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
Boca Raton
Located halfway between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton provides a surprising number of natural areas to explore, including quite a few that are managed by the city of Boca Raton.
Blazing Star Nature Preserve
Traverse a scrub forest amid remnants of the ancient dunes of the Atlantic Coastal Ridge at Blazing Star Preserve, a Boca Raton natural land with a 1-mile loop trail
Butterfly World
Butterflies are the main attraction at this complex of natural wonders inside Tradewinds Park, but the flowers also put on a show at Butterfly World, with a maze of passionflower vines said to be the world’s largest collection of its kind.
Crystal Lake Natural Area
Winding through a diminutive forest of sand live oak, tallow-wood, gopher apple, and sand pines, the 0.4-mile hike through Crystal Lake Natural Area celebrates scrub
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.
Doris Davis Foreman Wilderness
A pretty patch of tropical hammock hides amid the bustle of suburbia in Parkland in Broward County on the 0.5 mile loop through Doris Davis Foreman Wilderness Preserve.
Fern Forest Nature Center
A bounty of ferns await at Fern Forest Nature Center, an urban wilderness area established in 1979, spanning 247 acres that surround the original floodplain of Cypress Creek
Green Cay Wetlands
At Green Cay Wetlands, boardwalks meander through 100 acres of re-created wetlands that bring a touch of the Everglades back to its original home in Boynton Beach.
Helene Klein Pineland Preserve
In just 13 acres, Helene Klein Pineland Preserve packs in a nice walk through a variety of habitats within that small space near West Boca Raton and Coconut Creek
Hillsboro Pineland Natural Area
A 56-acre remnant of forest that once spanned between the Atlantic Coastal Ridge and the Everglades, Hillsboro Pineland Natural Area offers gentle nature trails less than a mile long.