Palm Beach County

Palm Beach County is the largest county by land area in Florida. Situated in the southeastern corner of the state, many of South Florida's most notable cities are located in Palm Beach County, including its namesake, Palm Beach.

Geographically the largest county in Florida, Palm Beach County is by far the most developed in the eastern third or so of its landmass, where the vast majority of its residents live. The eastern portion of the county buffers the Atlantic Ocean, and is home to developed metropolises and urban population centers both up and down the coastline (and slightly further inland). Western Palm Beach County (past the Florida Turnpike or so) is more rural, but rapidly growing, with vast expanses of conservation areas and farmland dotted with an increasing number of small suburban cities and farther-flung subdivisions. The county's Glades region, which borders Lake Okeechobee in its northwestern corner, has a lot more in common culturally with the communities of the Florida Heartland than it does the cities of the rest of the county.

The largest cities in Palm Beach County are stacked north-to-south along I-95. Most have one or two access points to the beach, but much of the barrier islands that directly abut the Atlantic are incorporated as tiny seaside villages (including Highland Beach, Ocean Ridge, South Palm Beach, and Singer Island), populated by seasonal retired residents derogatorily referred to as "snowbirds" by native Floridians, with few tourist facilities. To the west are suburban cities like Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Greenacres, and Loxahatchee, alongside vast swaths of unincorporated gated communities that are steadily encroaching on the area's wilderness and farmlands.

• 26.368611-80.11 Boca Raton
• 26.459167-80.0830562 Delray Beach
• 26.926111-80.1053 Jupiter
• 26.619722-80.0586114 Lake Worth Beach
• 26.705556-80.0363895 Palm Beach
• 26.848789-80.1671226 Palm Beach Gardens
• 26.78-80.0672227 Riviera Beach
• 26.709722-80.0641678 West Palm Beach
• 26.818333-80.0636119 North Palm Beach

English is the most widely-spoken language in the county, though farther south, Spanish, English, and Haitian Creole can be heard.

Donald J Trump International Airport (DJT  ^IATA), located on Belvedere Road in West Palm Beach, is the county's largest airport. It offers non-stop service from a number of cities, mostly American destinations on the East Coast via budget airlines like Allegiant. It also has a few international non-stop flights from destinations in the Bahamas and elsewhere in the Caribbean. The small terminal offers only a handful of shops and restaurants but has the advantage of central location, 3 mi (4.8 km) from downtown West Palm Beach, and a few highway exits from most other destinations in the county.

Many travelers, particularly those headed for southern Palm Beach County, find Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL ^IATA) cheaper and more convenient. It's about 40 mi (64 km) south of West Palm Beach. FLL serves a much longer list of both domestic and international locations than PBIA, including most major cities in the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America, and even a handful of destinations in Canada. In addition to car rentals and airport shuttles, the airport is linked to Palm Beach County by the Tri-Rail commuter train (see "By train", below).

Miami International Airport (MIA ^IATA), 70 mi (110 km) south of West Palm Beach, serves cities as far away as London, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Moscow, and Tel Aviv. Due to Miami's status as a major business and international tourism destination, flights here tend to be a bit more expensive than West Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale.

The county has a handful of smaller municipal airports as well, serving mostly private and chartered air traffic.

Passenger rail travel in South Florida is as disappointing as anywhere in the country, but there are a handful of options. Three Amtrak lines, the Silver Star, Silver Meteor, and Palmetto, serve stations in West Palm Beach and Delray Beach, connecting to destinations elsewhere in Florida and up the Eastern Seaboard. On the same tracks, the Tri-Rail commuter service connects many more destinations throughout the county to Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

East of the Amtrak and Tri-Rail, shiny, bright yellow new train cars zoom through downtown areas. Launched in 2017, the Brightline ^{[dead link]} bills itself as Florida's answer to high-speed rail, and while it can't yet match the speed and reach found in Europe and Asia, it does provide a much faster connection between West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami at a premium price targeting business travelers. When the line's Orlando station opens in 2022, it will be a faster and more convenient car-free way to travel between South and Central Florida than current methods.

The Port of Palm Beach, located in the small city of Riviera Beach just northeast of West Palm, is served primarily by cargo ships, but does see the occasional two-night cruise to the Bahamas.

To the south, both PortMiami and Fort Lauderdale's Port Everglades rank among the busiest passenger cruise terminals in the United States. In addition to near-daily sailings to the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America, these cities offer ferry service to the Bahamas.

Smaller craft will find dozens of public and private marinas throughout the Palm Beaches, mostly in the inland Intracoastal Waterway. Short inlets and channels connect the Intracoastal to the Atlantic Ocean. Boaters should research ahead of their trip to find an available place to drop anchor, as most of the berths are occupied by local and seasonal residents with long-term leases.

Most vehicles enter the county from the north or south via I-95, the county's main thoroughfare, which is centrally located in most of the bigger cities. In neighboring Broward County, I-95 connects to I-75, which crosses the Florida Peninsula and reaches the state's Gulf Coast before heading north to the Midwest. A few miles west of 95, the Florida Turnpike toll road provides a less-trafficked alternative; north of Palm Beach County, it veers farther west, connecting the region to Orlando, Ocala, and Gainesville. Frequent visitors to the area may consider investing in a SunPass transponder, which allows one to prepay tolls, bypassing the congested toll booth lines and perhaps saving a couple of dollars.

