In 1911, the Hillsboro River fell victim to the campaign promise of Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward to drain the Everglades.
It was one of the first of seven rivers to vanish along this coastline, replaced by five long straight drainage canals dredged to “drain the swamp.”
The Hillsboro River floodplain in this preserveHundreds more canals came in its wake, changing Southeast Florida forever.
Where the Everglades nudged up to the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, it was taken over for farmland, which in turn was replaced by a grid of homes and businesses.
An interpretive sign illustrates the changes hereHillsboro Pineland Natural Area began by preserving a patch of pinelands on the county line, part of a once vast forest east of the Everglades.
Purchased in 1989 as part of the Environmentally Sensitive Lands program, it has one of the larger preserve pine flatwoods in the county.
Pine flatwoodsIt was renamed as a memorial to Kristin Jacobs for the commissioner, mayor, and state representative who worked tirelessly for environmental consciousness in this urban space.
The preserve sits close to where both the Hillsboro River and Cypress Creek flowed out of the Everglades marshes towards the sea.
The drainage areaIts trio of accessible trails interpret plants and wildlife you may see along its loops and round-trips.
Extending into the newest corner conserved, a natural-surface quarter mile loop delves into a tropical hardwood hammock.
Along the Swallowtail LoopResources
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Overview
Location: Coconut Creek
Length: 1.8 miles
Trailhead: 26.324355, -80.197728
Address: 5591 NW 74th PL, Coconut Creek
Fees: Free
Restroom: At the trailhead
Land Manager: Broward County
Phone: 954-357-8109
Open 8 AM to 6 PM. No bicycles or pets permitted. No smoking.
In addition to its accessible paths, there are many benches along the trails. Do not disturb wildlife: this is a rare oasis of wild for them in a very urban area.
Directions
The entrance is off US 441 in Coconut Creek, just north of Hillsboro Blvd on the right hand side. Signage points to the entrance road, which winds past a condo complex.
Hike
From the parking area, begin at the central entry walkway into a gap in the forest. Stop at the kiosk. A large overview map shows the sprawling trail system.
The first and oldest of the trails, the Pineland Trail, starts here. Turn left, passing the restrooms and teaching pavilion.
Main entrance to trailsBenches adjoin the sidewalk path within a thicket of saw palmetto and grapevine in the pine flatwoods.
Mature saw palmetto sprout from the earth in clusters, tall stems splaying their leaves overhead like fans.
Saw palmetto under the pinesCurve through a shady passageway, reaching the start of the loop. Continue straight ahead past a bench.
Opening up a little, the understory yields to tropical species like marlberry and wild coffee, a strangler fig shading them.
Starting the loop counterclockwiseTunneling through the understory, emerge under a stand of tall South Florida slash pines. Join a boardwalk into the pines, climbing to a roofed shelter with benches.
Descending to ground level from the Pineland Overlook as the loop continues, the boardwalk ends and the sidewalk begins again.
Pineland OverlookContinue curving through the pine flatwoods past saw palmetto with a silvery-blue hue. Walk among lush palm fronds, grapevines, and ferns at the bases of tall pines.
Finish the loop and turn right to exit through the palmetto-lined passageway. Complete the Pineland Trail by passing the restrooms after 0.3 miles.
Kiosk at the trail junctionWalk past the kiosk at the entry point to continue onto the Prairie Trail. The sidewalk curves through a tunnel of tropical understory.
Walls of wild coffee rise beneath cabbage palms, skinny South Florida slash pines tower beyond.
Side path to parking areaPass an exit tunnel to the parking area, curving out of the shade to a sunny intersection with an incoming footpath from a pedestrian entrance to the preserve.
Curve past a interpretive sign about natural resource management and a picnic bench in the shade above a grassy slope.
Shady picnic spotEnormous woods ferns edge the now sun-drenched path on the approach to a boardwalk. The unmistakable aroma of dog was a clue coyotes likely live here.
Sizable pond apple trees edge the basin the boardwalk enters, once the floodplain of the Hillsboro River.
