Mounts Botanical Garden in West Palm Beach is lovely. It has special features, like a water garden, but also useful info like lots of plant labels.
Southeast Florida
The free trolley from Homestead to Everglades National Park & Biscayne National Park runs every winter weekend. Riders enter free, saving the $30 admission.
Phipps Park Campground is a great escape for family camping near Stuart. Rent a tent or bring your own, and the RV sites are waterfront.
Donald MacDonald Park is one of those cozy little campgrounds you want to keep to yourself. Lush vegetation and access to a natural river with abundant wildlife.
Amid a sea of subdivisions, you’ll find a pair of man-made wetlands west of Delray Beach where you will encounter extraordinary wildlife viewing from strategically placed boardwalks. After COVID and construction closings, they are both open as of fall 2020.
Nature hikes, free camping, off-road bicycling, fishing and paddling are fabulous in this pair of magical wildlife areas in the far reaches of Palm Beach County
This state park holds a special place in my heart. In urban South Florida, it preserves a sliver of the natural splendor once all around. There’s a lot to do here: beach, biking, shaded picnics, Intracoastal views. When visiting, a perfect day includes a stop to nearby Bonnet House.
Grassy Waters Preserve in West Palm Beach is a rare South Florida spot to hike or bike for miles in a wild area. It also offers a great family-friendly boardwalk through a lovely cypress swamp.
There are many reasons to visit the Redland, the rural area between Miami and Everglades National Park. But if you like orchids, here’s the best reason: Excellent free tours of the private gardens at R F Fuchs Orchids.
Whoever named this kayak trail Hell’s Bay was giving you a hint: It won’t be easy. During National Parks Week at the end of April, I paddled this forbiddingly named trail. It’s mile after mile of mangroves with tight twists and turns that make going slow. If you’re heading for a backcountry camping site — a chickee on a platform in the middle of the Everglades wilderness — then this trail is worth the trouble. If not, well, I have some suggestions for you.
Peaceful Waters Sanctuary is an outstanding birding site and a particularly good destination for nature-starved folks from Broward and Palm Beach counties. It’s also close to two good places for 3-mile-long walks in natural settings.
This laid-back beach town isn’t famous, but it charms visitors with its funky Florida history, gorgeous beaches and a cute downtown with interesting restaurants and shops. In 2019, it celebrates its 100th birthday.
Our Everglades National Park paddle on the Coot Bay/Mud Lake trail offered two hours of gorgeous scenery through magical mangrove tunnels. It also required about two hours of hard paddling against the wind.
This paved trail in Coral Gables lets you experience one of Miami’s most beautiful public spaces — Old Cutler Road. It passes several special gardens and parks and is shaded by historic ficus trees, It’s a delightful way to experience one of the oldest neighborhoods in Miami.
I’m always looking for scenic, traffic-free bike trails near my Fort Lauderdale home, and this one is good if you like a challenge.
The Seminole Inn in Indiantown is way off the beaten path, which may be why it’s fun to discover its Southern style home cooking and charming atmosphere.
West Lake provides a little bit of wildness in the middle of urban sprawl. It is of the most accessible natural places to kayak for 2 million people who live within 45 minutes of it. It is also a great place for a beginner to try out kayaking.
The Kampong is an intimate and charming tropical estate and gardens, built by one of Florida’s most interesting characters, David Fairchild.
When crossing Florida on I-75, this hike is an easy way to experience the Everglades. You can hike for miles; even backpack to a campsite. Or stretch your legs for a short taste of the wild.
MacArthur Beach State Park offers one of my favorite kinds of kayak trails – a trip to an island reachable only by boat. To make it better, historic Munyon Island has an interesting story and great scenery.
2018 is an exceptional one for nesting birds in Everglades National Park. Two super colonies– more than 25,000 birds clustered together– are nesting in the park for the first time since the 1940s. We couldn’t resist a visit. And while you can’t reach the super colonies, there is much to see on a spring visit.
Free Blacks and runaway slaves met on Cape Florida’s beaches, seeking passage to a better life in the Bahamas.
After a dozen years, a prehistoric Native American archaeological site is saved and opened as a park. It makes a nice stop on a walking or bicycle tour of the Brickell area of downtown Miami.
FORT LAUDERDALE — The Southport Raw Bar is a favorite of locals, and you’ll love it, too. The water view down a canal filled with sailboats is awesome, and the seafood is fresh and tasty. This well-known, yet hidden, eatery is filled exudes ‘Old Florida’ ambience. A great place to wile away an afternoon, or take a friend to dinner.
Explore elegant landscapes, megayachts and homes of the rich and famous from the comfort of your kayak.
Fort Lauderdale’s Rustic Inn is a classic. Their “world famous garlic crabs” draw hundreds of people every night to this old Florida restaurant, tucked away on Ravenswood Road, just west of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. You’ll find it from the sound of wooden mallets pounding on the table every few minutes.
Howley’s Diner has been there for 60 years. It’s not just retro, this West Palm Beach diner is the real deal — from its terrazzo floors to its tin ceiling.
This old-growth forest with 1,000-year-old trees is closely guarded because it is next to an FPL plant. Free tours are no longer offered of this 1.1 mile boardwalk in Martin County