Family-friendly Palm Beach: Outdoor adventures in Florida

There’s more to Palm Beach than glitz and glamour.

The Florida city that attracts billionaires and sitting presidents is known for designer shops, five-star hotels and big-name restaurants. But beyond those hot spots, a 47-mile stretch known as the Palm Beaches draws families with activities ranging from viewing turtles and manatees in their natural habits to playing golf on a Tiger Woods-designed course or venturing down the Loxahatchee River where alligators lurk in the junglelike environs.

"Our reputation was built on the phrase America’s first resort destination," so for a long time it was all about luxury," said Angela Ledford, a spokeswoman for Discover the Palm Beaches. But with 39 cities, she said, the area is perfect for multigenerational travel. And with spring break approaching, she added, families looking for options beyond the Florida theme parks will find many affordable options.

Southwest and JetBlue fly nonstop from MacArthur Airport at just under three hours; American, Delta and JetBlue fly nonstop from  Kennedy and LaGuardia at a little over three hours.

MARVEL AT MARINE LIFE 

"The Palm Beaches are a fantastic destination for families," said Audrey Padgett, vice president of marketing for the Loggerhead Marine Life Center in Juno Beach, one of the premiere attractions in the area.

At the Loggerhead Center, visitors can tour the expansive grounds, including the outdoor tanks where sick or injured sea turtles are rehabbed before they are released back into the ocean.

"We are a world-class sea turtle research facility," said Padgett, walking through the impressive hospital with a full-scale lab and X-ray and CT scan equipment. The center has a small indoor aquarium (the jellyfish tank is mesmerizing), and also offers twice-daily nature programs in its outdoor amphitheater. During nesting season in the summer, volunteer guides lead visitors on turtle walks so they can safely observe the hatchlings as they make their way back to the sea.

Not far away is the Juno Beach Pier, where saltwater fishing for bluefish, pompano and the like is the preferred activity, though the resident pelicans draw a lot of attention. Kids’ fishing clinics are offered on Saturdays and fishing equipment can be rented.

A few miles north, Manatee Lagoon is another popular attraction, especially during the winter months when the gentle sea creatures congregate in the warm waters released from the adjacent power plant. It’s the luck of the draw at the lagoon; sitings are never guaranteed (and truthfully they’re easier to spot on Florida’s west coast). But you can tell when one of the giant sea cows shows up from the buzz in the crowd. And even when the manatees aren’t around, the clear water allows visitors to see other marine creatures, from rays to barracudas.

"I call it a living aquarium," said Ledford. The facility also has an indoor exhibit area with rotating exhibits — currently "125 Years of Audubon in Florida" — and an animated film, "Beneath the Surface," that explores the connection to the manatees.

MEET MORE WILDLIFE AT THE ZOO 

Wildlife plays heavily into family attractions in the area. Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee, 20 miles west of downtown Palm Beach, has a 4-mile drive-through safari where herds of zebra, lions, rhinos and giraffes roam in seven major habitats. The attraction also has rides and a huge water park where poolside cabanas can be rented starting at $150 a day.

Families will also find animal encounters at two wildlife sanctuaries, the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary in Jupiter and the McCarthy Wildlife Sanctuary in West Palm Beach, where visitors can see injured native animals that are being rehabilitated for release back into the wild or are permanent "animal ambassadors" that for a variety of reasons cannot be safely returned to nature.

There’s also the Palm Beach Zoo, a 23-acre facility in the middle of Dreher Park, with more than 450 animals, where visitors can participate in several "experiences" that offer close encounters with the animals (among them koalas, otters, tigers) and the zoologists and trainers who care for them. Also in the park, the Cox Science Center and Aquarium has a 10,000-gallon aquarium and a quarter-mile science trail with interactive exhibits like a dinosaur walk and a station where visitors can pan for gems.

GO GOLFING, KAYAKING AND MORE

Once you’ve seen enough of the animal kingdom, families can indulge in another major Palm Beach activity — golf. PopStroke, designed with the help of one of the owners, Tiger Woods, offers miniature golf with the feel of an actual 18-hole course — think bunkers, synthetic turf and fairways. There are two courses, each taking about an hour to play, as well as a restaurant, ice cream parlor and playground. Visitors are encouraged to keep score on the app, which also allows for ordering food and drinks delivered to players on the course.

And, of course visitors must explore the beaches and waterways in the area, said Loggerhead’s Padgett. "There are a lot of amazing ecotourism opportunities ... and miles of beaches," she said, along with several state parks, among them MacArthur and Jonathan Dickinson for hiking, kayaking and lots of birdwatching. An airboat or kayak ride on the Loxahatchee River or Lake Okeechobee takes you through swampy wetlands where you might see an otter, a bald eagle, or more likely, an alligator. "It’s a great way for people to get out in nature as a family," said Padgett. "The more people get that opportunity, they more they appreciate the other side of Florida, wild Florida."