6620 N. Ocean Blvd.
Ocean Ridge

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Ocean Ridge Hammock is a small (8.54 acres) beach front park buffered from busy A1A by a thick coastal forest of sea grape trees, gumbo limbo, paradise trees, caggage palms and ficus, among others. The parking lot is small, on the west side of the two-lane highway, and a short path cuts through the hammock to the beach. The park is intended for beach goers — swimming, fishing, strolling, relaxing, reflecting.

We'd expect that this tract of beachfront property would attract its share of birds, shorebirds especially, but on our visit we only found several groupings of sanderlings patrolling the beach, though we did hear a few catbirds and warblers as we passed through the forest. We found burrowing four o'clock, railroad vine, coral bean and gray nickerbean among the dune vegetation, but only the coral bean was in bloom. There was also prickly pear, finger rot and east coast dune sunflower definitely in bloom.

We wouldn't rate the park, operated by Palm Beach County, as a destination in and of itself. But there are two other county beachfront parks — Outlet Park and Gulfstream Park — plus the Ocean Ridge Natural Area within a few miles that collectively would make the drive worthwhile.