Hungryland Slough Pure Space serves as a crucial hyperlink in a wildlife hall that stretches from Lake Okeechobee to West Palm Seaside.
At one time, this land was slated for improvement, and the hydrology was closely altered by a grid of roads and canals that drained the wetlands.
Crossing Hungryland Slough westbound in 2004 (Sandra Buddy)Realizing the environmental significance of the world, Palm Seaside County started buying parcels within the Nineties.
Ultimately they undertook an enormous restoration effort to return the ecosystem to a extra pure state.
Moist prairie beneath restoration in 2012 (Sandra Buddy)Managed as a pure space by the county, the protect encompasses a hiking-only loop path.
It connects with the linear Ocean to Lake Mountaineering Path, maintained by Florida Path Affiliation volunteers.
Scars of improvement are nonetheless seen on aerial maps however the wilderness is immersive on the bottom, a testomony to profitable conservation and ecological renewal.
Ocean to Lake Mountaineering Path signalAssets
Overview
Location: West Palm BeachLength: 3.9 milesTrailhead: 26.854583, -80.286139Address: 12385 Seminole Pratt Whitney Rd, West Palm BeachFees: FreeRestrooms: NoneLand supervisor: Palm Seaside CountyPhone: 561-233-2400
Open dawn to sundown. No pets allowed.
Instructions
Hike
Starting the loop in a clockwise path, head west from the parking space, passing a kiosk with paper maps and details about the property.
Posts marked with a yellow circle mark the path because it travels down a large path bordered by cabbage palms.
Trailhead kioskFlip proper in lower than a tenth of a mile, the place an indication signifies the Ocean to Lake Mountaineering Path.
Orange blazes lead northward alongside an entry highway paralleling a ditch stuffed with aquatic vegetation.
To the east, water-filled prairies stretch to distant tree strains on the horizon.
Ocean to Lake Mountaineering PathAt 0.7 miles, the path takes a pointy flip, leaving the marginally elevated berm to enterprise throughout the restored pine flatwoods.
Relying on the time of yr and up to date rains, this part will be flooded, require wading or tiptoeing across the perimeter of huge puddles.
Flooded pathSlender goldentop wildflowers cluster alongside the perimeters of the trail, producing a showy yellow inflorescence that’s typically lined in pollinators.
Because the path curves northward, it reaches a particular part at 1.2 miles.
The slender hall weaves by way of the pines and palms, passing limestone boulders and noticed palmettos.
Uncovered limestone within the flatwoodsClose to the two-mile mark, the path turns proper at a junction that’s doubtless moist for many of the yr.
In one other tenth of a mile, keep straight the place orange blazes flip to the east, persevering with alongside the yellow loop.
The path meanders southward, tracing an fringe of expansive wetlands.
Restored wetlandsCross a grassy pine savanna dotted with cocoplums earlier than rising from the forest at 2.8 miles.
Taking one final flip to the precise, observe the path alongside a dust highway for an additional mile earlier than returning to the trailhead.
Street again to the trailheadPath Map
Discover Extra!
Study extra concerning the Ocean to Lake Mountaineering Path
Ocean to Lake Mountaineering Path A 61-mile spur of the Florida Path from Port Mayaca on the east aspect of Lake Okeechobee by way of forested landscapes to Hobe Sound Seaside on the Atlantic Ocean.Video
Mountaineering Hungryland Slough Pure Space
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