Overview: Grassy Waters is Florida the way Ponce saw it. Vast, unspoiled, largely untouched by human hands. It is 23 square miles of marsh, cypress dome swamp, wet prairie and pine forest, a remnant of the swath of land that once was the headwaters for the Everglades and the Loxahatchee River. It has avoided the ravages of development because it has served as the water catchment area for West Palm Beach and Palm Beach since the early 1900s.
Grassy Waters is split, north and south, by Northlake Boulevard. On the south side is the Cypress Boardwalk and nature center. The boardwalk with loops and extensions is about a mile long, out and back, through cypress and pines leading to a large open prairie. There is a parking lot on the north side of Northlake (8537 Northlake) for access to the Hog Hammock Trail, which is 4.25 miles of crushed concrete and boardwalk and is open to biking. The half-mile Eagle Trail loops around Gator Lake. The photos on this page pertain to the Cypress Boardwalk.
There are also traiheads at the Solid Waste Administration building at 7501 Jog Road, the Apoxee Trail on Jog, a mile north of Okeechobee Boulevard. The 16.6-mile Owahee Trail can be accesssed at Grassy Waters' main entrance, at the SWA and the Apoxee Trail site. Owahee is bikeable, and follows the perimeter of the property. There's also canoeing, kayaking and fishing.
History: The 23 square miles that make up Grassy Waters Preserve were once the headwaters for both the Everglades and the Loxahatchee River. Industrialist Henry Flagler, who largely created Palm Beach and West Palm Beach via his Florida East Coast Railroad, bought the land in 1904 to provide drinking water for the two towns. In 1964, the Florida Legislature gave Grassy Waters special protection as West Palm's and Palm Beach's water source. It's still owned by West Palm Beach, and it still serves the same purpose today.
What You'll See: Walk the boardwalk, hike the trails and you see Florida as it once was, a wet and untamed place. Both the Cypress Boardwalk and the Hog Hammock trails transport you through a variety of habitats from open water to damp hammocks. The plants growing here, particularly the variety of bladderworts peeking just above the surface, tell you that the water is relatively clean. We've seen eastern purple bladderworts, leafy bladderworts and horned bladderworts growing here. These are carnivorous plants and flourish in waters that lack nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus that pollute much of South Florida's waters. There are airplants growing in the humid shade of the swamps. In the distance, dome swamps rise like small mountains.
The birding here is excellent, as evidenced by its inclusion in the Great Florida Birding Trail. The all to rare snail kite is symbol of Grassy Waters. We've seen a variety of herons, great blues, little blues and egrets, roseate spoonballs and a variety of warblers, woodpeckers and other species. Of the two Northlake Boulevard sites, Hogg Hammock, aka the Watershed Entrance, is the more primitive. The Apoxee Trail is also on the primitive side. It runs close to the water's edge in places, and is subject to closures because of dangerous conditions.
Amenities: Grassy Waters' main site features the mile-long Cypress Boardwalk, a nature center, restrooms, drinking water and plenty of parking. The other entrances offer a similar array of amenities sans the nature center and boardwalk. Grassy Waters also offers a program of activities on the weekends, including swamp tromps, paddling and kids/family activities.
Nearby: Drive to the western terminus of Northlake Boulevard, make a right turn onto Seminole Pratt Whitney and drive to its terminus and you'll come across the Hungryland Slough section of JW Corbett Wildlife Management Area and the Hungryland Slough Natural Area, both wild and expansive sites. Off the Beeline Highwayto the north are Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area and Sweetbay Natural Area.
Links: The Great Florida Birding Trail's take on Grassy Waters is here The Institute for Regional Conservation's plant inventory for Grassy Waters Preserve is here. The Grassy Waters Conservancy website is here.
Of Note: The main entrance to Grassy Waters Preserve is open Monday through Saturday from 8 am until 4:30 pm and 8:30 am to 5 pm on Sunday. Admission is free. The Watershed Management Entrance — Hog Hammock and Eagle trails — is open daily 7 am to 5:30 pm Admission is free. The Apoxee and Owahee trails entrance on Jog Road is open 7 am to 6 pm daily. Note: check the Apoxee Trail website before going. The trail or portions of it may be closed at times because of conditions.
Cover Photo: A green heron forages in the dampness of the cypress swamp. As noted above, the birding at Grassy Waters is good enough to earn a spot on the Great Florida Birding Trail. Second Photo: The swamp itself as seen from the boardwalk. Note the narrow diameter of the tree trunks here. Hard to tell if it's a relatively young section of swamp or the outer perimeter where cypress trees tend to be stunted by a lack of nuttients in the water and soil.
