West Palm Beach Area
Hikes in the West Palm Beach Area
Originally, the area around West Palm Beach was settled in the mid 1800s. At the time, the economy was based off of the growth and trade of various tropical fruits and vegetables. The West Palm Beach area was originally known as "Lake Worth Country", until the town of West Palm Beach became incorporated in 1894. West Palm Beach became the first municipality in south Florida. During the 1920s, the city of West Palm Beach grew rapidly as part of the Florida land boom, but this was halted after the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane and further by the Great Depression of the 1930s. However, the city began to recover during World War II upon the construction of the Palm Beach Air Force Base. Since then, the city has grown significantly, in part due to the warm climate that it is located in, as well as due to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean and coastal beaches.
The West Palm Beach area is heavily developed along the coastline, in part due to the excellent beaches along the coast in this area. In fact, West Palm Beach can be considered as part of a huge megalopolis that resulted from Miami to the south. Nevertheless, there are great opportunities for hiking and other outdoor recreation due to the large swaths of conserved land to the immediate west of the coastal urban corridor. The single best area for outdoor recreation is Jonathan Dickinson State Park to the north of West Palm Beach, a state park with over two dozen miles of hiking trails. Four other natural lands to the west: DuPois WMA, JW Corbett WMA, Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area, and Cypress Creek Natural Area provide a route for the Ocean-to-Lake Trail, which is a spur trail that leads from the Florida Trail to the ocean. To the southwest of West Palm Beach, there are vast natural lands in the northeastern corner of The Everglades... however, there are less hiking opportunities in this area. Additionally, there are several hiking opportunities along the coast, including at Blowing Rocks Preserve on Jupiter Island, which showcases a unique, rocky coastline.
The West Palm Beach area is heavily developed along the coastline, in part due to the excellent beaches along the coast in this area. In fact, West Palm Beach can be considered as part of a huge megalopolis that resulted from Miami to the south. Nevertheless, there are great opportunities for hiking and other outdoor recreation due to the large swaths of conserved land to the immediate west of the coastal urban corridor. The single best area for outdoor recreation is Jonathan Dickinson State Park to the north of West Palm Beach, a state park with over two dozen miles of hiking trails. Four other natural lands to the west: DuPois WMA, JW Corbett WMA, Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area, and Cypress Creek Natural Area provide a route for the Ocean-to-Lake Trail, which is a spur trail that leads from the Florida Trail to the ocean. To the southwest of West Palm Beach, there are vast natural lands in the northeastern corner of The Everglades... however, there are less hiking opportunities in this area. Additionally, there are several hiking opportunities along the coast, including at Blowing Rocks Preserve on Jupiter Island, which showcases a unique, rocky coastline.