Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands

A Nature Trail right in the backyard

Allmost all South Florida is as flat as the palm of your hand so that if your prefer climbing to the top of the mountain, you can climb a tree or go somewhere else.

However, nothing is more characteristic of the Florida mainland than the so called "wetlands", where there is more water than dry land and where the wild life thrives.

There are many nature parks at a Roseaire short-ride distance. Some of them have convenient walkways. One of the best is Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands, just five miles NW of Roseaire, barely 10 minutes driving!

Green Cay offers 1.5 miles of elevated boardwalk that takes you through 100 acres of constructed wetland. The trails are wheelchair and stroller accessible, and there are benches on the boardwalk and around the outside of the Nature Center for those that would like to sit and enjoy the beautiful scenery and abundant wildlife. Visitors do not have to pay admission to Green Cay Nature Center to enjoy this boardwalk.

If possible go early because that is when the animals are more active.

Practical Tips:

Distance from Roseaire: 5.2mi, 10-15 min drive. Map

Schedule: Boardwalk open daily: 7 am - sunset

Elapsed time: 1-3 hours

Check the Visitors Center schedule. They offer an orientation to the wildlife and the landscape you’ll encounter here.  

Admission: Free

Photo Album Here

Start your walk at the nature center by heading right to walk counterclockwise around the outer loop. The boardwalks pass over waterways of various depths, and this particular section is deep. You might see an alligator drifting along the surface. At the first boardwalk junction, keep right—the boardwalk to the left creates a short loop back to the nature center.

The Beach at the Doorstep ...or almost!

There are, of course, other options for the Sports or daily Free-time, but being in Florida and not going at least once to the beach should be punishable.

As the name suggests, Delray Beach is by the ocean and has a long, sandy beach that is very calm when there are no adverse weather conditions.

The best relatively secluded place to go is the beach located south of Delray's  Seagate Beach Club. From this point on, there are only residential homes, no hotels nor other crowded facilities.

You'll have to drive 15 minutes to Anchor Park where there is a public parking lot. Be attentive to the signs that say "To the A1A" road. This route will avoid the busy part of Atlantic Ave in the downtown area.

Park the car there and go to the beach walking south. Soon you'll leave behind the beach chairs of the Seagate Club and you'll have a beautiful Florida beach for yourself.


Practical Tips

Distance: 5 mi, about 15 minutes.

Avoid Atlantic Ave in downtown.

If you are coming from the North and have a pale skin, be sure you bring plenty of sun protection lotion. Here in Florida the sun really beats down hard.

Be aware that during the rainy season storms are more probable in the afternoon.

Check the weather  especially the rip currents forecast. Rip currents kill more people in Florida during an average year than hurricanes, tornadoes and lightning combined. See here how to react.

Amazing Coral Reef

If you are the kind of guy that enjoys visiting very special nature spots, then you may want to take the opportunity of staying in South Florida for submerging into a coral reef and to see at just one foot from your eyes the amazing tropic.

Of course it's a long trip, but a two-hours ride is not that much after all if the prize is good enough. We are talking about the Keys, those elongated islands that are like a chain extending Florida almost to Cuba.

There are quite a string of them until the last one, Key West, 215 miles from Roseaire, 90 miles away from Cuba and the favorite of bohemians. However, the good news is that you don't need to go that far. Key Largo, apart from lodging the actual Africa Queen boat used in the mythical Humphrey Bogart movie, is the best for touring diving and kayaking sports.

After 110 miles and two hours driving you'll be ready for the adventure in the seas. The place is called John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and offers plenty of options to choose from depending on how daring you are with the sea. You can just sign up for the glass-bottom boat tour if you are reluctant to go under water, or you can go snorkeling. Both tours are found at the Main Concession. Also you can try Reef-Roamer. You may like to rent kayaks instead, or stop by Tekesta on your way south and take the kayaks from there. They also offer scuba diving for the bolder ones.

Nobody who visits the Keys -says Bob Rountree, co-founder of FloridaRambler.com - or who has lived in Florida as long as I have, has any excuse for not visiting this state park that is the anchor of all known activities in this, the northernmost territory of the Conch Republic.

Pennekamp is the first undersea state park in the country, created to protect part of the only living coral reef in the continental United States. The park extends three miles into the Atlantic Ocean and ranges 21 miles in length, adjacent to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Practical Tips

Distance from Roseaire: 110 mi, two hours driving. Map. Be patient -first half you have highways but then you merge to US1 and after a while, the road has just one lane on each direction. Pray that you don't get behind a slow truck on your way.

As said, you may want to make a stop at Tekesta to grab some kayaks on the go.

Hours of Operation: The park is open from 8:00 a.m. until sundown, 365 days a year.

Lunch: You'll find several restaurants along the US1 from 2 mi North of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park to 7 miles South, but most probably you'll rather skip the lunch to enjoy the sea the longest you can.

Combos: There is a church in Key Largo, St. Justin the Martyr, but the daily mass is at 8am, too early to fit into the schedule in a possible early rise.

Photo Gallery: Click Here