The Wakodahatchee Wetlands

Love this place! So many birds and wildlife to watch. I always bring out of town guests here.

We always have the best time and make it a point to go everytime we’re here. It’s a beautiful walk, exquisite wildlife and great fun to share. We were lucky to follow a man with knowledge of wildlife thru part of the walk, it would have been nice to have had him all the way thru.
Definitely shouldn’t miss this when you’re in the area.

The scenery is beautiful. We saw a few gators, some turtles, and several species of birds. The trees coming out from the water gave this nature wall a unique look. The parking is very limited. I came once and had to leave without actually being able to see the property due to no parking. That was a bummer. I probably won’t return, only because Green Cay is larger and has plenty of parking.

This is my second favorite wetlands boardwalk, with Green Cay Wetlands taking the gold medal.
This wetlands was slightly smaller than Green Cay, the length being around 1 mile. We saw a 4 foot alligator after walking approximately 5 feet along the Boardwalk!
This wetlands received only 4 stars because I could still see buildings and road while on the Boardwalk and didn’t feel like I was out of the city. Also, it was significantly smaller than Green Cay wetlands and also had less birds.

This place is amazing! A hidden gem less than 2 miles from where we live. We discovered it about four years after we moved to Florida, and decided to check it out when my parents came from PA to visit. We never anticipated what we experienced that day!
There was no shortage of local wildlife, several gorgeous great blue egrets, huge iguanas, two gators lounging in the water, all types of turtles, many other amazing tropical birds, and so much more. We even saw one spear a fish with its beak and swim to dry land to enjoy its catch. I was completely blown away. What’s even cooler is its free!
There is a narrow Boardwalk which stretches over the water and wetlands. My boyfriend and I will definitely go back sometime soon. I’m anxious to see what other amazing things we’ll encounter! This is a perfect daytime weekend destination for the whole family.

Great trails. Never new this existed in Florida so close to the residential area. Lots of animal activity, birds, turtles, and gators. Total mileage is 1mile of a trail.
Bring your walking shoes and sunscreen it gets hot. There are benches and covered areas every now and then to get out of the heat.
Another great spot to visit in South Florida! :)

free free free … stress free zone … Great place to go if you are looking to just take in nature and enjoy a walk — great place to take a friend, kids. Simple walk and enjoyable … Just a moment away from the chaos and at peace.

Everytime I am in south florida I stop by this place. First of all its FREE! which is not easy to come by these days where everyone is trying to charge for everything.
Its very peaceful here, you get to walk around a boardwalk on top of a swamp and look at all sorts of wild life, including Gators if you are lucky enough to see them.
There are lots of birds, turtles, and other wildlife who make this their home.
I love it here and so do my kids, its not too long so that they don’t get bored. We just walk around and get back. Try to avoid it on a really hot day as it can get pretty muggy here.

Love this place. It’s so quiet and a nice walk. Always a ton of birds and sometimes alligators.

I stumbled upon this place searching for the top 10 things to do in Delray Beach on
today while trying to figure out what to do on a free afternoon. Nestled off the busy Jog Road, this wetland is a wildlife and bird-watcher’s paradise.
Maintained by Palm Beach county, it offers free admission. There’s a well-​planned walkway on top of the wetland that navigates you right through a wide variety of flora and fauna. You cannot miss the Egrets, Herons, Ducks, Ospreys etc since fishes are a plenty in the waters so plenty of food for all including alligators. I was lucky to see most of the wildlife including birds, alligator, rabbit, turtles that form a vital part of the ecosystem.
It is a protected zone so no fishing, no littering and no feeding the animals. It’s one of the best places to watch life in its natural settings. Walking slowly and without sound is the best way to observe and spot the diversity. A good camera, good eyesight and good, noise-​free shoes recommended. No heels. Parking is tight. Be careful with your smartphone. If it slips, its a gift for the gators. Beware of wasps.
Once inside, there are well-​defined markers giving valuable information about the Wetlands I suggest reading everything. Don’t rush through your visit since it’s not a zoo where you move from one exhibit to another. Best approach is spot, observe, understand and respect diverse life. Best time to go is morning or afternoon when the sun is bright and it’s easy to spot a variety of fishes and turtles under the muddy waters or around the plants. If you are in a group I would recommend using only the ears and eyes to absorbs the sights and sounds.
I was so appalled by a noisy couple with equally noisy kids running around the walkway that scared a few turtles back in the water. Please restrain your kids as the waters are alive. Best suggestion would be to educate the kids about good viewing and listening techniques and imparting them the importance of respecting life and supporting conservation efforts. Also patience is a virtue in spotting certain life forms among the water bodies.
You can join and also involve your kids to volunteer for activities promoted by Palm Beach county to sustain the Wetlands. I highly recommend this place to all.

We saw three alligators and lots of cool turtles and birds. You can’t beat it for a free way to see the gators.

Very cool place! There are so many birds here it’s insane and so many different species. We also saw many turtles and 1 gator. I definitely recommend taking a morning stroll here.

