Vero Beach, Florida

Vero Beach is where you can relax and enjoy plenty of beach access in several full-service parks. Wabasso Beach Park has wide, quiet beaches and is perfect for swimming. Golden Sands Beach Park is traditional, with lifeguards and a picnic area. It has dressing facilities, restrooms, and showers. It's a good place to snorkel or to Scuba dive.

Jaycee Park, with more than eight acres of oceanfront, is perfect for family gatherings and has a playground, a boardwalk, and a large picnic area as well as a restaurant. Lastly, Humiston Beach Park is located in the middle of Vero Beach's shopping district. All year long, this four-acre park has arts and crafts shows in the park and numerous festivals. Humiston Beach Park and Jaycee Park are the only two of the Vero Beaches that provide wheelchair access.

At the southern gateway to Vero Beach, Florida, McKee Botanical Garden unfolds with native plants and tropical botanicals. Visitors are able to follow pathways into a grove of regal palms or pass tranquil streams with a profusion of waterlilies.

You can also explore 18 acres of the landscape that has been restored to what it once was.

Discover unique trees and waterfalls and learn their stories.

McKee Botanical Garden is a valuable source of cultural enrichment; it hosts many programs, including world-class art exhibitions, educational programs, and a variety of special events.

The Garden is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a private, not-for-profit organization.

350 US Highway 1,Vero Beach, FL 32962, Phone: 772-794-0601

The Environmental Learning Centeris a 64-Acre preserve that has 1 ½ miles of elevated wooden boardwalks. It is an ideal destination for the entire family. The list of activities here are vast: Experience a peaceful lagoon with beautiful vistas or take a canoe or pontoon boat ride.

There is an Interactive Museum with aquariums, with a 145-gallon touch tank, hands-on exhibits, gardens that attract butterflies, picnic facilities, a visitor's center, and a gift shop with eco-friendly gifts and books on Florida history and wildlife. There are classrooms for lectures, meetings, family gatherings, and events and a full-size kitchen for catered events.

255 Live Oak Drive, Vero Beach, FL 32963, Phone: 772-589-5050

Come here to see the habitat of the brown pelican at any time of the year. White pelicans can be seen here from fall to early spring. The Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is open daily until sundown, and during your visit, remember to carry mosquito repellant, sunscreen, and water with you.

More than 40 varieties of birds use the refuge, and 16 of them nest here.

There are more than 200 varieties of fish, from sturgeon to pipefish and from mackerel to bluefish. Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and West Indian manatees regularly visit the refuge.

Many mammals are known to live here, including bobcats, river otters, and marsh rabbits. The waters of the refuge protect threatened and endangered sea turtles and threatened and endangered species such as the West Indian Manatee.

Pelican Island is a National Historic Landmark, National Wilderness Area, and Wetland of International Importance.

4055 Wildlife Way, Vero Beach, FL 32963, Phone: 772-581-5557

The Vero Beach Museum of Art is a 55,412 sq. ft. arts facility with five art galleries, a sculpture garden, and an education wing with seven studio classrooms, and it has an art library and seminar rooms. Through the generosity of many patrons, the museum has amassed a sizeable collection in sculpture, many of them large and full-sized, art glass, paintings, and other genres.

It has an outdoor foundry and studio, a state-of-the-art auditorium, a museum store, and expansive public spaces for art installations and public programs. The emphasis is on American art and Florida artists. There are over 150 accredited classes offered to 1,500 students annually, collaborating with Indian River Community College, making this the largest school within a museum in the State of Florida.

3001 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach, FL 32963, Phone: 772-231-0707

The Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge has long stretches of quiet, undisturbed sandy beaches that are essential to the reproductive success and survival of turtles, making for wonderful day trips of beach exploration and opportunities to learn about this barrier island ecosystem, which has 248 acres and is 20 miles long. Surf fishing is allowed in many of the beaches in the refuge.

During the day, the public is welcome to enjoy the trails and to experience Sea Turtle Watch programs in season. The refuge offers long-term protection for the nesting habitats of loggerhead sea turtles, green turtles, and the leatherback turtle. Protecting these spawning areas and overseeing their public use, are the two main objectives of the refuge.

S Hwy A1A, Melbourne Beach, FL 32951, Phone: 321-723 3556

To experience natural Florida, try the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA.) Here you can find great birding along the mangrove-edged waters of the Indian River Lagoon, where ferns and wild coffee grow to massive size.

Bromeliads dangle from the forest canopy, and trails seem to disappear into the thick undergrowth. In some seasons, ORCA offers weekly guided nature walks; the first Saturday of the month is a Coastal Wetland Walk (moderately difficult) and on other Saturdays Hammock Walks (moderately easy) are offered. Guided canoe excursions are also available.

Oslo Road (9th St. SE), Vero Beach, FL 32960, Phone: 772-778-7200

This is a community theatre with local actors, who, by all accounts, give stellar performances. The Vero Beach Theatre Guild puts on five main-stage productions every year, as well as a summer production. The theatre is small, meaning all seats have good visibility. Some shows are comedy, while others are dramas or musicals. In 1985, 16,000 volunteer hours turned a former church into a theatre, and in 2008, the Guild celebrated its 50th anniversary.

Today, they continue to offer excellent theatre at very affordable prices. The Vero Beach Theatre Guild is a non-profit volunteer organization with more than 250 volunteers annually. Vero Beach Theatre Guild has a long-standing faithful audience and invites you to join in the experience of excellent local theatre.

2020 San Juan Ave, Vero Beach, FL 32960, Phone: 772-562-8300

The Hallstrom Farmstead, open to the public, is an excellent example of a family-based pineapple farm settled in the late 1800's by Scandinavian immigrants. Many of these early farms later became citrus groves. Miss Ruth Hallstrom gave her childhood home and outbuildings to the Indian River County Historical Society, which preserves the house, its collections, and its 5 acres of grounds.

Hallstrom Farmstead was part of her father's original pineapple plantation created in 1909, and today it is used to document a bygone era in southern Indian River County, Florida. The collection has photographs, furniture, and memorabilia, and historical and educational tours are provided. The adjacent 93-acre conservation area surrounding the tract is being restored as a nature preserve and green space by Indian River County, which has plans for its development.

1723 Old Dixie Highway SW, Vero Beach, FL 32962, Phone: 772-778-3435