Overview Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area is a place of rare things. If you're lucky, you might catch a glimpse of bald eagle or see a redheaded woodpecker foraging for lunch, offspring in tow, so to speak. Hike deep into it at the right time of year and you might find a Catesby's lily. More common things abound — large-flowered pink marsh, Carolina bloodroot, pale meadowbeauty and alligator lilies hint at the transformation that takes place here as dry winter and spring give way to summer rains.
Royal Palm is 773 acres of mostly pine flatwoods and wet meadows that come and go with the seasons. The pines can be a birder's paradise fall through spring, attracting large numbers of migratory species and year-round residents like northern flicker and pileated woodpeckers. The Great Florida Birding Trail recommends visiting during the cooler months, but it's worthwhile even in summer.
History: Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area is among the oldest of Palm Beach County's natural areas, included on a list of priority sites that an advisory panel recommended that the county acquire during the 1980s. In 1992, Palm Beach County bought the first 328 acres, and added 323 acres in 1993. The last major piece of Royal Palm Beach Pines, 111 acres, was bought in 2000. The remaining 12 acres is leased from the Saratoga Pines Homeowners Association.
In decades prior, Royal Palm Beach Pines was logged and also used as farm land. Drainage ditches cut through the land to make it usable, but we've seen little evidence of them during our visits.
What You'll See: Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area is a mosaic of wet meadows and pine flatwoods. Like a lot of places in South Florida, slight differences in elevation and the presence or absense of water determine the lay of the land. It's a beautiful place, among our favorites and an easy place to explore through its extensive trail system.
It is the only place in South Florida where we've seen the extremely rare red-headed woodpecker. Catesby's Lily, another South Florida rarity, grace the meadows during summer's heat. Bald eagles have been seen here. Gopher tortoises call Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area home. An abundance of wildflowers grow here, including alligator lily, Carolina petunia, Florida elephant's foot and more. Places along the Pine Lily Trail become pond-like after summer storms and provide enough moisture year-round for yellow hatpins, yellow-eyed grasses and roundpod St. Johns wort to grow along their margins.
Amenities:Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area has plenty of parking, hiking trails, including a short accessible trail (Blue Heron) that ends at a covered observation platform and the longer Pine Lily Loop Trail, equestrian trails (permit required), interpretetive signs but no drinking water or restrooms.
Nearby: Acreage Pines Natural Area is perhaps 10 minutes away. West Palm Beach's Apoxee Trail is on North Jog Road just north of Okeechobee Boulevard. Stormwater Treatment Area 1 East and West are to the west along Southern Boulevard, as is the northern entrance to Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
Links: The Great Florida Birding Trail's take on Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area is here. The Institute for Regional Conservation's inventory of plants for Royal Palm Beach Pines is here.
Of Note: There are two entrances to Royal Palm Beach Pines; we've mapped the south (Google Map below), which is the one we used and most likely the easier of the two to access if you're coming from the south or east. The north entrance is 13500 40th Street North, Royal Palm Beach. Both have ample parking and connect to the trails.
Like all Palm Beach County natural areas, Royal Palm Beach Pines is open sunrise to sunset everyday of the year, and has no admission fee. It is maintained by the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resource Management.
Cover Photo: An oak toad we spotted sitting in the loop trail. It's one of the smaller critters we've spotted at Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area, but as a toad, it represents both wet and dry sides of the preserve. Second photo provides a sense of the terrain at Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area, showing both flatwoods and wet meadows. We shot this photo along the Pine Lily Loop Trail looking back toward the Blue Heron Trail and its observation platform.
Royal Palm is 773 acres of mostly pine flatwoods and wet meadows that come and go with the seasons. The pines can be a birder's paradise fall through spring, attracting large numbers of migratory species and year-round residents like northern flicker and pileated woodpeckers. The Great Florida Birding Trail recommends visiting during the cooler months, but it's worthwhile even in summer.
History: Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area is among the oldest of Palm Beach County's natural areas, included on a list of priority sites that an advisory panel recommended that the county acquire during the 1980s. In 1992, Palm Beach County bought the first 328 acres, and added 323 acres in 1993. The last major piece of Royal Palm Beach Pines, 111 acres, was bought in 2000. The remaining 12 acres is leased from the Saratoga Pines Homeowners Association.
In decades prior, Royal Palm Beach Pines was logged and also used as farm land. Drainage ditches cut through the land to make it usable, but we've seen little evidence of them during our visits.
What You'll See: Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area is a mosaic of wet meadows and pine flatwoods. Like a lot of places in South Florida, slight differences in elevation and the presence or absense of water determine the lay of the land. It's a beautiful place, among our favorites and an easy place to explore through its extensive trail system.
It is the only place in South Florida where we've seen the extremely rare red-headed woodpecker. Catesby's Lily, another South Florida rarity, grace the meadows during summer's heat. Bald eagles have been seen here. Gopher tortoises call Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area home. An abundance of wildflowers grow here, including alligator lily, Carolina petunia, Florida elephant's foot and more. Places along the Pine Lily Trail become pond-like after summer storms and provide enough moisture year-round for yellow hatpins, yellow-eyed grasses and roundpod St. Johns wort to grow along their margins.
Amenities:Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area has plenty of parking, hiking trails, including a short accessible trail (Blue Heron) that ends at a covered observation platform and the longer Pine Lily Loop Trail, equestrian trails (permit required), interpretetive signs but no drinking water or restrooms.
Nearby: Acreage Pines Natural Area is perhaps 10 minutes away. West Palm Beach's Apoxee Trail is on North Jog Road just north of Okeechobee Boulevard. Stormwater Treatment Area 1 East and West are to the west along Southern Boulevard, as is the northern entrance to Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
Links: The Great Florida Birding Trail's take on Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area is here. The Institute for Regional Conservation's inventory of plants for Royal Palm Beach Pines is here.
Of Note: There are two entrances to Royal Palm Beach Pines; we've mapped the south (Google Map below), which is the one we used and most likely the easier of the two to access if you're coming from the south or east. The north entrance is 13500 40th Street North, Royal Palm Beach. Both have ample parking and connect to the trails.
Like all Palm Beach County natural areas, Royal Palm Beach Pines is open sunrise to sunset everyday of the year, and has no admission fee. It is maintained by the Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resource Management.
Cover Photo: An oak toad we spotted sitting in the loop trail. It's one of the smaller critters we've spotted at Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area, but as a toad, it represents both wet and dry sides of the preserve. Second photo provides a sense of the terrain at Royal Palm Beach Pines Natural Area, showing both flatwoods and wet meadows. We shot this photo along the Pine Lily Loop Trail looking back toward the Blue Heron Trail and its observation platform.
