Endangered Native Florida Ecosystems at the Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area
Aerial View
Palm Beach County has managed to preserve several swaths of pristine Florida land, and the Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area is one such example. This land was never developed, and saw minimal agricultural use throughout the years. Purchased in 1999 in a growing effort to protect and maintain threatened and endangered biological communities in the county, we’re thankful for their efforts, and to be afforded this glimpse of native Florida. Located on a sand ridge that was once an ancient shoreline, 97 acres of Florida scrub and scrubby flatwoods communities have been incorporated and are now protected at the Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area, as are the threatened Florida scrub-jay and gopher tortoise, both victims of over-development and lack of protection. Scrub and scrubby flatwoods habitats are two of the rarest natural communities in Florida, with less than 2 percent remaining in Palm Beach County.
History
Entering the trail area from the parking lot are two observation towers; the vantage point overlooking the natural area from the towers allows visitors to view the land as it would have appeared pre-development. Educational plaques around the towers explain the region’s history (as well as that of the Town of Hypoluxo), beginning with the early settlers in 1873 to the 1960s. Standing guard in front of the observation tower is the looming Barefoot Mailman statue, in honor of the 19th-century men who delivered mail on treacherous routes — 3-days each way, and involving nearly 100 miles of unpaved roads and alligator- and shark-infested waters. As the plaques state, the land that is now the Hypoluxo Scrub Natural Area was once owned by Andrew Garnett, James Edward Hamilton, and James Porter; Garnett and Hamilton eventually won contracts to deliver mail from Jupiter to Miami. (Remnants of Porter’s homesite are still visible at the location.) The northernmost portion of the “Sand Road,” built in 1892, signaled the end of the barefoot mailmen and is located within the park (and is the only section of the road that’s actually still sand). An additional sweet smaller sculpture greets visitors to the natural area, one by Chrisanthy Vargo depicting a scrub jay, a fox, bromeliad, and a tortoise — life of the scrub.
Trails, Flora & Fauna
Paved Cottonweed Nature Trail
The .2-mile paved Cottonweed Nature Trail trail leads from the observation towers, and is lined with gopher tortoise burrows. While there are definitely areas within Hypoluxo Scrub that are shaded, much is exposed to the open sun — so an early morning or late afternoon/early evening hike are usually ideal, at least from our experiences. It’s a beautiful casual venture, and a great opportunity to explore this endangered ecosystem. Our preferred hike is the 1.5-mile natural Eastern Pondhawk Trail loop, which provides a lovely view of pine and scrubby flatwoods. Several other paths loop off the main trail as well, but be aware of crushing any fragile tortoise burrows and delicate and vital scrub plants.
Even on the sandy scrub trail, bright flowers spot the landscape: Cottonweed, Prickly pear, Netted pawpaw, Gopher apple, and Honeycombhead flash all shades of yellows, whites, and reds across the sand. The area is great for birdwatching, although during our last visit the impending rain seemed to quiet the wildlife. However, on a previous walk towards the back of the park, we saw a large flash of tan… Of deer? Or of leaping fox?
Hours & Location:
150 Hypoluxo Road, Lantana, FL (just west of Federal Highway)
Open sunrise to sunset, seven days a week
Admission: Free
For More Information:
Observation Tower from the scrub
Netted Pawpaw
On the trail
Slash pines against the sky
Scrub environment leading to flatwoods
Slash pines
Scrub environment
Gopher tortoise burrow
FeyGirl
Serenity Spell 
Excellent post and wonderful pictures, it makes me to want to be there… lucky you 🙂
Danke! You’re very kind. Although, I think I’d *much* rather be in Argentina…
Bitte, welcome here any time !
interesting photos – looks like old time Florida. Support preservation of the wild places.
ABSOLUTELY! That’s why I’m posting images (& descriptions/histories) of our hikes… The more people who are aware of these amazing places, the more who will be able to support and protect them — and just love them.
Peace.
Great post and pictures! 😉
Thanks so much for the kind note! 🙂
In honor of your good work, I have a surprise for you!
About a month ago, I switched from blogging on Blogger.com to WordPress.com. The change has been remarkable. The readers on WordPress are far more interactive than those on Blogger. I feel welcomed into the new WordPress community.
In that vein, a real sweetheart made my day, by nominating me for The Versatile Blogger Award. A “shout out” and thank you to Turber of http://looserornot.wordpress.com/ for the nomination.
Now, I am nominating YOU! You have been one of the bloggers who has welcomed me, so this is my way of thanking you.
On March 20, I will post your site on my blog as a nominee for the Versatile Blogger Award. Please read the post that day to find out all the details. There is a nice award .jpeg you can add to your site.
Upon beginning the process of tracking our journeys through these natural spaces, it solely served to organize our own adventures; soon enough my conservationist side took over and pushed to highlight them for others to love (and fight to preserve). I had no idea such warm, kind kindred spirits existed in this community, and for that I’m pleasantly surprised and ever thankful! Profuse thanks for your nomination and vote of confidence. 🙂
We live in Las Brisas, directly east of the scrub across US 1. Almost daily, we make the 1 1/2 mile hike, sometimes twice a day, then climb to the 3rd level of one of the observation towers to enjoy the cool breezes and the lovely vista while we do yoga/stretch. Great post, thanks for sharing!
Hullo neighbor!! It’s so wonderful to see people enjoying this area — for so long, it didn’t seem to be attracting quite this element. But lately, there have been better efforts at keeping it cleaner, and I see more naturalist-types, which is wonderful. It always amazes me, as many times as we visit (we were just there in the rain, lots of pics as usual), to think that this is what the entire area looked like pre-development….