Overview: John Prince Park might not be the first place that comes to mind as a place to get into nature. Golfing maybe. Boating and fishing, maybe. Picnicking, certainly. For a nature hike, someplace else. But John Prince actually has a small network of nature trails tucked away near the campgrounds in the southeast corner of the park. The trails have a bit of history to them — they are the oldest nature trails in Palm Beach County. Which is fitting, since John Prince is the oldest county-operated park in the county and it is believed to be the second-oldest in Florida.
The main attraction and our focus from a natural point of view is the half-mile Apple Custard Trail, which cut through several ecosystems, including hammock and wet prairie. Other parts of John Prince are worth exploring — the park is 726 acres, including 338 acres of water. John Prince borders Lake Osborne. All that water means there are 35,000 feet of waterfront in the park, and where there's water, there's usually wildlife.
History: Go back in time to the 1930s and 1940s, and the area that is now John Prince Park was part of a series of lakes and wetlands that stretched west of the Atlantic Ridge from Lake Clarke in West Palm Beach to Lake Ida in Delray Beach. John Prince, a long-time member of the Palm Beach County Commission, convinced developers and the state to donate about 1,000 acres of this land to the county for what is now Palm Beach State College, the Lantana Airport and what was to be Lake Osborne Park. Prince, who had served in World War I, died in June 1952; the park was dedicated, appropriately, on Nov. 11, 1952, Veterans Day, and renamed John Prince Memorial Park. As noted above, John Prince is believed to the the second-oldest county-run park in the state and the oldest in Palm Beach County. The Custard Apple Trail is the oldest nature trail in the county.
What You'll See: The Custard Apple Trail is wide and easy to navigate. It's one of the few areas in the park where there are hints of its wetland past. Species we spotted included limpkin, grackles, coreopsis, fleabane, white tops, pond apple, sea grape, gumbo limbo, cabbage palm, strangler fig, paradise tree, spanish needles, virginia creeper, poison ivy, white peacock butterfly, zebra longwing butterfly, pondhawk, halloween pennant and blue dasher dragonflies. There are entrances on Congress Avenue and Lake Worth Road in addition to Sixth Avenue South.
Amenities: John Prince Park has plenty of parking, drinking water and restrooms, a 227-space RV campground, picnic benches and pavilions and the aforementioned Custard Apple Trail. For a full list of what the park offers, check the website.
Nearby: Smook Island Natural Area sits near the eastern end of Lake Worth Road. Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area, Lantana Scrub Natural Area, High Ridge Scrub Natural Area and Lantana Nature Preserve all are within ten minutes or so of John Prince Park.
Of Note: Admission to the park is free. John Prince is open sunrise to sunset every day of the year.
Cover Photo: John Prince Park is situated on the banks of Lake Osbourne, an attraction for water birds like the anhinga shown in the photograph.
The main attraction and our focus from a natural point of view is the half-mile Apple Custard Trail, which cut through several ecosystems, including hammock and wet prairie. Other parts of John Prince are worth exploring — the park is 726 acres, including 338 acres of water. John Prince borders Lake Osborne. All that water means there are 35,000 feet of waterfront in the park, and where there's water, there's usually wildlife.
History: Go back in time to the 1930s and 1940s, and the area that is now John Prince Park was part of a series of lakes and wetlands that stretched west of the Atlantic Ridge from Lake Clarke in West Palm Beach to Lake Ida in Delray Beach. John Prince, a long-time member of the Palm Beach County Commission, convinced developers and the state to donate about 1,000 acres of this land to the county for what is now Palm Beach State College, the Lantana Airport and what was to be Lake Osborne Park. Prince, who had served in World War I, died in June 1952; the park was dedicated, appropriately, on Nov. 11, 1952, Veterans Day, and renamed John Prince Memorial Park. As noted above, John Prince is believed to the the second-oldest county-run park in the state and the oldest in Palm Beach County. The Custard Apple Trail is the oldest nature trail in the county.
What You'll See: The Custard Apple Trail is wide and easy to navigate. It's one of the few areas in the park where there are hints of its wetland past. Species we spotted included limpkin, grackles, coreopsis, fleabane, white tops, pond apple, sea grape, gumbo limbo, cabbage palm, strangler fig, paradise tree, spanish needles, virginia creeper, poison ivy, white peacock butterfly, zebra longwing butterfly, pondhawk, halloween pennant and blue dasher dragonflies. There are entrances on Congress Avenue and Lake Worth Road in addition to Sixth Avenue South.
Amenities: John Prince Park has plenty of parking, drinking water and restrooms, a 227-space RV campground, picnic benches and pavilions and the aforementioned Custard Apple Trail. For a full list of what the park offers, check the website.
Nearby: Smook Island Natural Area sits near the eastern end of Lake Worth Road. Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area, Lantana Scrub Natural Area, High Ridge Scrub Natural Area and Lantana Nature Preserve all are within ten minutes or so of John Prince Park.
Of Note: Admission to the park is free. John Prince is open sunrise to sunset every day of the year.
Cover Photo: John Prince Park is situated on the banks of Lake Osbourne, an attraction for water birds like the anhinga shown in the photograph.