Grassy Waters is split, north and south, by Northlake Boulevard. On the south side is the Cypress Boardwalk and nature center. The boardwalk with loops and extensions is about a mile long, out and back, through cypress and pines leading to a large open prairie. There is a parking lot on the north side of Northlake (8537 Northlake) for access to the Hog Hammock Trail, which is 4.25 miles of crushed concrete and boardwalk and is open to biking. The half-mile Eagle Trail loops around Gator Lake. The photos on this page pertain to the Cypress Boardwalk.
There are also traiheads at the Solid Waste Administration building at 7501 Jog Road, the Apoxee Trail on Jog, a mile north of Okeechobee Boulevard. The 16.6-mile Owahee Trail can be accesssed at Grassy Waters' main entrance, at the SWA and the Apoxee Trail site. Owahee is bikeable, and follows the perimeter of the property. There's also canoeing, kayaking and fishing.
History: The 23 square miles that make up Grassy Waters Preserve were once the headwaters for both the Everglades and the Loxahatchee River. Industrialist Henry Flagler, who largely created Palm Beach and West Palm Beach via his Florida East Coast Railroad, bought the land in 1904 to provide drinking water for the two towns. In 1964, the Florida Legislature gave Grassy Waters special protection as West Palm's and Palm Beach's water source. It's still owned by West Palm Beach, and it still serves the same purpose today.
What You'll See: Walk the boardwalk, hike the trails and you see Florida as it once was, a wet and untamed place. Both the Cypress Boardwalk and the Hog Hammock trails transport you through a variety of habitats from open water to damp hammocks. The plants growing here, particularly the variety of bladderworts peeking just above the surface, tell you that the water is relatively clean. We've seen eastern purple bladderworts, leafy bladderworts and horned bladderworts growing here. These are carnivorous plants and flourish in waters that lack nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus that pollute much of South Florida's waters. There are airplants growing in the humid shade of the swamps. In the distance, dome swamps rise like small mountains.
The birding here is excellent, as evidenced by its inclusion in the Great Florida Birding Trail. The all to rare snail kite is symbol of Grassy Waters. We've seen a variety of herons, great blues, little blues and egrets, roseate spoonballs and a variety of warblers, woodpeckers and other species. Of the two Northlake Boulevard sites, Hogg Hammock, aka the Watershed Entrance, is the more primitive. The Apoxee Trail is also on the primitive side. It runs close to the water's edge in places, and is subject to closures because of dangerous conditions.
Amenities: Grassy Waters' main site features the mile-long Cypress Boardwalk, a nature center, restrooms, drinking water and plenty of parking. The other entrances offer a similar array of amenities sans the nature center and boardwalk. Grassy Waters also offers a program of activities on the weekends, including swamp tromps, paddling and kids/family activities.
Nearby: Drive to the western terminus of Northlake Boulevard, make a right turn onto Seminole Pratt Whitney and drive to its terminus and you'll come across the Hungryland Slough section of JW Corbett Wildlife Management Area and the Hungryland Slough Natural Area, both wild and expansive sites. Off the Beeline Highwayto the north are Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area and Sweetbay Natural Area.
Links: The Great Florida Birding Trail's take on Grassy Waters is here The Institute for Regional Conservation's plant inventory for Grassy Waters Preserve is here. The Grassy Waters Conservancy website is here.
Of Note: The main entrance to Grassy Waters Preserve is open Monday through Saturday from 8 am until 4:30 pm and 8:30 am to 5 pm on Sunday. Admission is free. The Watershed Management Entrance — Hog Hammock and Eagle trails — is open daily 7 am to 5:30 pm Admission is free. The Apoxee and Owahee trails entrance on Jog Road is open 7 am to 6 pm daily. Note: check the Apoxee Trail website before going. The trail or portions of it may be closed at times because of conditions.
Cover Photo: A green heron forages in the dampness of the cypress swamp. As noted above, the birding at Grassy Waters is good enough to earn a spot on the Great Florida Birding Trail. Second Photo: The swamp itself as seen from the boardwalk. Note the narrow diameter of the tree trunks here. Hard to tell if it's a relatively young section of swamp or the outer perimeter where cypress trees tend to be stunted by a lack of nuttients in the water and soil.
