Fern Forest Nature Center

Awesome place to hike. Not many like it around this area. Great place to walk with a lover

Beautiful Park, we are Power Walking every Sunday at Fern Forest! Great Stuff at work there. And yes, there a Mosquitos and that is normal in nature! No problem at all. You need to be prepared for that after rain.
Strongly recommended for parents with children — Fern Forest offers special program for kids.
It is the best park around, that’s for sure.

Almost forget you are right off two main roads. We never would of found this place if it wasn’t for our new hobby of geocaching. Its beautiful and peaceful, although mosquitoes are crazy in the summer. Not too much wildlife but we went in the middle of the day so that could be why

This Park is a must see in South Florida.
When the say «Nature Park» what they indicate is that it is nude friendly.
We were happy to see others there were also enjoying our lifestyle.
A friendly wave from the Rangers confirmed that we were welcome.
Best to bring some bug spray and a towel to sit on.
March will be out big gathering o bring in the spring.
See you there.

Took a group of adults and young people on a tour of fern forest and it was amazing. Fern forest in cypress creek gives free ranger guided tours every Sunday at 1pm. Rick was our fantastic tour guide for the one hour guided walk. He started off with an introduction of his fern forest got its name and then we preceded down the trail. He was informative and knowledgeable and so enthusiastic about this forest. You can see his passion roll off. He gave an amazing tour going over plant species and answering questions. Pretty place to have lunch. Nature center is spacious and clean. At 230 pm we divided into teams and completed a scavenger hunt photo race at another trail. Our ranger Todd was amazing. Passionate and shared tips of nature photography. Finished the day with making nature frames. Shutterbug photo hunt is definitely one of the coolest experiences around. Each team pays 10 dollars to compete. Great park. Will be back next Sunday at 1 to see another area of the park. Very impressive!

Nice pathways, but not so removed from the roads that you miss the noise of cars. Mostly quiet, but you definitely hear the occasional 18 wheeler or motor-​bike in the distance.
I do think it’s odd that they have caged snakes at the welcome center — I imagine that they should be out in the wild, not in boxes.

My friend had read about Fern Forest somewhere and decided he’d push it on me. He said there were tons of wildlife and other things I’d love to photograph. I guess you could say he hyped it up.
We excitedly came in and saw the parking was free (great!), but the minute we got out of the car, we were attacked by mosquitoes. Not to panic, we had OFF, so we sprayed ourselves and continued on. There was a nature center and a boardwalk. The boardwalk stopped and we saw a bird wading pool and a path. We walked along the wading pool — empty. What a disappointment, not a single bird. We tried taking the path, and it was full of sinking, fresh mud. I was a mess, considering I was wearing flip-​flops (I wish my friend had mentioned I’d need galoshes). Luckily, there was a water hose nearby and I was able to get the black caked-​on mud from my feet, ankles, and legs.
We tried taking a third path and the minute we stepped in there, we were attacked by mosquitoes, despite the fact we were wearing OFF all over, and the mosquitoes were massive, about the size of a fingerprint. I had no idea there were repellent-​resistant mosquitoes, but apparently, there are. We had no choice but to turn around because at this point, we had been bitten at least 3 times and we hadn’t even started our walk. I was very much frustrated at this point, because there was barely anything to see thanks to the mosquitoes and mud (a rarity, I would have thought, in mid-​December). We did have the choice of the short boardwalk, so we decided that would be better than nothing. We got to see a lot of airplants, and then, the one and only bird we saw that afternoon.
You could say I was disappointed, as I expected to see lots of wildlife, but with the exception of that bird, I saw nothing. The mosquitoes were a true nuisance, and the flora wasn’t that impressive as say, the Everglades. If I had to choose between driving up to Broward to see this, or head west to Tamiami Trail and reach Collier, or head south to Homestead to see the Everglades, I’d definitely choose the Everglades, hands-​down, not just because of the fact it’s open 24 – 7, but the flora and abundance of wildlife.

Today, after about a decade, I revisited Fern Forest Nature Center. Fortunately the center and surrounding trails and areas have not only been kept intact but improved over the years. However, it is sad that this little 247 acres is all that is left of what was natural, or at least somewhat so, of what is now Broward County.
Indeed it’s ironic to be here in at a Nature Center in a County named in honor of a man like Napoleon Bonaparte Broward (such a fitting name) who did everything he could possible do to destroy nature as well as every part of the natural environment around him and who, to use his own words, gave the orders to: «Drain that abominable, pestilence-​ridden swamp.»
The walkways are pleasant, elevated, and provided easy access and viewing even for the handicapped. The walking trails are earth, only slightly muddy and when I was there rather «skeeter» free. With the exception of some descriptive postings near the butterfly area, however, there is a distinct lack of plaques or notices enabling the visitor to accurately identify the plants, trees or variety of ferns being viewed.
Though some of the literature mentions the area as being «natural,» don’t think for a minute that it’s pristine or natural in the sense that this is the way it had always been this way. The developers changed the water courses way back in 1916 to drain the areas along Cypress Creek, and from the looks of the timber growth rather obvious to me that it had at one time been previously harvested.
The Nature Center itself is a really fine structure, well built, spacious and architecturally pleasing to the eye. The displays inside, however, don’t amount to much, give little history of the area, are not all clearly identified and generally a mishmash of collection.

For a little trail nestled in the middle of Highway hell, this place is not bad at all. Couple that with the fact that it’s free, and it’s a step into what USED to be here (you know… Before they paved it?) and you’ve got a slight chance of seeing a snake, or an eagle, or even an owl… and you can’t really complain. I mean… It’s FREE.
Keep in mind, they’ll close before the advertised times so don’t show up at the last minute.
And the other people we encountered were definitely indicative of the neighborhood it is in… which is to say we saw a bunch of kids apparently «Skipping School»… and not much else.
Eh… What else can you say about «Nature Trails» in the middle of 2 highways and 3 major roads?

Free park (even on Sundays)… Trails are a free to explore and they have a little center with a few reptiles, bones, dead bugs, and nests. They were building the butterfly garden with benches and watch bridges for the wetlands. We really didn’t see any birds. But its not like they’re waiting for us. We saw some very pretty butterflies, couples of lizards, and a black snake! Yikes!