Loxahatchee River/Jonathan Dickinson State Park
This past weekend I went up to Jonathan Dickinson State Park and kayaked the Loxahatchee River. It is Florida’s first “Wild and Scenic” river. It is is confusing at first, but the best part of the river is not really accessible from Jonathan Dickinson State Park. If you don’t have your own canoe/kayak and decide to rent one, they won’t even let you up to the good cypress lined parts. For this you need to put in at Riverbend County Park. It is off Indiantown Rd and is open from sunrise to sunset.
If you put in at Riverbend, the first 5 or so miles is a twisted cypress lined tanic river. The water is stained by all the fallen leaves, and when the light hits the shallows, it glows orange. The river was full of wildlife, I saw many limpkins and other birds, wild hogs, turtles and gators. It is also lined with several species of ferns, the most impressive being the leather fern, which had fronds over 6 feet tall.
At about the 5 mile mark, you will hit Trapper Nelson’s. He was known as the “Tarzan of the Loxahatchee” and had built a much visited zoo, until his mysterious death by shotgun in 1968. After this, the river opens up and you can see the transition from cypress to mangrove, with pines and sabal palms mixed in. I don’t consider it as scenic but there are several active Osprey nests that keep it interesting.
I didn’t spend as much time in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, but did wander around for one sunset. I actually had pretty bad weather, but did manage this, showing the pine flatwoods, home to the endangered Gopher Tortoise.
Awesome shots Paul. I’m amazed at the beautiful diversity of the United States and all of its different habitats and creatures. I have to get to the glades one of these days. I usually spend more of my time up north.
Kari Post said this on February 9th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
That is a wonderful area. We’ve tromped all around that place. If you ever have the time take the Florida Trail past the Hobe Canal, way out west in the park. It is a really neat area and hardly anyone goes that far back.
Misti said this on February 9th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
Hey Misti, Chris and I talked about getting together sometime…shoot me an emal and maybe we can go exploring before you guys head out.
Paul said this on February 9th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
Thanks Kari, yeah, so many beautiful places, not enough time to visit them.
Paul said this on February 9th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
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Tweets that mention » Loxahatchee River/Jonathan Dickinson State Park Paul Marcellini Photography -- Topsy.com said this on February 9th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Found you blog through Flickr, and happy to have done so.Beautiful work and a very interesting read. I especially like that second photo.
Adrian said this on February 22nd, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Thanks for stopping in and leaving a comment Adrian! Appreciate it.
Paul said this on February 25th, 2010 at 9:36 am
These and all your pics motivated my wife and I to head out there. We weren’t exactly there at the right time with optimal light but we got a few pictures. I really enjoy your images. If you don’t mind I would like a little filter advice. I am tempted to buy a ND grad filter in the near future.
Ross said this on April 6th, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Hey Ross, glad you like my work. The Lox is great, definitely somewhere I would like to revisit. I don’t use grad filters much anymore, preferring to blend multiple exposures by hand. When I did use them more, I used a 2 stop to shoot facing away from the sun and a 3 stop shooting at the sun. It helps to hide the sun with a c loud or something, but with an exposed sun, you can stack the 2.
Paul said this on April 10th, 2010 at 9:51 am