West Lake Trail, Florida, United States

5Sarracenia 5:00 PM Apr 8, 2017

Great trail to see Mangroves
This short (.4 mile) boardwalk takes you through mangrove forests. Three types of mangroves (red, black and some white) are found here, although you will mainly see the red and black mangroves. The arched aerial roots of the Red mangroves densely cover the understory. Some Bromeliads (air plants) but no as many as in some of the other trails in the park. The trail also gets next to the water and if you are lucky you will see birds in the water. During my visit I saw 400-500 American Coots all moving together as one. Very interesting sight of a bird I have seen often, but never in such numbers. If you are coming from the entrance to the park area, this is the first place with bathrooms. There is also a picnic area with shade. Some plaques along the trail provide information about this habitat and the mangroves.

4winindc 5:00 PM Jun 5, 2015

West Lake trail in Everglades
There seems to be a couple of West Lakes reviewed here. This review is for the boardwalk trail through mangroves in Everglades National Park (not the one in Hollywood, FL). This is a short (.4 mile) loop trail starting off through shady mangrove and leading out to the lake. It was neat seeing the tangle of the mangrove up close. We were there in May, and weren't bothered by mosquitoes yet. Neat, short trail.