This route begins in Belle Glade, a community historically linked to agriculture in the Lake Okeechobee area and to the complex drainage system that transformed the Everglades during the twentieth century. The initial landscape is dominated by cultivated fields, canals, and levees that reflect large-scale human intervention in an environment that was originally flood-prone.
From Belle Glade, the route advances through rural areas such as Brown’s Farm, crossing territory shaped by agricultural production and by infrastructures designed to control water. These spaces reveal the historical dependence of southern Florida on artificial hydraulic systems to sustain economic activity and human settlement.
The itinerary continues toward the Loxahatchee Wildlife Management Area (Loxahatchee WMA), one of the last large remnants of natural Everglades in the southeastern part of the state. Here, the landscape opens into extensive floodable prairies and protected habitats that contrast with the previous agricultural sections and with the approaching urban development.
The route ends in Parkland, a planned community that emerged in recent decades, representative of suburban expansion toward the west of the southeastern counties. The contrast between the natural environment, agricultural lands, and urban growth offers a clear reading of the different stages of territorial transformation in southern Florida.
The complete route and its historical context are part of Discovering Florida – Volume 2.
