Gated Communities in Palm Beach County: Admirals Cove to Boca West, the Complete 2026 Guide

Oct 16

Quick answer: In Palm Beach County, "gated" usually means one of three things. The guard-gated equity clubs, where the club comes with the house: BallenIsles, Mirasol and Frenchman's Creek in Palm Beach Gardens, Wycliffe in Wellington, Hunters Run in Boynton Beach, and Boca West, the Polo Club, Woodfield and St. Andrews in Boca Raton. The gates where the club is optional: Jonathan's Landing in Jupiter, Lost Tree Village in North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Polo in Wellington and Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club in Boca Raton. And the gates with no club at all, like Evergrene in Palm Beach Gardens. Prices run from Hunters Run, where a listing site's average sale over the past year was about $284,000 as of October 2026, to Royal Palm, where Redfin's August 2026 median was about $11 million, and the Jupiter clubs, where the past-year averages were $7.1 million at Admirals Cove and $18.8 million at The Bear's Club. Most clubs do not publish their initiation fees; the dated figures I could find are in the post. Redfin's county median was $513,850 in September 2026, so nearly every gate on this list sits above the middle of the market, and the club, the water and the lot do most of the pricing, not the gate.

People say "gated" and mean three different things, and in Palm Beach County the difference is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some want a guard who knows their name and a club with 36 holes and a spa. Some want the gate and the golf view without being required to join anything. Some just want the cut-through traffic to stop. Here's the list I'd actually show, Jupiter to Boca Raton, with what the club pages, the listing pages and Redfin and Zillow said as of mid-October 2026. Where a club doesn't publish its fees, I say so rather than guess.

What "gated" means here

Tier one is the guard-gated equity club: member-owned, the membership tied to the house, so when you take title you buy a membership too, an equity or initiation payment, part of it sometimes refundable when you sell, plus dues, plus the HOA on top. BallenIsles calls itself exactly that, "a mandatory membership equity club within the BallenIsles residential community," and Mirasol's membership page says membership is "exclusive to title owners who acquire the membership associated with the home upon taking title." Tier two is the club-optional gate: a guard and a golf course, but you can own without joining; Jonathan's Landing, Lost Tree Village, Palm Beach Polo and Royal Palm work that way. Tier three is the subdivision with a gate arm and no club to join, like Evergrene. The age-restricted communities are a fourth group, gated too, with their own post.

One more thing: the fee tables on listing sites are usually undated. I quote a fee only when a club's own page or a clearly dated source states it. Otherwise the honest answer is "membership fees are not published; ask before you write an offer," and I do the asking.

The list at a glance

Community	Homes, as stated	Golf	Club membership	Price indicator
Admirals Cove, Jupiter	Not stated on the page	45 holes: one 18 and three nines; marina to 165 feet	Not stated	48 sales past year averaging $7.1M; listings $2.35M to $32M
The Bear's Club, Jupiter	68 estate homes plus 28 villas	18 holes, founded 1999 by Jack and Barbara Nicklaus	Not stated	8 sales past year averaging $18.8M; listings $5M to $50.9M
Jonathan's Landing, Jupiter	Over 1,000 in 27 villages on 600 acres	Three courses, one inside the gates and two at Old Trail	Optional	Listings $1.195M to $6.95M
Frenchman's Creek, Palm Beach Gardens	Not stated; 95 homes on deep-water canals	Two 18-hole courses; beach club	Equity structure requires residency (club site)	27 sales past year averaging $4.2M
Old Palm Golf Club, Palm Beach Gardens	294 residences	18 holes on 180 acres, 33-acre practice park	Not stated	Listings $3.69M to $29.9M
Mirasol, Palm Beach Gardens	25 villages on 2,300 acres	Two courses: Fazio and Arthur Hills	Tied to the home at title (club site); fees in a brochure, not on the page	Listings $1.275M to $8.8M
BallenIsles, Palm Beach Gardens	Nearly 1,600 in 33 neighborhoods (club site)	Three courses: East, South, North	Mandatory equity club (club site)	Redfin median $1.44M, Aug. 2026, 17 sales
PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens	4,963 in 43 subdivisions (listing site)	Resort: five championship courses plus a nine; Members Club is separate	No mandatory club shown	Redfin median $596,792, June 2026, 94 sales
Evergrene, Palm Beach Gardens	963 (listing site)	None	None	Listings and recent sales $425,000 to $2.1M
Lost Tree Village, North Palm Beach	570 on 450 acres	One course, McMahon and Nicklaus; beach club	POA mandatory, golf optional; Sept. 2023 fees below	10 sales past year averaging $17.1M
Ibis, West Palm Beach	1,864 in 33 subdivisions on 1,900 acres	Three Nicklaus-family courses	Not stated	104 sales past year averaging $1.13M
Palm Beach Polo, Wellington	45 neighborhoods on 2,200 acres	Championship golf	Optional, two sponsors required	95 sales past year averaging $1.83M
Wycliffe, Wellington	1,045 in 14 sub-communities on 600 acres	Two 18-hole courses	Mandatory (club site)	66 sales past year averaging $452,889
Hunters Run, Boynton Beach	1,650 in 23 subdivisions on 900 acres	Three 18-hole courses	Social membership required at minimum (club site)	136 sales past year averaging $284,296
Delaire, Delray Beach	324 on 340 acres	27 holes	Homes sold with membership (listing site)	10 sales past year averaging $2.8M
Mizner Country Club, Delray Beach	471 in eight subdivisions on 384 acres	18 holes, Arnold Palmer design	Not stated	18 sales past year averaging $2.1M
Boca West, Boca Raton	Over 3,500 member households on 1,400 acres	Four courses: Palmer, Fazio, Dye	Requires owning a home, a sponsor and an interview (club site); Aug. 2026 fee report below	Zillow typical value $540,178 at Sept. 30, 2026
The Polo Club of Boca Raton	Over 1,700 in 24 subdivisions on 1,100 acres	Two courses, 36 holes	Mandatory (listing site)	Listings $629,000 to $5.75M
Woodfield Country Club, Boca Raton	About 1,297 in 20 villages on 830 acres	18 holes	Mandatory equity club (brokerage guide, Apr. 2026)	About 70 sales past year averaging about $2.1M (brokerage guide, Apr. 2026)
St. Andrews Country Club, Boca Raton	728 on 780 acres	Two courses, one an Arnold Palmer Signature design	Mandatory (listing site)	26 sales past year averaging $5.7M
Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club, Boca Raton	Not stated; 450 acres	18 holes, Nicklaus redesign; marina	Optional, by invitation; April 2026 fee report below	Redfin median $11.0M, Aug. 2026, 13 sales

