Boynton Beach

1. Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands

The Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands is one of Boynton county’s newest nature centers. It overlooks approximately 100 acres of wetlands, and is home to ample educational opportunities for children and adults alike. The wetlands have a convenient 1.5 mile long elevated boardwalk feature that has interpretive signs along its course to help explain various animals and habitats to visitors. There is a gift shop, lecture hall, and even live animals on exhibit in the Green Cay Nature Center, and guests can always talk with an interpreter or park ranger if they have any questions.

12800 Hagen Ranch Rd, Boynton Beach, FL 33437, Phone: 561-966-7000

2. Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge

The Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge first began with the Swampland Act of 1845, and subsequently, the 1907 Everglades Drainage Act, both of which spurred the need to protect local wildlife species. The refuge now consists of over 140,000 acres of protected lands, marshes, and swamps. Guests are invited to the refuge to watch and photograph animals at their leisure, and to hunt animals when the specific need arises. The Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge is the last remaining remnant of the Northern Everglades in Palm Beach County, and is supported heavily through visitor donations and entrance fees.

10216 Lee Rd, Boynton Beach, FL 33472, Phone: 561-732-3684

3. Oceanfront Park Beach

Oceanfront Park Beach is an ideal location to have a fun, wholesome family day. The beach is open 365 days a year, extreme weather conditions permitting, and operates from sunrise until 9pm at night. There are lifeguards on duty every operating day from 9am until 5pm, and all of the staff is certified as First Responders or EMTs. There are playgrounds, ample parking facilities, and designated areas for different types of fun. One section of the beach is reserved specifically for surfing and skimboards, while other parts of the beach are for sunbathing and sandplay. For the most up-to-date beach condition information contact the front office by telephone.

6415 N. Ocean Boulevard, Ocean Ridge, FL 33435, Phone: 561-742-6565

4. Bedner's Farm Fresh Market

For travelers, and locals, seeking fresh farm produce that is locally grown, Bedner's Farm Fresh Market is the ideal place to shop. Bedner’s focuses on sourcing food from safe and reliable farmers to guarantee their customers are always satisfied. When Arthur and Henrietta Bedner originally opened the store many years ago they knew that giving people a chance to eat fresh, local produce was not only good for business, but good for the community as a whole. The store has since been passed down through generations, and although the owners have changed, the principles have stayed the same.

10066 Lee Rd, Boynton Beach, FL 33473, Phone: 561-733-5490

5. Boynton Inlet

Originally, the Lake Worth Lagoon was a freshwater lake that had no existing connection to the ocean. However, in 1866 the Lake Worth Inlet was cut, located near the north end of the lagoon, and over time the lagoon became increasingly brackish. As pollution increased with human use, a second channel had to be cut to help cycle the water in what is known today as the Boynton Inlet. In modern times the Boynton Inlet is used primarily as a place to bird watch, enjoy the calm waters, and have easy access for storing boats off the ocean. Guests are invited to visit the Boynton Inlet at their leisure.

6. Schoolhouse Children's Museum and Learning Center

The Schoolhouse Children's Museum and Learning Center is a hands on, full experience museum for children of all ages. Children are encouraged to touch, play, and interact with everything in the museum to learn and experience new things. There is an admission charge for children over one year old, and ample parking helps make this an easy day trip for families with strollers. Adults who do not have children with them are not permitted to enter unless they are partaking in a guided tour to learn about the history and various exhibits located within the museum.

129 E. Ocean Avenue, Boynton Beach, FL 33435, Phone: 561-742-6780

7. Pet-N-Parties

Pet-N-Parties, also known locally as Animal EDventure Park, is open to the public every Saturday and Sunday of the year, holidays excluded. In addition to the main location, Pet-N-Parties focuses on providing mobile petting zoos for events, birthday parties, and more. Pet-N-Parties works hard to rescue and adopt animals who are in trouble, and the majority of the animals they have for guests to pet are either rescued or adopted. Guests can interact with horses, camels, kangaroos, sheep, goats, donkeys, lemurs, anteaters, llamas, teacup pigs, ponies, zebras, and more. For more information on pricing, schedules, and animal petting opportunities contact Pet-N-Parties directly or visit them at Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market on the weekends.

10066 Lee rd, Boynton Beach FL, 33435, 561-350-6948

8. Seacrest Scrub Natural Area

Bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts will have a field day at Seacrest Scrub Natural Area, a 54 acre wilderness area surrounded by an urban jungle. Inside Seacrest Scrub Natural Area, visitors may be lucky enough to spot the gopher tortoise, which is a protected species and calls the natural area its habitat, or a green anole lizard with its distinctive red throat. There are two short walking trails within Seacrest Scrub Natural Area: the Gopher Tortoise Trail, which is short and paved, and the Sand Pine Trail, which is slightly longer and has sandy terrain.

3400 S Seacrest Blvd, Boynton Beach, FL 33435, Phone: 561-233-2400

9. Starfish Scuba

Scuba diving in Florida is a unique experience because of the Florida Reef, which is a living coral carrier reef—the only one of its kind in the continental US. The Florida Reef runs alongside the shoreline of the Florida coast, and is teeming with marine wildlife. With Starfish Scuba, guests can have an up close and personal look at some of the fish, plants, and other creatures that live beneath the water’s surface. Guests can also opt to go drift diving, in which they will follow the current of the ocean to see even more coral and fish, or wreck diving, where they can get an intimate look at some shipwrecks just offshore.

735 Casa Loma Blvd Slip #11, Boynton Beach, FL 33435, Phone: 561-212-2954