Best South Florida Parks and Nature Escapes

Nature lovers who want sawgrass, mangroves and birdlife without leaving South Florida will find it in this guide to parks, preserves and gardens. The list runs from south Miami-Dade and the Everglades through North Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Coconut Creek to Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden covers 83 acres with more than 3,400 species of tropical plants, and narrated tram tours loop the grounds. At Shark Valley, private cars stay in the lot and the sawgrass prairie is seen on foot, by bike or from a tram. Fern Forest Nature Center is free, with a wheelchair-accessible boardwalk through cypress and maple swamp. Wakodahatchee Wetlands has a three-quarter-mile boardwalk where wading birds and alligators are easy to spot.

Arrive early at Shark Valley and Oleta River, since both fill up, and Oleta stays closed for the day once it hits capacity.