The Barnacle Historic State Park This historic home represents a simpler time in South Florida’s past. Located just off the Main Highway in downtown Coconut Grove, The Barnacle Historic State site contains the oldest home in Dade County in its original location. Originally the home of Ralph Middleton Munroe, one of Coconut Grove’s most charming and influential pioneers, the Florida Park Service acquired five acres of Munroe’s original 40-acre home site from his descendants in 1973. As you walk into this historic site from the busy Main Highway, tropical hardwood hammock surrounds you. This site is one of the best preserved historic sites you will find and a visit here provides a glimpse into the rich past of the Era of the Bay.
Everglades National Park Called the River of Grass, the Everglades are a patchwork of open saw grass marshes, mangrove forests, and tropical hardwood hammocks. The Everglades National Park spans the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula and most of the Florida Bay and is the only subtropical preserve in North America. The Park has been designated a World Heritage Site, and International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Importance. Known for its rich bird life, particularly the roseate spoonbill, wood stork, great blue heron, and a variety of egrets, the Everglades is also the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side. In wintertime, when the mosquitoes have subsided, the Everglades attracts large numbers of kayak and canoe campers, bird watchers, hikers, anglers, and car-bound visitors just cruising through.
With four visitor centers scattered throughout the Everglades area, a variety of options await visitors. Ranger led walks and talks are offered year-round from the Royal Palm Visitor center and at Flamingo, Shark Valley, and Gulf Coast during the winter months. Boat tours are available year-round at Flamingo and Gulf Coast, and Shark Valley offers Tram-tours. The visitor centers provide different amenities at each location including educational exhibits, restaurants, gift shops, lodges, or campgrounds.
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park Wishing to preserve his subtropical paradise from development, Hugh Taylor Birch donated his estate for use as a public park. The three and a half mile beach front park boasts several distinct biological communities, a freshwater lagoon system, and a number of endangered and threatened animals and plants. A self guided nature trail or ranger-led walks are available for visitors. A scenic park road allows you to explore by bicycle and canoe rentals are available for short trips on the lagoon. Birch’s home is now open as the Terramar Visitor Center and offers exhibits, a short video, and orients visitors to the park and its facilities. Other amenities include playground equipment, pavilions, barbecue grills, shaded picnic areas and an underground walkway leading from the parking area to the beach.
John U. Lloyd State Park Adjacent to Port Everglades, John U. Lloyd Beach is 251 acres of Barrier Island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, from Port Everglades on the north to Dania on the South. One of Broward County’s most important sea turtle nesting beaches, Lloyd Beach produces some 10,000 hatchlings a year. A tidal waterway, called New River Sound divides the park and is a protected zone for the endangered manatee and a great variety of other marine life. The mangrove-lined waterway provides a scenic place to canoe, observe bird life, and take photographs.
Popular for swimming and sunning, the Beach area offers shaded picnic areas, limited picnic supplies, and Coco’s Café, the local refreshment stand.
Oleta River State Park Oleta River State Recreation Area sits on 1,043 acres and is the largest urban park in the state. Located on Biscayne Bay in northeast Dade County, the most prominent natural feature is the Oleta River, the park’s namesake. No longer flowing into the Everglades, the Oleta River’s beauty and splendor lives on as water birds feed along the mangrove-lined shore and the endangered West Indian Manatee finds refuge from South Florida’s crowded waterways. Boasting miles of canoe trails, a sandy swimming beach, several hiking trails, shaded picnic pavilions, canoe and paddle boat rentals, and a fishing pier the Oleta River State Park presents a variety of recreational activities for visitors to the South Florida area.
West Lake Park
Anne Kolb Nature Center Made up of 88 acres, the West Lake Park truly is a recreational adventure. There are picnic areas, a biking/jogging path, tennis and racquetball courts, volleyball areas, a playground, two 45 capacity picnic shelters, and a marina where kayaks and canoes can be rented. The West Lake Park/Anne Kolb Nature Center complex is a coastal mangrove wetland that’s home to an abundance of plants and animals, including some threatened and endangered species. The Anne Kolb Nature Center includes a five-level observation tower, a fishing pier, two nature trails, and an outdoor ampitheater. The exhibit hall features nature displays, a 3,500 gallon aquarium, and a 10-minute ecological-themed video. Environmental boat tours depart regularly. Amenities at the complex include picnic shelters, marina and rentals, and restroom facilities.