"Past year" sales averages and listing ranges are from brokerage community pages as of October 2026; "club site" means the club's own pages; where the membership column says "not stated," the fees aren't published either. Redfin medians are for the month shown and can swing on a handful of sales, which is why the sales counts sit next to them.

Jupiter: the big three

Admirals Cove is the one on everyone's list: 45 holes of golf and a marina with dockage for vessels up to 165 feet. The listing page doesn't give a home count or say whether a purchase obligates you to join, so that's the first call I make. Forty-eight sales in the past year averaged $7.1 million.

The Bear's Club is Jack and Barbara Nicklaus's club, founded in 1999 around an 18-hole course: 68 estate residences plus 28 villas, the smallest community on this list. Eight homes sold in the past year at an average of $18.8 million, and they took an average of 251 days to do it.

Jonathan's Landing is 600 acres and 27 villages of houses, condos and townhomes built from 1979 to 2007, with three courses, one inside the gates whose par-five 17th you reach by ferry, ten Har-Tru courts and a marina. The part buyers like: the community does not mandate membership, so you can own on the water here without a club bill. The listing page describes single-family homes from about $550,000 on interior lots to $3 million on the water, the lowest entry in Jupiter.

Palm Beach Gardens: the equity clubs

Frenchman's Creek Beach and Country Club has two 18-hole courses, a beach club, a marina and 95 homes on deep-water canals with ocean access through the Intracoastal. The club's membership page says its "equity membership structure requires residency" and that each member owns a home, and the listing page calls membership mandatory for all residents, so budget for the club when you budget for the house.

Old Palm Golf Club is 294 residences around a course on 180 acres with a 33-acre practice facility and a 43,000-square-foot clubhouse. Membership terms aren't on the public pages.

Mirasol is 2,300 acres and 25 villages around Tom Fazio's Sunrise course and Arthur Hills's Sunset course; construction began in 2002. The club's membership page is the clearest in the county: membership belongs to the title owner and comes with the home, Golf memberships are available only with homes that already carry one, Sports gets limited golf from November 1 to April 30, and Social is likewise tied to homes that have it. The fee schedule lives in a brochure, not on the page.

BallenIsles is nearly 1,600 residences in 33 neighborhoods on the ground that was originally the home of the PGA of America, with three courses: the East, a Dick Wilson and Joe Lee design renovated by Nicklaus Design in 2023; the South, a Rees Jones redesign that reopened in 2020; and the North, which opened in 1964. Four resident categories, Full Golf, Sports, Racquets and Social, and the club says plainly that it is a mandatory membership equity club and that homeownership is required to join.