Palm Beach County's main draw is its 50 mi (80 km) coastline, much of which is found on the barrier islands that line nearly all of Florida's coast. Compared to other top-tier resort areas in Florida, Palm Beach County's beaches tend to be a bit minimalist; typically, each city and town will have one or more city-owned access parks offering few amenities beyond a parking lot, restrooms, picnic area, and perhaps a playground or a covered observation deck. Exceptions include Lake Worth Beach's old casino complex, which has been redeveloped into a multi-use shopping, dining, and event space, and Delray Beach, where Atlantic Avenue provides easy access to downtown bars and restaurants. Most city- or county-owned beaches will have lifeguards during official hours, while private beaches and those that function as nature preserves will not. In some communities, much of the beachfront access is taken up by massive condo towers in ritzy vacation homes; anyone can wander onto any beach below the high-tide line, but you may get dirty looks from residents. Expect to pay $2 an hour or more for parking at just about any public beach in the county.

Palm Beach County's longer coastline and lower profile among spring-break partiers means people have a bit more room to spread out than in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Crowds are at their densest in Boca Raton and Delray Beach at the county's southernmost end, while in the central part of the coastline, the majority of beaches are too far from public access points to see real crowds. For example, the town of Palm Beach has just one public-access park; the rest is privately owned. Some hotels may turn a blind eye to non-guests sneaking onto their beach, especially if you buy a couple drinks. North of West Palm Beach, the throngs of tourists give way to unspoiled, pristine expanses of white sand and even some unique rocky coastline, with much of the beaches under the protection of nearby conservation lands. Expect to do a bit more work to find these hidden gems, some of which lack basic facilities like bathrooms and access boardwalks.

Some of the more notable beaches in the county include:

• Red Reef Park in Boca Raton is an oceanfront park known for its rocky reef which attracts an abundance of fish for easy snorkeling.
• Delray Public Beach in Delray Beach is a long, narrow beach whose paved sidewalk offers great dog- and people-watching from the observation deck or one of the nearby restaurants.
• Boynton Inlet, south of Lake Worth Beach: Demarcating the south end of the famous Lake Worth Lagoon, this small park has a pier and facilities like a snack bar, marina, and picnic shelters.
• Lake Worth Beach Park in Lake Worth Beach is one of the few developed beaches in the county. It includes several restaurants, shops, and a large event space in a renovated former casino, along with a large fishing pier.
• Peanut Island Park in Riviera Beach is a tiny island only accessible by boat. Facilities include a near-360-degree beach frontage with particularly excellent snorkeling, reservable campsites, and a paved trail encircling the island, which is also home to a historic Coast Guard station and the bunker where President John F. Kennedy took refuge during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
• John D. MacArthur Beach State Park in North Palm Beach] is one of Palm Beach County's wildest and most pristine beaches. Cross a vast lagoon via a long, picturesque boardwalk to reach the rugged dunes and unspoiled coast of this state park. The park also offers a nature center and concessionaire where you can rent a kayak to explore one of Florida's jungle-like mangrove hammocks.

• Northeast Everglades Natural Area: Even many longtime residents overlook this informal grouping of over 160,000 acres (65,000 hectares) of natural areas, city and county parks, and wildlife preserves stretching from West Palm Beach over the county line to Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Those who do venture here are rewarded with the area's finest multi-use trails, and a taste of the diverse biome and wildlife found in the much larger and more remote Everglades National Park. Some of the larger of these areas include:
  • Grassy Waters Preserve: An Everglades habitat roughly the size of Manhattan in West Palm Beach, this area serves as the freshwater supply for much of the area. A nature center near the north entrance hosts rotating exhibits on the history of the Everglades and acts as the starting point for occasional guided walks. The nearby 1 mi (1.6 km) Cypress Boardwalk is accessible to wheelchairs and strollers, while the longer Hog Hammock and Apoxee Trails and behemoth 16.6 mi (26.7 km) Owahee Trail offer more adventurous hikers a view of the park's stunning natural areas and wildlife.
  • In Palm Beach Gardens, Loxahatchee Slough Natural Area the county's largest natural area features nine different native Florida ecosystems, ranging from swampy slough marches to dry hammock forests; Hungryland Slough Natural Area; J.W. Corbett Wildlife Management Area, a vast wilderness that is truly off the beaten path for most South Florida visitors other than hunters; and DuPuis Wildlife and Environmental Area.
  • Riverbend Park, near Jupiter, is one of the most popular outdoor recreation spots in the county. It serves as the hub for all the longer hiking trails in the area, while boasting 10 mi (16 km) of hiking/biking trails, 7 mi (11 km) of equestrian trails and 5 mi (8.0 km) of kayaking trails of its own. Cypress Creek Natural Area immediately northwest of Riverbend Park is most notable for its blackwater streams that feed the Loxahatchee River and its historic and cultural resources, including the site of the Loxahatchee River Battle during the 1838 Seminole War.
• Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, west of Delray Beach: Filling most of the vast expanse of land west of US 441 south of Lake Okeechobee, this 145,000 acres (59,000 hectares) of northern Everglades and cypress swamp offers a variety of educational and recreational opportunities, including interpretive nature programs, mountain biking, boating, and fishing, but its crown jewel is its pristine Florida habitat and vast collection of wildlife, which includes more than 250 species of birds, 60 species of reptiles and amphibians, 40 species of butterflies, and 20 types of mammals.

• Martin County - north
• Broward County - south
• Hendry County - west
• Okeechobee County - northwest
• Glades County - northwest