14360
S Tamiami Trail Ste. B Ft. Myers, FL 33912
800-396-1885
This historic home represents a simpler time in South Florida’s past. Located just off the Main Highway in downtown Coconut Grove, The Barnacle Historic State site contains the oldest home in Dade County in its original location. Originally the home of Ralph Middleton Munroe, one of Coconut Grove’s most charming and influential pioneers, the Florida Park Service acquired five acres of Munroe’s original 40-acre home site from his descendants in 1973. As you walk into this historic site from the busy Main Highway, tropical hardwood hammock surrounds you. This site is one of the best preserved historic sites you will find and a visit here provides a glimpse into the rich past of the Era of the Bay.
Called the River of Grass, the Everglades are a patchwork of open saw grass marshes, mangrove forests, and tropical hardwood hammocks. The Everglades National Park spans the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula and most of the Florida Bay and is the only subtropical preserve in North America. The Park has been designated a World Heritage Site, and International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Importance. Known for its rich bird life, particularly the roseate spoonbill, wood stork, great blue heron, and a variety of egrets, the Everglades is also the only place in the world where alligators and crocodiles exist side by side. In wintertime, when the mosquitoes have subsided, the Everglades attracts large numbers of kayak and canoe campers, bird watchers, hikers, anglers, and car-bound visitors just cruising through. 
Wishing to preserve his subtropical paradise from development, Hugh Taylor Birch donated his estate for use as a public park. The three and a half mile beach front park boasts several distinct biological communities, a freshwater lagoon system, and a number of endangered and threatened animals and plants. A self guided nature trail or ranger-led walks are available for visitors. A scenic park road allows you to explore by bicycle and canoe rentals are available for short trips on the lagoon. Birch’s home is now open as the Terramar Visitor Center and offers exhibits, a short video, and orients visitors to the park and its facilities. Other amenities include playground equipment, pavilions, barbecue grills, shaded picnic areas and an underground walkway leading from the parking area to the beach. 
Adjacent to Port Everglades, John U. Lloyd Beach is 251 acres of Barrier Island between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, from Port Everglades on the north to Dania on the South. One of Broward County’s most important sea turtle nesting beaches, Lloyd Beach produces some 10,000 hatchlings a year. A tidal waterway, called New River Sound divides the park and is a protected zone for the endangered manatee and a great variety of other marine life. The mangrove-lined waterway provides a scenic place to canoe, observe bird life, and take photographs. 
Oleta River State Recreation Area sits on 1,043 acres and is the largest urban park in the state. Located on Biscayne Bay in northeast Dade County, the most prominent natural feature is the Oleta River, the park’s namesake. No longer flowing into the Everglades, the Oleta River’s beauty and splendor lives on as water birds feed along the mangrove-lined shore and the endangered West Indian Manatee finds refuge from South Florida’s crowded waterways. Boasting miles of canoe trails, a sandy swimming beach, several hiking trails, shaded picnic pavilions, canoe and paddle boat rentals, and a fishing pier the Oleta River State Park presents a variety of recreational activities for visitors to the South Florida area.
Made up of 88 acres, the West Lake Park truly is a recreational adventure. There are picnic areas, a biking/jogging path, tennis and racquetball courts, volleyball areas, a playground, two 45 capacity picnic shelters, and a marina where kayaks and canoes can be rented. The West Lake Park/Anne Kolb Nature Center complex is a coastal mangrove wetland that’s home to an abundance of plants and animals, including some threatened and endangered species. The Anne Kolb Nature Center includes a five-level observation tower, a fishing pier, two nature trails, and an outdoor ampitheater. The exhibit hall features nature displays, a 3,500 gallon aquarium, and a 10-minute ecological-themed video. Environmental boat tours depart regularly. Amenities at the complex include picnic shelters, marina and rentals, and restroom facilities.