Parks

It’s Good Being Green

Boca Raton has nature woven throughout—at more than 40 parks, coastal hammocks and miles of beaches

Boca Raton is committed to providing residents with an active lifestyle by offering immaculate public beaches and extraordinary parks. In fact, the city has 47 scenic parks with everything from playgrounds and fitness trails to tennis courts, baseball fields, bicycle trails, pickleball, boat docks and more. In addition, seven community schools offer many outdoor recreational and nature-based educational opportunities. There is organized playtime, with sports facilities for adult recreational leagues. (Recreation services can be reached at 561/393-7810.)

The Recreator, published three times a year, informs residents about current programs and classes, as well as all the amenities associated with city parks and recreational sites.

Red Reef Park is a 67-acre oceanfront park that includes the 20-acre Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. Open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, Red Reef has a dune boardwalk with observation gazebos, a protected beach, play areas, tables, grills, a snorkeling reef and picnic facilities. A new reef is coming this year which will add to the park's impressive snorkeling trail. Professional lifeguards are on duty from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

You don’t need to venture too far to snorkel in one of South Florida’s most striking coral reefs … it’s right here at Red Reef Beach. Adventure seekers can take in the colors and excitement of Florida’s reefs with nothing more than a pair of goggles. Red Reef Park is a fully equipped public beach facility that also happens to have a nearshore rock reef that’s great for snorkeling. Boca offers three prominent beach dive locations: Turtle Reef, South Inlet Park and Red Reef Park, which are located are just 500 feet from shore!

Founded in 1984, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Red Reef Park is famous for its unusual name—which comes from the tropical gumbo-limbo tree—and offers great programs and a scenic observation tower. This center, on 20 acres of pristine coastal hammock, provides education, research and conservation programs for Boca Raton. Designed to be a multipurpose environmental education facility, the center seeks to provide interpretation and appreciation of its semitropical coastal surroundings for schoolchildren, Boca Raton residents and all of the area’s lucky visitors.

The Gumbo Limbo facilities are open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 4 p.m. The center’s research creates practical applications in the conservation of sea turtles and other marine life, and it offers sea turtle walks in the summer. It closely monitors more than 800 turtle nests a year in a five-mile stretch of beach, rescues injured turtles and releases more than 6,000 stranded hatchlings each nesting season.

Another unique park is Mizner Bark, the Boca Raton dog park on Banyan Trail. The rowdy, romping six-acre grounds feature pup-friendly

Gumbo Limbo Nature Center

water fountains and many plastic-bag dispensers, so dog owners may conveniently obey the park rules to pick up after their pets. The park has sections for small (under 20 pounds), medium (between 20 and 50 pounds) and large dogs (50 pounds and heavier). The park is free to city residents and operates from 7:30 a.m. until dusk six days a week, opening at noon on Wednesdays.

If your dog likes to wag in the waves, then you should visit Bark Beach Park. In Spanish River Park (3001 N. Ocean Blvd. between Lifeguard Towers 18 and 20), this dog-friendly beach park is open Friday through Sunday from 7 to 9 a.m. and then from 3 p.m. to sunset November through March and 5 p.m. to sunset March through November. The park requires owners to have a permit, which is an annual fee of $30 for residents and $165 for nonresidents, and may be purchased at the Boca Raton Community Center, James A. Rutherford Community Center and Sugar Sand Park Community Center. But you can also buy a $10 weekend pass at the gate.

The Spanish River Athletic Complex at Countess de Hoernle Park is part of a 175-acre tract of former IBM land that opened in October 2013. It covers 40 acres on Spanish River Boulevard just west of Interstate 95 and is a joint project between the City of Boca Raton and the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District, designed to meet the recreational needs of the community. The park includes a playground, four soccer fields and four softball/baseball fields with two single-story buildings, one for baseball and one for soccer. All athletic facilities are lighted. The complex also includes small meeting rooms and covered patios with picnic tables. There are walking paths, including one that goes under Spanish River Boulevard and around the 20-acre lake, leading to the library and Pondhawk Natural Area. The park is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily except Sunday, when it closes at sunset.

Sugar Sand Park is a large stretch of land (132 acres) on the southeast corner of Palmetto Park Road and Military Trail. Inside the park, you’ll find Willow Theatre, perfectly sized for shows by local community and professional theatre companies. The facility also hosts events and art exhibits, and provides meeting space for civic groups. The park’s Children’s Science Explorium offers hands-on exhibits and science programs designed for children 5 to 12 years of age and their caregivers. The park also features two nature trails that allow public access to its scrubby pine flatwoods and endangered Florida scrub.

