Cypress Drapes

The boughs of cypress trees are draping the banks of the Loxahatchee River here, providing shelter for myriad wildlife. Near the mouth, mangroves dominate. In places, especially where Kitching Creek joins the Loxahatchee, you'll find mangroves and cypress trees opposite each other along the banks, as the river flows through the park and gradually turns from fresh, to brackish, to salt water.You'll find alligators, river otters, turtles and manatees patroling the water, ospreys, great blue herons, great egrets and more in the canopy above and branches below. If you're lucky, you might spot a white-tailed deer or bobcat coming down to the river for a sip. One quick note: mangroves are associated with salt or brackish water, but can grow in fresh. Other species, like cypress, usually outcompete them, however.

NEXT STOP: FLATWOODS ALONG KITCHING CREEK

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