Clear Lake Trail: WPB's Walkable Loop, and the $15M Crossing Fix Coming Next

West Palm Beach's Clear Lake sits at the heart of the city's urban fabric — a natural freshwater lake in the Clearlake District, just west of downtown near the Kravis Center, within easy reach of the downtown condo corridors. The multi-use trail and boardwalk that encircles it opened in August 2024, connecting Okeechobee Blvd to Palm Beach Lakes Blvd, and it's become a quiet favorite of residents who prefer their morning walks away from the Intracoastal crowds.

The next chapter for the loop is the Fern Street crossing — historically the trail's most challenging point, where pedestrians and cyclists have had to navigate a railroad crossing and vehicle traffic with no dedicated infrastructure. In June 2026, city commissioners approved a nearly $15 million project, developed in partnership with the local walkability nonprofit Connect WPB, to rebuild the crossing with protected bike lanes, upgraded pedestrian signals, and better lighting. It's currently in design, expected to go out to bid in fall 2026, with construction starting in early 2027 and completion targeted for early 2028.

For residents of the downtown corridor buildings — CityPlace South Tower, One City Plaza, The Tower at CityPlace, and the Flagler Drive high-rises — Clear Lake is a short bike ride or a moderate walk away. It offers something the Intracoastal waterfront path doesn't: a quieter, more sheltered loop through a genuinely local neighborhood, with mature tree canopy, native plantings, and the kind of calm that's harder to find on the more trafficked waterfront routes.

The Clearlake District itself is heating up alongside the trail investment — The Berkeley Palm Beach, a 25-story condo tower, broke ground in July 2026 directly overlooking the lake, a sign of where the city expects this neighborhood to go over the next few years.

Once the Fern Street crossing is complete in 2028, the full loop will be a genuinely safe, connected alternative to Palm Beach Island's famous Lake Trail for residents who don't want to cross the bridge — closer, quicker to access from downtown addresses, and backed by real public investment. For buyers evaluating the downtown corridor's walkability and quality-of-life infrastructure, projects like this reflect the kind of sustained investment in the public realm that tends to support long-term condo values in the area.

This guide is provided by DO Homes Group, a West Palm Beach real estate team. For personalized recommendations, contact our team.