Loxahatchee River
Riverbend Park, 9060 W. Indiantown Road, Jupiter,
561/746-7053,
www.loxahatcheeriver.org
A scenic paddle down the Loxahatchee, with its towering, 500-year-old cypress
trees, comes with a single caution that should be obeyed without fail: Don’t
feed the alligators. Besides the fact that doing so is illegal in Florida, it’s
also dangerous, because gators lose their fear of humans who feed them. And
if they lose their fear, there’s no telling what they might eat next —
an arm, perhaps a leg, maybe a head. With that understanding in tow, canoeists
and kayakers typically take one of two trips along the majestic Loxahatchee,
both beginning at River Bend Park. The most scenic ride, and the one recommended
for new or casual boaters, is the two-hour paddle that goes downstream to the
Masten Dam before returning upstream to the park. The full river adventure,
meanwhile, is an 8-mile, one-way paddle for intermediate to experienced canoeists
with a taste for battle. That six-hour trip starts at River Bend and incurs
obstacles such as fallen trees and heavy vegetation before ending at Jonathan
Dickinson State Park. Both routes offer majestic scenery — beams of sunlight
casting on palms, ferns, otters, raccoons, bobcats, herons and ospreys —
and, in all likelihood, an alligator that’s as afraid of you as you are
of it.
Is
your favorite place to eat safe?
