Thursday, January 9, 2020

Peck's Lake Park, Hobe Sound, Florida

Peck's Lake Park is home to a long walking path that leads to the Intracoastal Waterway. There's plenty of flora and informational signs, along with a couple of geocaches. The park was a great place for us to visit.

The first geocache was in the parking lot. We had a fairly easy time finding On the way to Peck Lake picnic. Only a little bushwhacking was required.

The cache is in there somewhere

Near the trailhead was a useful map showing the path through the swamp to the Intracoastal Waterway.

Maps are good, as is footwear

Bikes, on the other hand, are not so good

The trail was a dirt path at first. It alternated between dirt and boardwalks.

Easy walking

The trail had plenty of informational signs about the history and the flora.

Local history

Local people

We found the first boardwalk over the swampy bits of the trail. An information sign was the location of the next geocache, aptly named Education.

Opening the cache container

Leaving the dirt trail behind

The swampy part of the trail had both tall trees and low-growing vegetation.

The swamp "floor"

Beautiful trees

A swampier area

Another sign explained the difference between local plants and those brought in from out of the area. The native plants have a harder time since natural predators abound. The exotic plants spread faster and need special intervention since humans seem to be their only predators (when they decide to do something about the situation).

Natives vs. Exotics

The trail turned back into dirt for a bit before we finally reached the larger body of water, a part of the Intracoastal Waterway called Peck Lake.

More trail

The only flower in December

A walkway onto the water

The views of the lake were great.

Boats in the distance

Vegetation in the distance

A much closer boat

My daughter has been collecting shells from the shore (sea or intracoastal). The viewing area had some stairs down to the sandy shoreline where she found some more to add to her stash.

Stairs going down

The water's edge

The shells' hunters

I saw a weird piece of wood. It almost looks like a sea creature with a claw outstretched in either menace or pathos.

It's coming for you!

Another picturesque bit

On the way back, Grandpa told the children about Big Foot sightings in the area. We parents were skeptical but did discover some evidence of an undiscovered presence in the area.

Those are big footprints

Some odd-shaped feet

The park was fun to visit, even if the footprints seemed suspicious.

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