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Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

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Boardwalk through cypress strand

Loxahatchee NWR Cypress Trail

Following the boardwalk behind the Visitor Center at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, you’ll enter a jungle-like wonderland along the Cypress Trail into a habitat lush with ferns and bromeliads

Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge  |  Boynton Beach
( 26.499350, -80.212017 )      0.4 miles

127 shares

Following the boardwalk behind the Visitor Center at Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, you’ll enter a jungle-like wonderland along the Cypress Trail.

Walk amid guava, pond apple, and strangler fig in a cypress slough that is one of the few remaining in this region, once one of many that used to naturally channel water to the Everglades.


Resources

Resources for exploring the area

South Florida Explorers Guide book cover 50 Hikes in South Florida book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us provide public information on this website.


Overview

Location: Boynton Beach
Length: 0.4 mile loop
Trailhead: 26.499350, -80.212017
Address: 10216 Lee Road, Boynton Beach
Fees: $10 per carload. Cyclist/pedestrian free. Duck stamps and federal recreational passes accepted for entry. $20 annual pass available.
Restrooms: At visitor center
Land manager: US Fish & Wildlife
Phone: 561-734-8303

Open 5 AM to 10 PM daily. Visitor Center normally open 9-4 daily except Christmas and Thanksgiving, but it remains closed during the pandemic.

Stop by the visitor center for an overview of the habitat before heading out on the trails. There is a canoe launch at the end of the park entrance road.

The nearby Marsh Trail provides a nice sample of the extensive dike trail system.


Directions

 
From Florida’s Turnpike, follow Boynton Beach Blvd west for 1.9 miles until it ends at US 441. Turn left and drive 2 miles south to the park entrance on the right.

Hike

After you walk through the interpretive displays at the visitor center, head out the back door and down the boardwalk to start the Cypress Trail.

It is a short loop through a picturesque cypress strand. If the visitor center is closed, go around the front and down the boardwalk to start your walk.

Keeping in mind the lack of railings on this boardwalk, look up and around you to marvel at the density of air plants in the cypress trees.

You see occasional giant bromeliads. Reminiscent of the witch’s apple proffered in Snow White, ugly green apples dangle from the pond apple trees, while red blanket lichen marches up the bark of the cypresses.

Ferns burst from the tiny islands created by the bases of the cypress trees, with giant sword fern and giant leather fern arching well overhead. Slender strap ferns climb up the sides of rotted trees.

Giant leather ferns along the Cypress Trail
Giant leather ferns along the Cypress Trail

This is a beautiful and richly textured place, a complex ecosystem that has all but vanished from this part of Florida as development has taken its toll on the natural systems of the region.

Benches provide several spots for you to sit and contemplate the forest. Take your time and enjoy.

You’ll insect repellent if you do. The interpretive walk is over almost too soon, as you return to the parking area after 0.4 mile.


Explore the park

Learn more about Loxahatchee NWR

Summer storm on the marshes at Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge

Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge

At the edge of Boynton Beach, where historic farmlands have given way to subdivisions, Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is a 145,000 acre buffer between suburbia and the Everglades


Explore More!

Slideshow

See our photos of Loxahatchee NWR


Nearby Adventures

More worth exploring while you’re in this area.

Trail on dike with interpretive sign

Loxahatchee NWR Marsh Trail

At Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, the Marsh Trail provides a marked trail to follow on the extensive dike system. It is one of the region’s best birding sites, where you’ll see dozens of species.

Boardwalk at Green Cay Wetlands

Green Cay Wetlands

Discover a bounty of bird life along the extensive boardwalks at Green Cay Wetlands, one of South Florida’s best urban birding destinations

Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Wakodatahatchee Wetlands

Wading birds everywhere: that’s the delight of a walk along the boardwalks of Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Pond apple tree

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.

Trail Map Friends Website Official Website

Category: Hikes, Loop Hikes, Nature Trails, Southeast Florida, Trails, Water Management AreasTag: Accessible, Birding, Boardwalks, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Family-Friendly, Favorites, Loxahatchee NWR, National Wildlife Refuges, Picnic, West Palm Beach

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