is Wakodahatchee Preserve in Delray Beach. In February and March, dozens of storks build nests close to an easy-to-walk .75 mile boardwalk.
The Kennedy Bunker, a Cold War fallout shelter build for JFK in 1961, will close after its Oct. 22 tours. The non-profit that has managed the facility has lost its lease with Palm Beach County after several years of conflict. The county has not determined the future of the facility. The last tours are Oct. 14, 15, 21 and 22.
MacArthur Beach is one of South Florida’s treasures: Nearly two miles of natural, dune-lined beach with rock outcroppings and a reef that makes it a great snorkeling site.
The snorkeling trail at the park on the Blue Heron Bridge in Palm Beach County offers a volume and variety of sea life rarely seen close to shore.
A prime destination for camping, hiking, off-road bicycling, fishing and limited canoeing, this vast 22,000-acre wildlife refuge is a classic South Florida wilderness with wet prairies and marshes, cypress domes, oakwood hammocks, pine flatlands and abundant wildlife.
Bike trails on South Florida levees offer traffic-free paths along the Everglades, though they can get hot and monotonous. The Bluegill Trail in Palm Beach County is better than most with wildlife and better scenery.
Peaceful Waters Sanctuary is an outstanding birding site and a particularly good destination for nature-starved folks from Broward and Palm Beach counties. It’s also close to two good places for 3-mile-long walks in natural settings.
The Lake Trail along Lake Worth on this exclusive island provides gorgeous harbor vistas and sneak peeks into the backyards of the rich and famous of Palm Beach.
If you love discovering off-the-beaten path places, look to county parks. Here are six we’ve stumbled on that offer exceptional recreation and natural beauty.
