Hugh Taylor Birch State Park

Located in the city of Fort Lauderdale, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park has a one-mile-long and wide beach situated in front of Sunrise Bay. Spread across three-and-a-half miles, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is named after Chicago attorney Hugh Taylor Birch who bought the property in 1893. The beach at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is backed by tall palm trees, beautiful houses, and many waterways making it a great spot for birdwatching and picnicking. Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is home to many birds and animals including the gopher tortoise, indigo snake, butterflies, squirrels, rabbits, wading birds, hawks, and ducks.  Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is an awesome place for fishing as you will find many creatures including eels, snooks, barracudas, and thousands of other types of fish in the waters here.  

Hugh Taylor Birch State Park offers many amenities including restrooms, showers, barbecues, picnic tables, horseshoe pits, playgrounds, trails, canoe rentals, a youth campground, and a grass park. If you are looking for additional amenities, the park also has a visitor canter named Terramar Visitor Center that remains open on Saturdays and Sundays only. 

Little River Springs offers many fun activities including sunbathing, hiking, wildlife watching, picnicking, beachcombing, swimming, surf-skiing, kayaking, canoeing, snorkeling, and scuba diving. The spring run in Little River Springs has some shallow parts and moderate temperature, making it suitable for beginner swimmers and kayakers. However, if you are planning to enter the spring run in Little River Springs, we recommend being careful as the water here is also known to have unpredictably swift currents along with some deep parts. In addition, drowning-related deaths have also occurred in the water here. However, despite the risky water conditions, snorkelers and scuba divers often enter the clear water of this spring run as it has a unique underwater cave system. This underwater cave system is more than 1,200 feet long.

Apart from the beaches and the spring run, Little River Springs also has a vibrant landscape which can be explored by hikers. You can view many kinds of animals in this park including deer, squirrels, and a large variety of birds.

Getting to Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is very easy – the park’s paid parking lot is situated at 3109 East Sunrise Boulevard and it charges $6 per vehicle. 

If you are looking for attractions near Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, you can drive 20 minutes to the Boca Raton Museum of Art which is home to permanent collections of contemporary art, glass art, photography, non-western art, and the Art of Artifacts of West Africa. The 9-hole Red Reef Park Executive Golf Course is situated between Lake Wyman and Red Reef Park Beach, is spread across 1,357 yards, and is an awesome tourist attraction. Boynton Harbor Marina offers souvenir shops, art galleries, whale watching tours, boating tours, fishing trips, and is a great spot for photography. Quiet Waters Park features campgrounds, a skate park, and the longest cable ski course in the world – the increasingly popular and fun sport of cable skiing is a hybrid of surfing, skiing, and wakeboarding where users hang on to a tow-rope from above. Another great attraction near Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is Gumbo Limbo Nature Center that features an incredible butterfly garden, an indoor museum, and many large aquariums where you can see fish and sea turtles during their nesting period. 

If you get hungry, there are many restaurants within an eight-minute drive of Hugh Taylor Birch State Park. M&M Thai Café is a vegetarian-friendly restaurant offering authentic Thai and Asian dishes that include Pad Thai noodles, satay, and curries along with wines and beers. If you like Italian food, Vespri Siciliani serves classic Italian dishes like Chicken Parmigiana and Fettuccine Alfredo, pasta, chicken, and beef dishes. Another good restaurant near Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is Loch Bar, a seafood restaurant featuring oysters, surf ‘n’ turf, groupers, fish ‘n’ chips, and shrimps. 

If you are looking for a hotel near Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, you can drive 15 minutes to The Boca Raton, a 5-Star hotel featuring a lounge, poolside bar, 50,000 sq ft spa, sauna, fitness center, gym, snack bar, game room, 18-hole golf course, surf school, seven pools, 12 restaurants, 16 tennis courts, and boating, fishing, and diving tours. Hyde Resort and Residences is a beachfront 4-Star hotel with a pool, bar, spa, Japanese eatery, and fitness center. The 3-Star pet-friendly hotel Delray Sands Resort offers many amenities including a pool, lounge, spa, gym, and restaurant with ocean views. If you are looking for a budget-friendly hotel near Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, the 2-Star Ocean Lodge Florida welcomes pets and has a nice pool and bar.