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Palm Beach County's Bluegill Trail follows the eastern side of the C-18 Canal from Riverbend Park in Jupiter, through Karen T. Marcus Sandhill Crane Access Park, and to Grassy Waters Preserve in Palm Beach Gardens. The trail features a shell-rock surface that may not be suitable for bikes with skinny tires. An adjacent grass path provides an ideal route for equestrian users.
About the Route
The northern end of the trail leaves off Riverbend Park and offers a perfect spot for picnicking and fishing over its 665 acres, but note that pets are not allowed. While significantly smaller, Karen T. Marcus Sandhill Crane Access Park offers much the same experience near the trail's southern end. Between these two endpoints are miles of Everglades that surround the trail.
Please see TrailLink Map for all parking options and detailed directions.
Riverbend to blue gill is great on a cloudy day. We also Will try starting at Karen Marcus park to just do the trail one day Be aware it has no tree coverage but a fun path with gravel
Went on an overcast day and was definitely better than going on a sunny day, not much (if any) shade but an easy ride and saw some cool wildlife! Lots of snakes, fish, sandhill cranes w their babies, raccoons and 2 big gators!
I avoided this trail because I thought my road bike would not be up to riding on this type of surface. The trail is actually quite nice to ride on. I got to see come cool wildlife i.e. sandhill cranes and their young uns, wild turkey, swallow tailed kites as well as the usual cast of characters like heron, egrets, soft shelled turtles, gopher tortoises etc... I also saw some hogs I think are invasive.
If you follow the trail far enough north, you'll come to a bridge that you can cross, and there's a network of trails there.
We loved this trail, great paths, lots of wildlife and wasn’t too busy when we went.
My wife and I enjoyed a ride along the entire trail that follows a canal. Beautiful wild life of birds, otters and even saw an alligator sunning him/herself. Level grade made it an easy peddle and we enjoyed stopping along the path to read info about the trail and surrounding nature along the way. A peaceful ride in the outskirts of the busy West Palm Beach area.
We rode from Grassy Waters to Riverbend. Grassy Waters was easy to find but beware of the current 4:30pm closing time. From Grassy Trails to PGA the trail is first paved then firm dirt. After PGA the trail turns a bit rocky and uneven. Loved that the trail has only one street intersection to deal with. Wish my hometown had a trail this nice.
This trail takes you into Riverbend Battlefield Park which is an important historic area in Palm Beach County. This is where the second battle of the Seminole Indian War was fought. The trails in the park are marked and the battle is explained. The paths are shaded in the park and good for bicycling and walking. From this park you can also walk on the Florida Trail.
Not a fan of the trail from PGA to Indiantown all rocks however I ride from PGA to the Beeline almost 3 times a week. I live in PGA National and go from there west to the trail and end at the Beeline and back it’s 10 miles round trip.
Started at main parking lot at Riverbend Park off Indiantown Rd. You want to follow the Ocean to Lake Trail on the east side of the park to the intersection of Grove Traik near the equestrian trail. Go around the orange metal gate and over the bridge to access Bluegill to Trail. Riding this to PGA and then looping back is just over 14 miles. Nice quiet ride with a bit of nature. They have removed the water fountain from the PGA rest area so bathrroms are available there but no potable water.
The path is fairly easy, solid sand and shell rock with small rocks sticking out just enough to "annoy" your bottom a bit. Don't need a fat bike, normal tires will do fine. One way is 5.5 miles; so 11 miles if you make it back to where you started. The trail has not a single curve; it's not a lot to see riding along the canal, so it's really not that exciting to ride along.
From PGA National's south entrance at Northlake Boulevard, all side walk, travel west to the Bee-Line highway, turn right onto the paved section of the Bluegill Trail, and enjoy that section all the way to PGA Boulevard, and Karen Marcus Sandhill Crane Park, turn right onto PGA Boulevard and head East, returning to the West Entrance to PGA National, turn right into PGA National, and return to the resort or your community..
A nice 8 mile run for me or you...
Regards
A.
After biking in Fort Lauderdale along side of traffic driving 35 mph or more, this trail was a blessed change. I entered the trail from the southern trail head at the park. There is a nice parking area, clean restrooms and an overlook tower. The entrance to the trail is by the boat launch on the canal. The surface is packed gravel and my Trek hybrid did just fine on the surface. The trail is relatively flat. On the west side of the trail is the canal and on the east is protected marsh and forest. The north end of the trail is not so easily apparent. At the 5.5 mile mark there is a bridge that crosses the canal. The signage indicates parking 1.5 miles south of the bridge. Continuing north on the trail on the east side of the canal the trail becomes more like a service road with soft sand. So I'm not sure where the real north end of the trail is. The trail in completely sunny so be sure to take water and wear sunscreen. There are nature overlooks along the trail and a covered picnic table. Have a great ride.
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