8264 Northlake Boulevard
West Palm Beach

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Grassy Waters is Florida the way Ponce saw it. Vast, unspoiled, largely untouched by human hands. It is 20 square miles of marsh, cypress dome swanp, wet praire 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 Henry Flagler bought property in the 1890s. In 1964, the Legislature gave Grassy Waters special protection as West Palm's water source.

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.

There are also trails at the Solid Waste Administration building at 7501 Jog Road, the Apoxee Trail on Jog, a mile north of Okeechobee Boulevard and the Owahee Trail, which can be accesssed at various points. Owahee is 16.6 miles, bikeable, and follows the perimeter of the property. Note: the trails are open different hours — Cypress closes as early as 4:30, while others close at dusk. Grassy Waters offers a variety of mammals, reptiles, birds, insects and plants, some rare, dependent on wetlands for survival. There's also canoeing, kayaking and fishing.

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