The Lake Okeechobee Connector is closed to public use because of restoration activities being conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers along the adjacent Lake Okeechobee dike.
Region: Northern Palm Beach County
Size: 8 acres
Hours: Not open for public use
Location:
The Lake Okeechobee Connector presently consists of three small parcels, including the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail (LOST) trailhead. The LOST trailhead is on the west side of Connors Highway (Highway 98), approximately one-half mile south of the Martin County/Palm Beach County line.
Public Use Facilities:
Site facilities include a parking lot with spaces for ten cars, an open area that can accommodate up to six buses or horse trailers, a bicycle rack, a kiosk with educational exhibits, and a corral and nonpotable water pump for use by equestrians. There are no restroom facilities or drinking water on the site.
Site Information:
The LOST trailhead is part of a proposed greenway that would connect the DuPuis Management Area with Lake Okeechobee and would form the westernmost leg of the Ocean to Lake Trail. Palm Beach County owns two other parcels acquired for the corridor: a small tract with hammock vegetation on the east side of Connors Highway, on land that was the previous rim of Lake Okeechobee before the dike was constructed, and a small parcel of former ranch land located close to the western boundary of the DuPuis Management Area. Planning for the completion of the corridor is on hold because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers may need part of the trailhead parcel for repair of the dike around Lake Okeechobee. If the trailhead needs to be relocated, the route of the corridor may be changed. Land use changes and land development activities in the vicinity of the proposed corridor also may affect the location of the corridor. The corridor is part of the Northeast Everglades Natural Area.
Plants:
The landscaping installed at the trailhead includes laurel oak, live oak, bald cypress, royal palm, cabbage palm, wax myrtle, sand cordgrass, muhly, rice button aster, Mexican pricklypoppy, and firewheel. The hammock on the east side of Connors Highway contains sugarberry, strangler fig, American beautyberry, and elderberry.
Wildlife:
Animal species observed on the site include tree swallow, northern cardinal, common yellowthroat, palm warbler, American redstart, and common raccoon.
Links:
Coastal
