Flamingo Gardens in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a Family Fun Destination

Flamingo Gardens packs a lot of family fun in a tropical setting that’s just west of Broward County and near Fort Lauderdale. This botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary features a wide variety of plants (including more than 3000 species) and animals. It’s a place where kids can roam free, watch sea otters play and pet peacocks while parents get to enjoy the scenery and learn about Florida wildlife and plants at the same time.

The park started out as a commercial orange grove founded in 1927 by Floyd and Jane Wray. They had a vision of turning it into a botanical garden that would receive foreign plant seeds and make rare tropical fruit trees available to visitors. They also started a butterfly garden, hummingbird garden, orchid garden, Everglades wetland and fern garden. Today, the gardens feature hundreds of native and exotic flowering trees (15 Florida champions), a massive collection of ginger and heliconias and an extensive rainforest exhibit. They are surrounded by the Everglades Wildlife Sanctuary and house more than 85 native animal species, including birds of prey, mammals and reptiles.

Visitors enter the park through the gift shop, where there is a large selection of kid-friendly flamingo souvenirs and merchandise. From there, the tour takes you through a tropical oasis of ponds, walkways and shaded areas where guests can explore the landscape at their own pace. The grounds offer plenty of photo opportunities and many spots to sit and relax. Kids can even feed the otters at the otter pond and peacocks at the peacock aviary. The gardens are also home to a half-acre free flight aviary, a pollinator garden and an education and research butterfly rearing house.

Kids can also check out the Everglades Wildlife Sanctuary where they will see all types of native Florida animals. The park houses a black bear, a Florida panther and playful sea otters in modest exhibits that will enchant kids from babies to teens. Other wildlife includes a bobcat, a peacock and a flock of birds that are part of the natural rookery on the property.

While some of the animals are permanent residents of the park, others come in from other locations in Florida or were rescued from the wild. The staff says all the animals are taken care of very well and are treated like family members.

After exploring the gardens, you can hop on a narrated tram tour around the park to see more of the grounds. The tours are about 25 minutes and run every half hour. The kids can walk some of the pathways between the tram stops. You can also rent bikes onsite to get around the park more quickly.

The narrated tram is included with admission, which starts at $15 when purchased online and $16 at the gate. The entrance fee also includes a bag of bird food for feeding the flamingos at the pond. There is a snack bar onsite that serves drinks, sandwiches and food.