This past weekend I discovered a new and truly magical park! While I visited in rainy weather, I can’t complain because it was still so warm out!
I feel so grateful that I moved to Florida in time for the COVID19 pandemic to hit. Family and friends are dealing with snowstorm after snowstorm in the Northeast. Meanwhile, I am able to go outdoors and explore nature in comfortable temperatures.
I’ve explored parks near and far during this pandemic. But Tree Tops Park might be my favorite discovery yet! Ant here’s still so much more to explore.
Tree Tops Park
The over 243-acre Tree Tops Park is located in the town of Davie in Broward County, Florida. It took me about 45 minutes to drive there from Miami and it was worth it!
Tree Tops Park was once dairy farm. The area was set to become a golf course like so many areas of Florida. Broward County officials protected it for residents in 1980 which began its conservation success journey.
Since then, the park has exploded into a thriving forest and marsh of oaks and tropical hammocks. A 1000-foot boardwalk extends over freshwater.
There’s also some great community features to this park like playgrounds, exercise stations, equestrian trails, pavilions, gazebos, meetings rooms, and a large event hall.
There are even paddle boat rentals in different giant plastic animal shapes!
The park currently serves as a vaccination site for COVID19! So the main roadways and a few parking areas are dotted with orange cones to guide traffic to outdoor booths for receiving doses.
But you’ll forget all of that as soon as you’re walking the nature trail.
Marsh Friends and Trees
Although I visited Tree Tops Park right after heavy rains, the paved trails kept my feet relatively dry. I was only drizzled on a little and it was still a really beautiful forest to take in even in the overcast light!
The main trail through the forest is a 1.2 mile loops that takes you down different pathways. There are little discoveries along the way like a portion that opens up to the marsh.
Swamp lilies scatter the wetlands on either side of the boardwalk. There are observation decks in two places along the boardwalk—a good spot to watch for gators, birds, and fish.
My favorite spotting was the turtles! There were several of them!
Back under the oak canopy and red bay ridged with air plants are paved and unpaved pathways. The trees there remind me of parts of Kendall Indian Hammocks Park
Similar to the park near me is also the many wild coffee and marlberry plants. These always have pretty berries on them!
Another surprise along the loop trail is what looks like a tree growing out of a fallen tree trunk. This is a fallen oak tree with a strangler fig emerging from its base! Two of the oak’s branches grow up into the canopy.
Almost immediately after the fallen tree is a large concrete silo—a relic of the dairy farm that once was!
One of my favorite spots in the whole park is a huge ficus tree with many banyan roots near the observation tower. This tree feels old and fantasy-like—as if there should be elves living there. At the very least, it would make for a great photo shoot backdrop!
Observation Tower
The 28-foot tall observation tower brings you eye level with the view overhead. Although you can’t see over the tree tops, it’s a beautiful view to look directly into the dense canopy.
When I visited over the weekend, the observation tower had caution tape blocking people from going up it. I wondered if this was because of COVID19 but it didn’t make sense since I saw so many people at the various pavillions and other buildings scattered around the park. Why would they block this off from use but allow big parties of people under the gazebos?
Well, there was nobody around and I didn’t see any issues. So I maneuvered my way around the tape and ascended. Wow—I’m such a rule breaker. But we can’t have adventure without a little risk, can we?
I really loved this tower. From it’s maze-like walkway to its height among the upper branches—it’s such a unique feature of this park.
In Conclusion
I don’t know when I will be back to Tree Tops Park. But I really enjoyed my time! I am glad I decided to deviate the norm a bit and go up the tower despite the warning not to. I enjoyed the views and there was nothing amiss up there as far as I could see!
I highly recommend checking out some local discoveries in your area while your bored during this pandemic. Whether they are outdoors or something you can enjoy from the safety of your car—give it a try! You may find some lovely surprises in the change of scenery.
