What we’re about
Palm Beach Pack & Paddle Club plans several events each month for exploring and appreciating nature. Some of these last a day, some last a week or longer. They are local and they are long-distance. Activities include kayaking and canoeing, backpacking, hiking and biking, snorkeling, car camping and wilderness or river camping. In addition, we have monthly meetings at Okeeheelee Nature Center with guest speakers on environmental and other topics of interest.
This site and these events are functions of Palm Beach Pack and Paddle Club. In addition to these activities, our Conservation Committee raises funds to send children to summer nature camp and donates to local organizations that help to preserve our unique Florida environment.
You're welcome to attend our Meetups and be a Meetup Member only, but we would like you to become a member of our club. The cost is only $20 a year. Most of our trips are on the Meetup site, but there are many trips available to club members only, particularly those that involve long-distance travel or overnight stays. There is never a charge by the club for any of our activities.
If you wish to join Palm Beach Pack & Paddle Club, the application link is above. You may join by mailing the completed application (above) with a check payable to Palm Beach Pack and Paddle Club to the address at the bottom of the form. Or, come to an event, join and pay in cash, or, use the Paypal link below.
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We hope you will become part of our Club family. Gerry & Geoff
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Learn about threats to Florida’s sea creatures at P&P meeting Saturday, Jan. 11Okeeheelee Park Nature Center, West Palm Beach, FL
Marine wildlife expert to speak to P&P members and visitors at Okeeheelee Nature Center
Maggie Winchester-Weiler, who specializes in the conservation and physiology of marine wildlife, will be the guest speaker at the Palm Beach Pack & Paddle Club’s meeting at 2 p.m. Saturday, January 11 at the Okeeheelee Nature Center, part of Okeeheelee Park, 7715 Forest Hill Boulevard, West Palm Beach, FL 33413.
Attendees are encouraged to arrive for socializing starting at 1:30 p.m.
Maggie’s topic: “Threats to Florida’s Iconic Marine Environment”
Description: Florida is at an all-hands-on-deck moment. Harmful algal blooms are fouling our waterways with increasing frequency and severity. Tropical weather is becoming more extreme and more regular. Plastic pollution is harming wildlife and impacting human health. But we as Floridians get to decide what the future holds.
Join Maggie Winchester-Weiler, Florida Conservation Program Manager for Ocean Conservancy, in a discussion of the greatest threats that Florida’s iconic marine environment is facing, and what we as Floridians need to be doing to find solutions for our maritime state.
Maggie Winchester-Weiler, a scientist and educator, manages Plastic Free Cities, a youth empowerment and plastic reduction program, across Florida for Ocean Conservancy. Based in Miami, Maggie coordinates stakeholders, governments and youth to advocate policies that maintain or improve the health of the ocean and locally, Biscayne Bay.
Leveraging her scientific background, she informs research and public awareness campaigns to improve water quality and reduce marine debris statewide. Maggie is also adjunct faculty for the University of New Hampshire and Cornell University through Shoals Marine Laboratory, where she teaches Shark Conservation and Biology.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR!
Who: Palm Beach Pack & Paddle Club
What: January club meeting
Speaker: Maggie Winchester-Weiler
When: Saturday, January 11, 2 p.m.
Social time: Starts at 1:30 p.m.
Where: Okeeheelee Nature Center, 7715 Forest Hill Boulevard, West Palm Beach, FL 33413Questions?
For questions about the Pack & Paddle Club meeting, please call or text 561-312-2765.
- Paddle "Wild & Scenic" Loxahatchee RiverRiverbend Park Canoe Launch, Jupiter, FL
The Loxahatchee River is our own "land of enchantment". Designated a "Wild & Scenic River on May 17, 1985, it winds northward from Riverbend Park in Jupiter, to Jonathan Dickinson State Park in southern Hobe Sound.
We will do a Paddle of the Lower Loxahatchee River from Riverbend Park downstream past the Lainhart Dam and then to the fallen tree. We will then do the return upstream to where we started.
Paddle may be changed to the Upper Loxahatchee if the group deems that the water levels are very high which in turn creates dealing with a very strong current on the return. Paddle is not a beginner paddle when water levels are high and current is swift to paddle against. All paddles are dependent on weather.
Meet at Riverbend Park’s canoe launch at 9:45 am. If you don't have your own kayak, you can rent onsite and kayakers with their own equipment will connect with you at the rental site, which is different from the put-in for kayakers with their own boats. (Let us know you’re coming!)
If renting, you must reserve with Jupiter Outdoor Center,*** https://www.jupiteroutdoorcenter.com.
Contact trip leader, Rachel, with any questions in the either in the Comments Section below or can text/call at 561-358-9568.
Please read entire description of event before you RSVP. By signing up for this trip you acknowledge that you are fully responsible for your own safety and hold Palm Beach Pack and Paddle harmless for any injuries or damage to your equipment. Also note that properly fitted and properly worn PFD’s are required to participate in this paddle.
Riverbend Park is at 9060 W. Indiantown Road, Jupiter. Bathrooms are available at the launches and at Masten Dam.
How to get there: from I-95, go west on Indiantown Road a short distance. Look for the brown park sign in the median. Enter Riverbend Park on the south side of road (left). Proceed to canoe launch area, or, if renting, rental area which is near the first parking lot.
