World of Wonders

While exploring Broward County, I had the opportunity to visit Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, just off the Florida Turnpike’s Sample Rd exit, at Tradewinds Park.

I’ve seen numerous butterfly conservatories, but Butterfly World is rather different: it’s not just butterflies under glass, but a complex of natural wonders. After you wander through two domes where butterflies glide beneath the sun amid tropical plantings, you exit outdoors to a series of gardens surrounding a large pond. My favorite: a maze of passion flowers leading to a small aviary.  There’s a conservatory filled with colorful tropical birds, an insect museum, rose garden, lorikeet interation area, arbors dripping with more colorful flora, and this nifty swinging bridge - a reproduction of one found in a rainforest in South America - to tie it all together.

After reading that they billed themselves as the “first and largest” butterfly complex in the United States, I had my skeptic’s hat on. But I’m impressed! It’s certainly worth a day of your explorations of South Florida.