Featured Stop: John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, State Road A1A, North Palm Beach

Featured Stop

John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, North Palm Beach

While I mentioned in an earlier post that John U. Lloyd State Park in Hollywood was more of a beach with a state park, John D. MacArthur Beach State Park is more like a state park with a beach. More appropriately, it's a beach ecosystem.

Contrary to popular belief, MacArthur Park never was melting in the dark, nor is it ever likely to. It is actually named for the man who previously owned the land, and donated it for preservation.

And preserved, it is. MacArthur has a pristine beach that is not overcrowded, nature trails with explanatory literature, a nature center, and a host of other activities. When I took my drive on A1A through North Palm Beach in February, I spent a few hours exploring what the park has to offer.

I started at the Nature Center. Here there is a short video describing the park's ecoystem, as well as displays of artifacts and some of the critters that live in the park. 

After that, I passed the kayak rental area, then walked across the boardwalk bridge towards the beach. This is a long bridge, about a quarter of a mile, but the park does offer a tram that crosses both ways. You can also see A1A and Riviera Beach in the distance.

The bridge leads to the coastal hammock ecosystem of the park. At the foot of the bridge, there are the distinctive prop roots of the red mangroves, followed by the little "knees" of black mangroves sticking up from the marshy soil.

Running parallel to the shore is the South Dune Trail. This is a dirt walk that only runs about an eighth of a mile, and there are brochures at the trail head that describe the different plants that you pass.

Along the trail, there are four boardwalks that cross the dune and bring you to the beach.

MacArthur Beach is the centerpiece of the park, and you can see why. It is pristine, mainly untouched by the ravages of sand renourishment for tourism's sake.

It is also relatively quiet. Considering the $4 entry fee to get into the park, drive a distance to the parking area and the long bridge and high dune to cross, average tourists find other, more accessible beaches to their liking.

As a result, the beach is quiet, so seagulls can skitter, turtles can shuffle and osprey can swoop.

But I wasn't done there. Back across the bridge, there is another trail to walk. After passing the highly-touted playground (complete with "such favorites as swings and a slide"!), I took a walk on the Satinleaf Trail. This trail takes you through another coastal hammock, with a different assortment of plants since it's slightly inland. I walked this trail as the sun descended in the late afternoon, and this added an element of mystery as the shadows of the canopy dimmed the air.

It was here that I finished my visit, returning to the residential neighborhoods of North Palm Beach. For on the coast of Florida, nature is the exception.