Hikes near Fort Lauderdale

You will find hikes around Fort Lauderdale, including hiking in Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, Dania, Coral Springs, Sunrise, and other urban communities in the region. These trails are, for the most part, very short nature walks given the urban nature of the area.

  • Tangle of red mangrove roots Colohatchee Natural Park - In what is now Wilton Manors near Fort Lauderdale, settler William C. Collier planted an orange grove in the 1890s and traded with the Seminole, who named the waterway that wove through the wilderness “Colohatchee” [...]
  • Crystal Lake Natural Area Crystal Lake Natural Area - Explore a patch of wilderness in a very urban setting. Winding through a diminutive scrub forest of sand live oak, tallow-wood, gopher apple, and sand pines, the brief hike offers a respite from the surrounding [...]
  • Easterlin Park Easterlin Park - Wrapped in a cocoon of highway noise generated by nearby Interstate 95, Easterlin Park is one of the few places where I’d recommend listening to your iPod as you hike. A designated Urban Wilderness Area, [...]
  • Florida Trail, Corbett [view slides] Florida Trail, Ocean to Lake: Corbett WMA - Seen on your GPS or a satellite photo, Corbett WMA appears to be wetlands, wetlands, and more wetlands. But this popular wildlife management area west of West Palm Beach is a place of superlatives: vast [...]
  • Pine flatwoods in DuPuis Florida Trail, Ocean to Lake: DuPuis Reserve - Anchoring the western end of the Ocean-to-Lake section of the Florida Trail, DuPuis Reserve is accessed “the back way” by backpackers via the NENA (North Everglades Natural Area) Trailhead along US 441 between Port Mayaca [...]
  • Florida Trail between DuPuis and Corbett Florida Trail, Ocean to Lake: DuPuis to Corbett - Deep in the heart of the Ocean-to-Lake Greenway, this 9.7 mile segment of the Florida Trail bridging DuPuis Reserve and Corbett WMA is one of the most wild and scenic treks in southeastern Florida. It’s [...]
  • Beach Hammock Trail Hugh Taylor Birch State Park – Beach Hammock Trail - Tucked away at the southern corner of Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, the Beach Hammock Trail traverses a maritime hammock dense with sea grapes, myrsine, gumbo limbo, and stopper. Hurricane Wilma peeled the canopy off [...]
  • Exotic Trail Hugh Taylor Birch State Park – Exotic Trail - Running down the middle of this popular urban park, the Exotic Trail traces a path through the exotic gardens of the former estate of Hugh Taylor Birch, Terramar. These tropical plants aren’t invasive, and they’re [...]
  • Marsh at Secret Woods Secret Woods Nature Center - Where I-95 and I-595 meet, you’d hardly believe there’s a place for green space. Port Everglades looms to the east, and jets take off and land at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport. But Secret Woods [...]
  • Snake Warrior Island Snake Warrior Island - Protecting what was once the headwaters of Snake Creek and was the oldest eastern Glades settlement of the Seminoles, Snake Warrior Island Natural Area is a small urban oasis not far from I-95 in Miramar. [...]
  • Sugar Sand Park Sugar Sand Park - In the highly urbanized Interstate 95 corridor through Palm Beach County, Sugar Sand Park is a local getaway that hits the spot for families with young children. A portion of the park is given over [...]
  • Woodmont Natural Area Woodmont Natural Area - The last patch of woodlands in suburbia, the Woodmont Natural Area in Tamarac is one of the rare islands of nature left remaining after development throughout western Broward County into the Everglades. This 22-acre site [...]