PGA National is the big one: a listing site counts 4,963 homes in 43 subdivisions, marks the community as gated and marks club membership as no; the resort's Members Club, with five championship courses plus the nine-hole Staple, is its own membership. That's why PGA National is where I send people who want a gate, a golf address and a normal budget; which subdivisions have their own gate is a per-listing check. Evergrene, nearby, is the gate without the club: 963 homes, gated, no club membership.

North Palm Beach: Lost Tree Village

Lost Tree Village was founded in 1961 on 450 acres between the ocean and the Intracoastal, 570 residences around a course "designed by Mark McMahon and perfected by Jack Nicklaus," with a beach club. Every resident belongs to the property owners association; golf is optional and limited to residents. The only dated fee figures I found were on a listing site as of September 2023: a $50,000 new-member POA fee, golf at a $30,000 application, $208,000 initiation and $24,000 annual dues, social at $138,000 and $18,000. Three years old, so confirm.

West Palm Beach and Wellington

Ibis is about 1,900 acres, 1,864 homes in 33 subdivisions, and three courses designed by the Nicklaus family, the Legend, the Heritage and the Tradition. The listing page shows four membership categories with fees but no dates, and doesn't say whether a purchase requires one, so ask. Its 104 sales in the past year ran from $299,000 to $6.49 million, condos to estates.

Palm Beach Polo in Wellington is 2,200 acres and 45 neighborhoods dating to 1978. The club is optional: residents can apply, but it takes two member sponsors and committee approval, and a non-member can own here without using the club. Listings from $289,900 to $16.25 million tell you how much of this community is condos and townhomes next to the estates.

Wycliffe is two 18-hole courses behind a gate the club calls a "mandatory membership community," with three tiers: Platinum for full golf, Gold with no weekday tee times before 12:30 p.m. from November 15 to April 15, and Silver for tennis and the clubhouse. After Hunters Run it's the lowest-priced mandatory-club gate on this list, with listings from $143,000.

Boynton Beach and Delray Beach

Hunters Run is 900 acres and 1,650 residences in 23 subdivisions, condos through single-family, around three 18-hole courses, with 18 Har-Tru courts and 12 pickleball courts; the club has operated since 1979. The club's membership page says members are required to maintain at least a social membership and can upgrade to Racquet Sports or Golf each fiscal year. At an average sale of $284,296 over 136 sales, it's the answer when someone wants a full country club for the price of a condo.

Delaire Country Club is small: 324 homes on more than 340 acres, more than an acre per home, with 27 holes. The listing page describes homes here as sold alongside club membership. Ten sales in the past year took an average of 331 days.

Mizner Country Club was developed by Toll Brothers starting in early 2000: 471 single-family homes in eight subdivisions around an 18-hole Arnold Palmer design. The listing page doesn't state the membership rule, so ask.

Boca Raton: the big clubs

Boca West is 1,400 acres and more than 3,500 member households around four courses designed by Arnold Palmer, Jim Fazio and Pete Dye. The club's site says membership requires owning a residence in Boca West, a sponsor, an interview and acceptance by the Board of Governors; a brokerage guide dated August 2026 puts it as "buying a home at Boca West means joining the club." The club doesn't publish the number, but that guide said the initiation fee was $150,000 and was scheduled to rise to $215,000 on October 1, 2026, so confirm the current figure before you write. Zillow's typical home value here was $540,178 on September 30, 2026; garden condos under $200,000 pull that down and the estate homes past $7 million pull it up.

The Polo Club of Boca Raton is 1,100 acres between Jog Road and Military Trail, developed from 1986, with more than 1,700 residences in 24 subdivisions and two courses. The listing page calls it a mandatory membership community.

Woodfield Country Club is about 1,297 homes in 20 villages on 830 acres with an 18-hole course. A brokerage guide dated April 2026 describes it as a member-owned equity club with mandatory membership for all homeowners and reported a fee increase due November 2, 2026; the club doesn't publish a schedule, so get the current sheet from the club.

St. Andrews Country Club is 728 estate homes of 3,200 to 15,000 square feet on 780 acres with two courses, one an Arnold Palmer Signature design. The listing page says membership is required of every resident. Twenty-six sales in the past year averaged $5.7 million.

Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club is the east-side one: 450 acres on the Intracoastal where development began in 1959 under Arthur Vining Davis's Arvida, a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course that Jack Nicklaus redesigned in 2003 and reworked in 2014, and a marina. Membership is optional, separate from the house and by invitation. A brokerage article updated April 24, 2026, put golf initiation at about $210,000 with annual dues around $30,000; the club doesn't publish, so treat that as a starting point. Redfin's August 2026 median was about $11 million on 13 sales.

The ones that come up but aren't gated, and the 55+ gates

Abacoa in Jupiter comes up in every one of these conversations, and a listing site marks it plainly: gated, no; club membership, no; 4,352 homes in 16 neighborhoods. It's the comparison point for what the same money buys without a gate. The age-restricted communities, the Valencia-style ones in Boynton Beach and their neighbors, have their own post.

