Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands, Boynton Beach

We've been vacationing in Jupiter for years. We love the many nature parks in and around Palm county. We were at the Hive Sound Nature preserve and asked the wonderful staff/volunteers about what other places we should visit. We've been to most that they mentioned but we'd never been to Green Cay. It was a bit further than we normally drive for a day out but since there were two preserves in the area we gave it a try. It's different from the other places we've been. It's all boardwalk through water areas. There was plenty of nature to see and it was well worth the visit. I highly recommend when in the area.

This park was closed for the past two years when I’ve been here. My mother told me about it and said I would like it. Happened to pass by it and noticed that it’s open again. There is a large parking lot and if it’s nearly full, I wouldn’t go as the boardwalk would be busier than I would like. It happened to be mostly empty. Walking into the main entrance I expected to have to pay a fee to get into the park. There is no fee for this park. Pets, food, and smoking are not permitted. This is a park to walk slowly and enjoy nature. The sign says no jogging, running or speed walking are permitted. The Nature Center is open from 9AM to 6PM, Wednesday through Sunday. It was a Monday so I didn’t get to visit the Nature Center but the bathrooms are always open. The park itself is open from sunrise to sunset every day of the week. If your reason is to see birds then near sunrise or sunset would be your best option. I was pleasantly surprised that there was still a good amount of bird activity in the early afternoon. The boardwalk is a one mile loop with a few short side paths leading to shelters with benches to take a rest and spend time enjoying the park. These shelters are also good places to spend time with binoculars or camera to enjoy the wildlife while being out of the sun. One path was closed for work that would shorten the walk a little. There were a few people with large telephoto lens cameras but most like myself were taking pictures on their phones. I’m happy with a few of the photos I got using my phone. A telephoto lens would make for better quality photos here as many of the birds are a distance away from the boardwalk. I’m sure younger children would enjoy the nature center but the mile long walk might be more than they want. You could walk a short distance and then turn around before they get tired or board. Bring binoculars to make it more fun for children. If you want to take a longer walk go across the street to a three quarter mile paved path around a lake which is part of the Southern Region Water Reclamation Facility as is Green Cay. I look forward to visiting again when the Nature Center is open.