We’ve been to wakodahatchee wetlands three times with our kids and love it. You can see many species of birds (including great heron, great egrets, ducks) and turtles. There are also alligators but we didn’t see any today. March is a great time to go as there are lots of birds and many are nesting.
There is a long boadwalk so it is totally wheelchair — or, in our case, stroller accessible. There are restrooms near the entrance. Signs are posted along the way to help identify the wildlife.
There are some families with young children like us but they are pretty rare. We started coming here when our kids were 1 year old and they had a blast. Even though most people you will meet there are elderly people or bird photographers, you don’t need to be quiet not to scare the birds off (they seem uses to human activity) and kids are most welcome.
We went to other nature centres /​wetlands on the area (e.g. Green Cay) but wakodahatchee is by far our favorite. Oh, and did we mention it’s free? :-)

This place is a hidden gem. Tucked between strip malls and wide-​lane roads, you’ll find this recreation wetlands area free and open to the public. A boardwalk winds throughout the water/​marshland, allowing you to see the plants and wildlife while keeping a safe distance. Not only is the area shockingly beautiful (at least, to my aesthetic), but on our walk, we saw various large birds, turtles, fish, and several alligators. We came up from Fort Lauderdale for a quick day trip, for us this was a 30 minute drive. It took us about an hour to get through the boardwalk, partially because there’s so much to see that we stopped frequently to look around. It’s a nice way to enjoy Florida’s ecosystems without spending any money or traveling far west into the Everglades.
Things to note: We went midday on a bank holiday, and there were a lot of people. The crowds didn’t stop us from being able to walk at our leisure or see whatever we wanted, but it’s worth noting. Additionally, the parking is minimal, but if you’re willing to walk 5 minutes, you can park in the neighboring strip mall, which is what we did! Also worth noting, there are restrooms just outside of the boardwalk in the parking area and they’re pretty clean.
All in all, lovely experience, I’d go back.

What a lovely place! I want to say it’s guaranteed wildlife spotting, but we did go just before dusk and that’s usually a good time to see animals. I saw more here than I would have expected though. Waterbirds, baby birds, gators, turtles, and even some kind of huge lizard with orange spikes!
It’s an easy hike for any member of the family since it’s a boardwalk. There are signs to teach you about the animals you are looking at. You will hear traffic in the background, but it IS an urban wetlands. Kudos to the water management dept for creating it.

Great escape from the suburban doldrums. Hidden on Jog road just north of Kings Point is an oasis of nature, wild birds, flora, fauna and alligators. All tied together on a beautiful Boardwalk this area is kid and handicap friendly. A great stroll.

Great place to see birds, gators, fish, and turtles (among many others). What a wonderful place! There are many spots where the path gets within a few feet of nests and you get a close up look of some awesome birds. If you don’t know what something is, just ask someone else! There are some very knowledgeable people walking around talking photos.
I went around 5 – 6 in the evening and we saw lots going on. Plus people will also point out the sleeping gators! I highly recommend to go here for an hour or two. Perfect plAce to go with the family.

FREE. FREEEEE. I mean this is a great place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city life– FOR FREE. There’s not so many nature places in Palm Beach that is active with wildlife and is FREE to the public (other than Gumbo Limbo– another great little nature center in Delray/​Boca).
I suggest you to go in the mornings (I went in at 9am) when the animals are more active and feeding. When it gets closer to noon and after, it pretty much gets a bit too hot for them to go fishing for food. This is basically the similar concept of why fishermen go out fishing (not at the Wetlands which is prohibited) real early in the morning when the fish are feeding.
Wear comfortable shoes, bring binoculars, hat/​visor, sunglasses, and possibly some organic bug spray (spray before you go into the wetlands, please) because it may get a little bit buggy later on in the afternoon during the hot weather months.
The only complaint I have is I wish there is a better guide of what birds out there that you’re seeing. Maybe the volunteers of Wakodahatchee Wetlands should put together a free phone app for a birdwatching guide… *hint hint* (don’t do paper guides, obviously).

THE best bird-​watching. I was truly in heaven. There were lots of people (surprisingly) on Christmas Eve here just observing the wildlife. Plenty of them had binoculars, while others had telephoto lenses and tripods that they schlepped around. Unlike other preserves and parks I had visited recently that had been a total disappointment in terms of viewing wildlife, Wakodahatchee more than made up for it, and then some.
As soon as I stepped on the boardwalk, I was able to see purple gallinules, blue herons, snow egrets, green herons, turtles, cormorants, and alligators, among other forms of wildlife. I can easily spend hours here though like others said, I wish the boardwalk were longer. There were some nice paths to see from the boardwalk that were not part of the boardwalk but were teeming with wildlife and would have made for some great pictures. I wish they would extend the boardwalk to cover those areas.
This is one trip you won’t regret taking, even if, like me, you’re coming from Miami, because there’s just so much to see, especially if you’re a nature photographer. It’s also free, what else can you ask for?

When it comes to wetlands and nature tails I’m a real push over as I love them all and relish every minute enjoying them. I’ve been to countless bird and wetland areas throughout the world and I have to say that for a tiny little low budget nature preserve, Wakodahatchee is about as good as they come. The elevated board walkways are the perfect height for viewing wildlife but more than that is that Wakodahatchee is teaming with all sorts of wildlife, and as you guess, dozens of wildlife photographers with telescopic lenses bigger than a bazooka. Trust me, these people know what they are doing so if attractive to them, it has to be good.
It’s free for everyone and if you’re a senior like me, great for furthering you nature edification, and if you’re a parent, a great place to take your children in order to teach them the wonders of nature that surround us.