What the market looks like around them

Redfin's median sale price for Palm Beach County was $513,850 in September 2026, up 3.8 percent on the year, on 1,999 sales with 76 days on market. Hunters Run and Wycliffe sit below that, PGA National and Boca West near it, and everything else over it, with the Jupiter and east Boca club gates at more than ten times it. On a canal or the Intracoastal with a guard and a dock, the gate is part of what you're buying. In a mainland subdivision, it's a convenience, and the HOA line that pays for the guardhouse is a cost the next buyer will weigh. I price the house, the lot, the water and the club first and the gate last.

Questions to ask before you write an offer

Is the club mandatory, optional or absent, and what exactly conveys with the deed? At Mirasol a Golf membership only comes with a home that already has one; at Lost Tree the POA is mandatory and the golf is not. What is the initiation or equity payment, how much of it comes back when you sell, and is there a separate capital contribution? What are the dues by category, and what does the HOA charge on top? Is a special assessment on the books for a clubhouse or course renovation? Is there a community development district, a special-purpose local government under Chapter 190 of the Florida Statutes that repays its bonds through assessments on the lots and shows up as a non-ad valorem line on the tax bill? What is the rental policy? And what is the flood zone, because Admirals Cove, Jonathan's Landing, Frenchman's Creek, Lost Tree and Royal Palm are all on the water.

Two pieces of Florida law help. Section 720.401 requires a disclosure summary before you sign in an HOA community, stating that you'll be obligated to be a member and pay assessments; if you didn't get it before signing, you can cancel within three days of receiving it or before closing, whichever comes first. Section 720.30851 gives you an estoppel certificate from the association within 10 business days of a written request, listing the assessments, any capital contribution or transfer fee and any open violations, at a fee capped at $250 when the account is current. I order the estoppel early and read the club documents before we talk price. The relocation page covers the towns, the Treasure Coast gated guide and the Space Coast gated guide are the comparisons if you're choosing between counties, and the buying page is where to start.

Questions people ask about gated communities here

Which gated communities in Palm Beach County have the highest prices?

On the pages I checked in October 2026, the Jupiter and east Boca clubs lead: Redfin's August 2026 median at Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club in Boca Raton was about $11 million, and listing-site averages for the past year were $18.8 million at The Bear's Club and $7.1 million at Admirals Cove in Jupiter, with Lost Tree Village in North Palm Beach at $17.1 million on ten sales.

What is the least expensive gated country club in Palm Beach County?

Hunters Run in Boynton Beach, where a listing site's 136 sales over the past year averaged $284,296 as of October 2026; it has three 18-hole courses and requires at least a social membership. Wycliffe in Wellington was next at a $452,889 average on 66 sales, and it is also a mandatory-membership club.

Which Palm Beach County gated communities do not require club membership?

Jonathan's Landing in Jupiter, Palm Beach Polo in Wellington and Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club in Boca Raton all say the club is optional, and Lost Tree Village in North Palm Beach makes the property owners association mandatory but golf optional. Evergrene in Palm Beach Gardens has a gate and no club to join.

What does an equity membership cost in Palm Beach County?

Most clubs do not publish it. The dated figures I found were a listing site's September 2023 numbers for Lost Tree Village ($208,000 golf initiation plus $24,000 dues), a brokerage article updated April 2026 for Royal Palm (about $210,000 golf initiation) and an August 2026 brokerage guide for Boca West ($150,000, scheduled to rise to $215,000 on October 1, 2026). Confirm every one with the club before you write.

Is PGA National a gated community, and do you have to join the club?

A listing site counts 4,963 homes in 43 subdivisions at PGA National, marks it gated and marks club membership as no; the resort's Members Club is a separate membership. Which subdivisions have their own gate is a per-listing check. Redfin's June 2026 median was $596,792 on 94 sales.

What is a CDD and how do I know if a community has one?

A community development district is a special-purpose local government under Chapter 190 of the Florida Statutes that pays for infrastructure with bonds repaid through assessments on the lots, which show up as non-ad valorem lines on the tax bill. Pull the parcel's tax bill before you offer, and use the estoppel certificate and HOA disclosure summary under Chapter 720 for the association's own assessments.

Talk with William. Tell me which kind of gate you mean, a guard, a club or just quiet streets, which end of the county, and your budget, and I'll show you the three that fit and get the club documents before we look. Call or text (772) 800-2274 or send a message.

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, fees and club rules change; confirm current details with the club and association. William Merchant, REALTOR®, RE/MAX Gold. Each RE/MAX office is independently owned and operated.

Sources

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William Merchant