The Loxahatchee River is a pristine gem, tucked just out of sight of South Florida’s sprawling coastal development. Beginning at Riverbend Park in Jupiter, the paddling trail portion of the ...

Karissa Bellile, at left, and fellow paddlers wind through Jupiter’s Riverbend Park on the Loxahatchee River. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel) Plenty of bird species, including blue herons ...

Starting out from the Riverbend Park launch and meandered ... Thiswould also explain the river’s name, “ Loxahatchee ,” which the Seminole people used todescribe the “river of turtles.” ...