South Florida is full of idyllic spots, from serene escapes like Delray’s Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens to the unique rock formations of Blowing Rocks Preserve. There’s another destination nearby with plenty of natural charm that serves as the perfect weekend escape, just a little under an hour from Miami — an easy reach for a day trip or short getaway.
Located inside of Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek, you’ll find the tropical gardens of Butterfly World. It encompasses 10 acres and is home to around 20,000 live butterflies across more than 50 species, making it the world’s largest butterfly park and the first of its kind in the Western Hemisphere!
Opening in 1988, the park was once the passion project of Ronald Boender, an electrical engineer who transformed a lifelong fascination with the winged beauties into the lush destination we know today. After retiring to Florida, Boender began raising local butterflies at home and established MetaScience Co., a commercial butterfly farm that produced up to 1,000 pupa per week. He would later partner with Clive Farrell of the London Butterfly House to bring the overseas concept of “butterfly houses” attractions to America.
The park has since expanded to include bird aviaries, botanical gardens and a research center.
What to expect at Butterfly World
Your journey into this natural world begins as you step into their laboratory and butterfly museum, where you’ll learn about the different stages of growth for these fluttering insects. Inside their massive free-flight aviary, colorful butterflies from five continents will whizz around you as they roam across the flower-filled habitat.
Step into the park’s simulation of a real rainforest, complete with a cave and waterfall, to witness more exotic butterflies and birds soaring in the air. In fact, the largest free-flight hummingbird aviary in the U.S. is also located here.
If you’d like to interact with the “friendly clowns of the bird world”” as they put it, there’s live lorikeet encounters. These mischievous rainbow-feathered birds from Australia can be fed and interacted with.
It’s the perfect one-of-a-kind experience for the whole family to connect with nature together! You can learn more about Butterfly World on their website.