Hugh Taylor Birch State Park - Another Visit

We've been to this park at least once before, as part of exploring the nearby beaches; now we're coming as part of exploring the Florida State Parks. And while we had a wonderful time at the beach a couple of years ago, we discovered there's a lot more than swimming and sunbathing offered here. 

The main parking lot was filled, so since we had to drive a bit down the main loop road to park, we decided to continue walking along that "blue loop" and go the long way to get to the visitor's center. Along the way we passed a couple of picnic areas, a butterfly garden, a meditation garden, the water taxi stop and a couple of nature trail entrances.

After eating lunch at the on-site cafe, we checked out the boat rentals and took the short Beach Hammock Nature Trail.

This park is home to the Fort Lauderdale Garden Society. We enjoyed wandering around their gardens before heading home.

We ran out of time to read all the displays at the visitor's center, but that just leaves us something to do on our next visit! (We also plan to rent a canoe and barbecue some lunch.) We highly recommend this state park if you're looking for something to do in South Florida!