Spanish River Park takes its name from a shallow freshwater stream that once flowed along what is now the western edge of the park. Since its channelization by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the river has become known to boaters as part of the Intracoastal Waterway. Remnants of the meandering streambed still are visible in the park. Fishing in the Intracoastal Waterway is a favorite pastime of many park visitors. A free fishing license is required for saltwater fishing from the shoreline.

Swimmers and tennis players of all ages and proficiency levels can enjoy their pursuits like never before. The renovated, expanded and updated Boca Raton Swim & Racquet Center on St. Andrews Boulevard offers a six-lane, 25-yard pool, 26 Har-Tru Racquet Ball courts, a playground and splash pad for the kids and so much more.

There are several environmentally sensitive lands and parks in Boca Raton. The endangered Florida scrub meets pine flatwoods at the nine-acre Serenoa Glade Preserve adjacent to George Snow Park on Northwest 15th Street, just off Glades Road and across from Florida Atlantic University’s main entrance. The preserve features a handicapped-accessible trail, a kiosk/ information center and a hiking trail. George Snow Park has restrooms, basketball courts and tennis courts as well.

Blazing Star Preserve borders the Hillsboro Slough and encompasses 26 acres along I-95 between Palmetto Park Road and Camino Real. The property, comprised of mostly sand pine scrub with a small wetland, includes trails, information kiosk, entrance and trail signs, and a parking area. Another area home to the disappearing scrub, Blazing Star is a habitat for gopher tortoises and a number of rare plant species, including the preserve’s namesake, a spiky purple wildflower.

Mizner Bark Park

Sugar Sand Park

DID YOU KNOW?

ª The Gumbo Limbo Nature Center monitors more than 800 turtle nests a year in a five-mile stretch of beach.

ª Boca Raton is home to a twomile stretch of lifeguard-protected beaches.

ª Boca Raton has had a long history of reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas production, conserving energy, protecting native wildlife, preserving environmentally sensitive land, conserving water resources and providing education programs.

Spotlight

Wedding at Spanish River Library and Community Center

HANNAH MAYO

WEDDING SETTING!

Brides often dream of destination weddings, but more couples are paying for their own weddings these days, so sometimes dreams must give way to practicality.

But not in Boca Raton.

In Boca, couples can plan a budget-friendly wedding in a spectacular destination setting—without having to travel north of Yamato Road, south of Spanish River Boulevard, east of Interstate 95 or west of Military Trail. The lakeside patio at the Spanish River Library and Community Center offers a beautiful rental venue for outdoor gatherings of 150 or less.

The library’s Addison Mizner-style design, rich with loggias and colonnades, lends elegance to any occasion. The patio itself offers what may be the most scenic sunset vista in Boca—broad, placid Blue Lake, backed by the 79 unspoiled acres of wetlands and scrub of Pondhawk Natural Area. The library offers the trendiness of a beach wedding without the rigors of marching through sand. To make an appointment, call 561/367-7016.

Hillsboro El Rio Park

On the south side of Southwest 18th Street, this 14-acre site is Boca’s newest city park. Phase 1 of the Hillsboro El Rio Park on the north side of 18th Street includes athletic fields and was opened to the public in 2002. Fire Station 8, which is on the northeastern section of the city-owned parcel, was dedicated in 2005. February 2020 marked the opening of Hillsboro El Rio Park South. Residents and visitors can enjoy the new playground, join a game of basketball, pickleball or volleyball, take off on a kayak or paddleboard or wander the grounds of the park. This waterfront park features so many incredible amenities for the community to enjoy!

HOURS & LOCATIONS

RED REEF PARK 1400 N. Ocean Blvd. 8 a.m to 10 p.m.

GUMBO LIMBO NATURE CENTER 1801 N. Ocean Blvd. Mon. to Sat., 9 a.m to 4 p.m; Sun., noon to 4 p.m..

BOCA RATON DOG PARK (MIZNER BARK) 751 Banyan Trail 7:30 a.m. until dusk six days a week; opens at noon on Wed.

SPANISH RIVER ATHLETIC COMPLEX 1000 Spanish River Blvd. 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. except Sun., when it closes at sunset.

SUGAR SAND PARK 300 S. Military Trail Mon. to Sat., 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sun., 8 a.m. to sunset

SPANISH RIVER PARK 3001 Florida A1A 8 a.m. to sunset

SERENOA GLADE PRESERVE 1101 N.W. 15th St. 8 a.m. to sunset

GEORGE SNOW PARK 1101 N.W. 15th St. 8 a.m. to sunset

BLAZING STAR PRESERVE 1751 W. Camino Real 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

COCONUT COVE WATERPARK & RECREATIONAL CENTER 20130 Regional Park Drive Summer: Mon. to Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fall: Sat., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To see the full list of city parks, visit myboca.us/332/parks