Upscale Biking in Palm Beach

 

Thursday we left our campground at John Prince County Park,  drove east, and crossed the bridge to Palm Beach and another world.  We went north on Highway A1A along the Atlantic and through one luxurious neighborhood after another, past Donald Trump’s exclusive spa and multitudes of mansions partially concealed by tall ficus hedges. 

Our plan for the day was to bicycle the Lake Trail, have lunch at City Place shopping area in West Palm, and visit the famous Breakers hotel.  We parked near Publix (which offers valet parking, and incidentally, had a Rolls Royce in the parking lot).  George had  mapped out our route which took us south on the trail  past Henry Flagler’s mansion which is now a museum.  (Flagler built the Breakers Hotel to accommodate his RR passengers). After heading over to West Palm Beach across the Palm bridge, we enjoyed lunch at Wild Ginger Asian Bistro and stopped for ice cream in the plaza at City Place. 

After heading east over the Flagler Memorial bridge back into Palm Beach, we headed north on the Lake Trail past 5 miles of luxurious beautifully landscaped homes and lush vegetation on one side and their yachts on Lake Worth lagoon on the other.  Despite occasional glimpses, most of the homes were obscured by tall ficus hedges and vine covered walls.  A web site about the Lake Trail described it as the Trail of Conspicuous Consumption – quite apt!  But it was a delightful bicycle ride with cool breezes and mid- 70’s temp.

  Our next destination was The Breakers, the most luxurious hotel we’ve ever seen.   The long drive approaching the hotel, called a coconut walk because of the columns of coconut palms, is also lined with  gardens and leads to an Italian fountain near the entrance.  The lobby is breathtaking with its barrel vaulted ceiling and elegant furnishings. 

Having spent a delightful day bicycling about 15 miles and enjoying the pleasant weather and sights of Palm Beach, we loaded our bikes on the truck and returned to John Prince County Park.

 

                                                                                                       To see a map of our Palm Beach bike ride including the Lake Trail, click here.

Click here to see photos of our Palm Beach bike ride, the Breakers Hotel, and City Place.