Approaching the boardwalkMany of Florida’s natural marshes have been dried out by humans, nowhere moreso than in Broward County, ironically named for the man responsible.
Under Governor Broward’s plan to drain swamps for agriculture and residences, the eastern Everglades were no more by 1912, drained by canals replacing its waterways.
Giant leather ferns in the prairieFollow the curve of the boardwalk across this basin, imagining the shallow river that was. Cypress trees edge the grassy wet prairie.
Clusters of giant leather fern reach skyward among the grasses. In the distance is another section of the basin, a former dome swamp ringed by cypress.
BoardwalkRestoring natural hydrology to this land-locked preserve is key to keeping it natural.
A spur observation deck has a bench for looking towards the dome swamp. Turn a corner past it. Willows edge a depression marsh.
View from the observation deckSlash pines rise along the higher elevations beyond the basin. When it rains, water collects below, nourishing plant and animal species.
The boardwalk culminates in an roofed overlook with an interpretive sign for identifying seasonal wildflowers.
End of the Prairie TrailReturning along the Prairie Trail boardwalk, retrace your curve through the forest to the entry kiosk, reaching it at 0.7 miles.
Step out to the parking area and turn right. The sidewalk edging it continues around a curve to follow the north side of the entrance road.
Sidewalk next to entrance roadWalk beside the pine flatwoods, passing a ficus of significant size. After a culvert, meet the sign at the crosswalk. Cross it to begin the round-trip Tillandsia Trail.
Also a sidewalk, it jogs through the tropical hammock and slips behind a large condo complex as a straightaway along its fence.
Start of the Tillandsia TrailPer its name, it’s fascinating to see air plants growing in people’s backyards on the fence. Hooking to the right, it leaves the condos to reach the deeply wooded southwest corner of the preserve.
Near a bench is a series of historic images showing how much this area has changed. Wild coffee and marsh ferns sprout from surface limestone.
TillandsiaCurve through the forest under the tall, skinny pines, passing a second bench. The rocky base of the tropical understory is attention-getting.
The sidewalk ends at an overlook over a small depression marsh at 1.2 miles. Take in the view before turning back to tackle the only natural surface path in the preserve.
OverlookThe Swallowtail Loop begins on the left. A wild walk, it requires attention to your surroundings and the footpath, as poison ivy is present.
Bear right at the loop sign to start down a slender leaf-strewn corridor half-hidden by palm fronds Curve through a puzzle of tropical understory to the next straightaway.
Swallowtail LoopTraffic noise is persistent, since a major intersection is nearby. Framed by dangling grapevines, grassy patches are sunlit between the pines.
A grassy corridor yields to another leafy walk among the palms. Curve through an oak hammock on the worn footpath, emerging to a sunsplashed corridor uner the pines.
Sunny spotThe forest becomes thicker, the trail curving north into a mix of oaks, pines, and palms. Finish up through several shifts of habitat, palm fronds often dangling low.
Emerging at the Tillandsia Trail 1.5 miles into the hike, turn left to exit.
Palm passageRetrace this concrete walk out of the hammock and past the condos to the crosswalk.
Make a right to return along the sidewalk adjoining the entrance road back to the parking area, completing a 1.8 mile hike.
Exiting the Tillandsia TrailTrail Map
Explore More!
Video
Hiking Kristin Jacobs Natural Area
Slideshow
See our photos from Kristin Jacobs Natural Area
Nearby Adventures
Helene Klein Pineland Preserve In just 13 acres, Helene Klein Pineland Preserve packs in a nice walk through a variety of habitats within an urban forest along busy Hillsboro Blvd.
Doris Davis Foreman Wilderness A pretty patch of tropical hammock hides amid the bustle of suburbia in Parkland in Broward County on the half-mile loop through Doris Davis Foreman Wilderness Preserve.
Tall Cypress Natural Area Hover above an outstanding gradient of lush habitats on a gentle half mile boardwalk in a 66-acre wild corner of Coral Springs. 
Daggerwing Nature Center Behind Daggerwing Nature Center in busy South County Regional Park, an accessible boardwalk trail leads you into a remnant of tropical habitat with ancient trees. 
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