This canal is the first reminder that Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area is a very wet place. The walk from the parking lot at the Beeline Highway entrance cuts mainly through flatwoods on a hard-surface trail. You soon reach a this canal and a junction of the Loxahatchee Loop Trail. Turn left and follow the canal north. It's wide and rocky, an easy walk any time of the year. Look for anhingas in the trees along the way, herons perched, studying the water for a tasty meal to swim by, moorhens and other rails doing their thing. The plant that seems to be dominating the water is a Florida native called spatterdock. In spring and summer, wildflowers line both sides of the trail: coreopsis, meadow beauties, yellow flax, mitreworts, pineland helioptrope and more. Some of these flowers disappear come fall and winter, but an abundance of narrowleaf yellowtops pop up everywhere. Eventually, you'll encounter a borrow pit lake, our next stop on our tour. One practical reason to take this trail: the only restroom in the natural area is here.
RETURN TO THE TOUR PAGE. — || — RETURN TO THE MAIN PAGE