Intersection of County Roads 714 and 609
Palm City, Martin County

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Like many natural areas/preserves in South Florida, Allapattah Flats is a work in progress. It's 22,000 acres of what used to be pasture land for cattle. Much of it still is — in places, you're sharing the land with cows. The goal of its managers, the South Florida Water Management District, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Martin County, is to return the land to the wet pinelands that once covered the area. Drainage ditches dug to dry the land decades ago are to be filled to restore the natural flow of water.

In places, there are pinelands present; in others dog bane and saw palmetto seem to be the dominant vegetation, punctuated by a few trees — slash pines, live oaks and cabbage palms, mostly. In others shrubby thickets and grasses hold sway. There is a hiking trail in the northeast corner of the preserve along County Road 714, aka the Martin Highway, a couple of miles west of I-95. There are also equestrian trails directly across 714.

Bring plenty of water and a picnic lunch. There's is plenty of parking and plenty of access points along CR 609 and CR 714 but there is no drinking water and no restrooms, and few facilities near by. Google maps, by the way, do not show Allapattah Flats. The area is open to hunting, fishing and camping.