Frenchman's Forest Natural Area — Attraction in Palm Beach Gardens

Located behind the Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens is the 158 acre Frenchman's Forest Natural Area. The Blazing Star is an almost half a mile paved path. From that path branches out three other paths of varying lengths that are sandy and not wheelchair accessible. The sandy paths are marked by posts with colored paint on them. As long as you follow the paths you can't get lost. The main yellow sandy path that takes you to the boardwalk is Saw Palmetto Hiking Trail. From there I followed the red Staggerbush path as far as it went back. The only thing I saw alive was a couple of lizards. At certain points the Staggerbush path connects to the blue Archie's Creek hiking trail. If you walk all the paths expect to cover almost three miles. The walk is a little more difficult in places because your foot is sinking into the sand.

In addition to the paths there is an observation platform overlooking a lake. I saw some big fish under the platform. Apparently over 500 species of animals and 200 species of plants call this preserve home. As much as I searched for the gopher tortoises I never found one but that's okay. Going out in nature is not like going to the zoo. You are never guaranteed that you will see wildlife and I like animals to live free. Another important thing to note is there are no...

Took the opportunity to go in the middle of the day on one of our Florida winter days! Our 69° Winter weather also allowed me to avoid most of the animals that could have surprised me along the way! This lovely trail for a walker but not a birdwatcher was great and was well marked no not necessarily comprehensive and how to not get a little turned upside down the first time. I'm pretty sure I did a double loop of a figure 8 at some point getting messed up at the bridge that was yellow and one side read on the other side! I found the trail to be nice and wide which probably accommodated their trucks and work vehicles that kept the grounds clean, but it also allowed for multiple people to be on the trail without bunching up. It was perfectly shady and sunny as a mix Kelly between one and 3 PM. They were only six or seven parking spaces, so I can see how that would possibly become a problem at the more popular...

Easy and beautiful set of trails. Saw two turtles. But the highlight of the hike was having what looked like an OCELOT jump out onto the main path no more than 15 feet in front of me, got startled when he saw me after 2 seconds and jumped right back into the brush. Core memory unlocked.

REPLY TO ADMIN: I’m like 90% sure it was an ocelot or something similar, not a bobcat. I believe bobcats have a very particular looking chubby face and a short stubby tail. This animal had a very different face, markings/colors similar to an ocelot/leopard, and had a long thin tail, not the short stubby one. Could it be someone’s escaped pet? It all happened so quick, regardless a very surreal experience. Have there been sightings in that area prior to a...