Gumbo Limbo Nature Center — Attraction in Boca Raton

I walked on the Gumbo Limbo boardwalk that’s between Ocean Blvd. Parking which is to the south and attached to the Golf Course and the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. The boardwalk is almost half a mile with a couple of side trails. You can go into the Nature Center for free but they ask for donations. Suggested $5.00 donation per person. That’s a great deal. I’m sure it’s only a small part of what keeps this place running. There is also a gift shop off the main room that has very nice gifts. Everything is a bit expensive but you are helping to support Gumbo Limbo so it’s fine. My wife got a nice canvas shoulder bag with a turtle on it.

Now that the Nature Center is reopened to the public I went there with my wife and my mother. I didn’t really know what to expect inside the Nature Center. Once inside there are a few exhibits to look at. The woman at the desk asked us if we needed a map and suggested that we go to see the Turtle talk downstairs. We just happened to arrive just before this talk was starting So we headed off down to the lower lever. There is a long ramp that switches back for wheelchair or walkers to easily use. There were about 20 people there listening to the talk. It was about the different turtles in the tanks there. She explained a little about each turtle and why it was there.

Gumbo Limbo is made up of four different parts. Boardwalk, Turtle rescue, Fish, Butterfly garden. The butterfly garden is on the north end and it has a path called Ashley Trail that heads around and down to the intercoastal where there is a small beach and bench. It’s a good place to relax and look at the water. Entering the water is not allowed. The Outdoor Marine Aquariums are amazing. Two large tanks about three feet deep with windows so you can view the fish swimming from above or through the windows plus another two tanks over ten feet deep that you view through large windows. We spend a long time watching the fish, rays, turtles, eels moving around the tanks. Signs identify each of the different species.

Gumbo Limbo is run by both paid employees and volunteers. Talking to one volunteer she said that they are made up of year round and some snow bird volunteers. Everyone is friendly and helpful. We will be back to both walk the boardwalk and to visit the...

Perfect place for some nature indulgence and get away from the noisy streets of Boca Raton. Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is a Environmental Complex. With a total of twenty acres, this protected barrier island is in the area between the Intracoastal and the Atlantic Ocean. It is on land which is part of the beachfront-to-intracoastal Red Reef Park, though Gumbo Limbo does not have land directly on the beach, but does have Intracoastal Waterway frontage. Gumbo Limbo is best known for its involvement with protecting sea turtles. Boca Raton Sea Turtle Conservation and Research Program at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is located in the nature center and has Marine Conservationists and Marine Sea Turtle Specialists that monitor, record, and study the sea turtle activity on the five miles of Boca Raton's city beach. There is an aquarium for the family and kids to look at and interact with, along with a public gallery that is open for visitors to view the facility. During the summer and fall sea turtle hatchlings can be viewed. Students are often working in the building and are happy to talk to visitors in the gallery. When you are done with the nature center, you'd want to check out the butterfly garden outside, long with a hiking trail that takes you throughout the preserve. They have an observation tower that we went on before it closed, but at the moment they are in the middle of a maintenance project for the tower and won't be open until fall 2017. I recommend this place for anyone who enjoys the outdoors, nature and...

So glad we decided to stop by! It was a recommendation from a couple we met in Juno Beach, since the Loggerhead place over there did not have sea turtles.

It is such a neat and good sized knowledge center. They are free to the public and welcome donations. It should really charge an entrance fee, because all the care they provide to the sea turtles and their habitat is expensive! If you can make a donation, please do so :)

They have 3 tanks in which each of them houses sea life from different environments in the ocean. You get to see the volunteers feed the fish, they do a turtle talk, you can ask questions about the turtles that are being cared for, see rescued hatchlings and see butterflies. You can easily spend 2 hours here learning about sea turtles, why they are important to the world and why we need to help by recycling and refusing plastic.

They do offer sea turtles nest walks and hatchings releases during the summer, but those fill fast and you have to do the reservation in advance. No walk ins since space is limited.

Parking is free, the entrance right off A1A, there are water stations throughout and volunteers are mire than happy to answer questions or give information. John at the turtle station was awesome and full of knowledge! Everyone was nice, friendly and happy to show you the importance of keeping the ocean and it's creatures cared for.

Thanks for...