Where can you find 250 species of birds, 60 species of reptiles and amphibians, 40 species of butterflies, many types of mammals, a ring of levees in an extensive dike system, an assortment of wet prairies and sawgrass ridges, and a 400-acre cypress swamp?
That would be at Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, a huge, biodiverse, forested cypress swamp community at the northernmost part of the Florida Everglades. The refuge contains 226 square miles of everglade ecosystems. Loxahatchee is one of the largest urban wildlife refuges in the country, with more than 145,000 acres of land, and is one of three water conservation areas in South Florida.
The headquarters area, accessed from Lee Road in western Boynton Beach, contains the visitor center, the boardwalk trail, observation platforms, boat launches, levees, and more. This beautiful wildlife refuge also is adjacent to Parkland on the southern end. Some people go biking, to fish, or to boat. I recently went there to bird-watch, hike, and look for alligators with relatives visiting from the north.
Behind the Visitors Center is the Cypress Swamp Boardwalk, a half-mile trail through the natural cypress forest. The cypress swamp features pond cypress trees with peculiar-looking “knees,” at ground level, that I’d never seen anywhere else, along with lichens, ferns, and all kinds of wildlife.
We started our visit to Loxahatchee on the boardwalk trail, and my group was impressed with the beautiful nature all around us. Many of the trees had silvery-gray Spanish moss hanging high from their branches. Some of it had landed on the boardwalk, and we got to pick it up and explore it closely, a rare thrill for my aunt from Maine.
After doing the boardwalk trail, we drove over to the Marsh Trail, which has its own parking lot. The trail is about 0.9 miles in length, and it follows a square path. We set out to walk along it and take in the peaceful setting. Just as we reached an observation tower about halfway along the trail and started to climb its steps, the sky opened up and rain drizzled down, followed by a quick downpour. It was lucky timing for us, as we stayed dry under the wooden roof of the tower. We watched as two separate groups of people made a quick dash from other parts of the trail to take cover with us. We all enjoyed looking out over the bucolic vista in the rain.
Just as quickly as it started, the rainstorm stopped, and we climbed down the steps to continue on our little hike. After finishing that part of the refuge, we headed over to the final stage of our outing: to climb up on a levee and walk along the trail there.
We had never been on a levee before, and we looked up the definition: “a continuous dike or ridge (as of earth) for confining the irrigation areas of land to be flooded.” There was a long, flat trail up there that was flanked by water on either side. Birds were singing all around us as we walked. We continued down the endless trail, past the canoe and kayak rentals, and enjoyed the striking views. We took photos of the landscapes and used a smartphone to identify some of the birds we saw. We watched someone fly fishing. We walked along the quiet levee until we decided to turn around to come back. The area was open, vast, and empty, and we enjoyed the solace on this nice Friday morning.
There is much more one could do at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. I’ll be going back and trying more activities there. I recommend you check it out some time.