Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Ft Lauderdale

Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is one remaining piece of nature in the concrete jungle that is Fort Lauderdale. It is surrounded on one side by a gorgeous beach and on the other side by the intracoastal waterway which is devoid of any nature or trees. Many people use this park as parking for the beach.

The coastal hammock (or jungle) here is not as pretty as the hammock at Bonnet House just south across Sunrise Blvd, which has incredible strangler fig trees. You can do a few short trail walks. You can also rent kayaks and paddle on a small stretch of pretty waterway that isn't shaded. There is a tiny island in the middle of the waterway. The best thing to do at this park is swim at the beach, so bring your swimsuit! The beach is great because it's a thin stretch of sand (not such a big trek across the sand to the water) and there are lovely little bouncy waves in the clear, stunning water. This is the life! A lifeguard keeps watch, and people stretch out on the sand under beach umbrellas. A happy scene!
To get from the nature park to the beach you must walk under the road by going down stairs and through a tunnel. There are no showers but there are restrooms.
After your walk or swim, have lunch at EuroBread Cafe, just four minutes away by car. Inside in the cool AC, it looks like you're outside, eating in a little French square.
A large but not that well-maintained playground is nearby at Holiday Park. To escape the heat after your nature time, head over to the Museum of Discovery and Science, an eleven minute drive, which kids adore and where you can also see an IMAX film.
11 minutes drive north, have a delicious meal and enjoy live steel drum music at Bahama Breeze.
A wonderful place that will fill you with delight is WMODA, Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts, a twenty-minute drive south of this beach.

Directions

Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is located at 3109 E. Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale FL 33304.
Cost to enter is $6 per car. Kayak rental is $10 an hour.
EuroBread Cafe, 1000 Seminole Dr, Fort Lauderdale FL 33304, call (954) 568-3876.
Bahama Breeze, 3339 N Federal Hwy, Oakland Park, FL 33306.

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