What to Do in Palm Beach: Palm Beach Lake Trail

I’ve been living in South Florida for 20 years (eeeek…I didn’t realize it was that long AND it makes me feel so old!), and there are so many places that we have not yet explored.  My goal is to experience at least one a week this summer.  The first place my husband and I decided to check out was the Lake Trail on Palm Beach Island.

We had initially heard of this trail while on a Diva Duck tour (that was actually fun too), and bookmarked it in our minds.  I’ve been wanting to bike more and being that this paved trail has little to no automobile traffic, I figured it would be a safe route.

One weekday morning, we packed the bikes into the back of our truck (if anyone knows of a great bike rack that holds 4 bikes, please advise), and off we went.  I guess we should’ve researched a bit beforehand as we didn’t know the best place to park, but found ample parking outside of a nearby Publix.  (BTW, when we first passed this Publix, I thought it was a museum – it was THAT nice looking.)  I had to be reminded that we were on the Island of Palm Beach!

We started at the northernmost point of the Palm Beach lake trail, traveling leisurely along the paved path. Here is the map:

If you don’t have a bicycle, you can rent one at the Palm Beach Bicycle Trail Shop or walk the trail.  We saw a lot of walkers along the way!

The views on this trail were exquisite.  It was quiet and shady (we went early as recommended, so as not to deal with too much sun).

To our right, the trail was lined with gorgeous mansion backyards.  I couldn’t see much but from my husband’s oohs and ahhs, I am sure they were gorgeous!

To our left was the Intracoastal.  We bicycled directly along the waterside in some locations, and then alongside some grassy areas with benches, trees and gates to the private docks.

One house in particular caught my eye…actually it was this beautiful turret that projected through the trees that first caught my eye.

As we biked closer and passed that wall of shrubbery, we noticed a beautiful, serene seating area and a sign that marked this building as the Bethesda-By-the-Sea Episcopal Church.  This is what the marker, placed by the Seminole Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1967 read:

East of this marker is the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-By-the-Sea. (Last services held Easter Sunday April 12, 1925)  Most of the worshipers came by boat as there was no roadway to the church, which was bordered on the east by an an extensive marsh.  The original Bethesda-By-the-Sea edifice built nearby in 1889 was the only church building within a radius of 150 miles.

What I thought was cool were all of the different styles of gates that lead out to the private docks.  Most of them matched the home’s backyard fencing, which was just across the bike path.  This was my favorite gate (never knew I’d actually ever have a “favorite gate” LOL).

I was kind of sad that we reached the end of the trail because it was a nice departure from our usual mornings.  This is definitely something I would like to do again sometime soon (before it gets super hot this summer)!

Are there bike trails over by where you live?