Tradewinds Park & Stables — Attraction in Coconut Creek

I have been coming to Tradewinds Park for the past few months with my son and we both think it's a great park.

My son will be 3 years old in 4 months and refuses to even consider wearing a mask so we have been doing a lot of nature based outdoor activity this year. This park is large enough and there are few enough people (weekdays is when we go) that keeping our distance and limiting contact to distantly passing by other people on the path is very easy.

There are actually 2 sides to the park. Sample Road splits it so you either turn into the park to the South where there is a disc golf course, some nice paved paths for walking, cycling or my personal favorite: wagon rides... There's also a playground which is closed and roped off with so much orange fencing and rope that even my headstrong daredevil toddler doesn't try to breach the perimeter. Butterfly World also takes up a small plotbof land in the park, probably why there is such an abundance of butterflies in the surrounding meadows (nothing fancy, just little guys).

I'm pretty sure the bathrooms are all closed, but we haven't reached that magical milestone yet and I would rather give myself a kidney stone than use a public restroom right now, so we haven't officially checked that out. The water fountains are definitely covered over with plastic but all the garbage cans seem to be in use and regularly serviced.

The North side of the park is where the stables are located and where they do the holiday light drive thru every year. My son was beyond delighted to go on a "Christmas Adventure" to see the lights one night last week and I have to admit the display is impressive, $20 well spent.

Of course had I known how excited he'd be to walk up to the displays in the daytime when they aren't even lit up, I would have saved the $20. Well, no I wouldn't have, but the fact remains that my son loved going for a walk thru the unlit displays so much that we went twice this week, spending a whole morning walking around a different area each day.

Today when we went the entire pasture by the stables was full of horses and ponies, a few dozen I'd estimate. While we knew there were stables and a farm here we'd never actually checked any of that out so it was a nice little surprise for both of us.

Further back there is a general store (closed for COVID) and a small farm that apparently allowed kids to come in and pet the animals pre-COVID with chickens, goats and bulls. My son was over the moon to "discover" this little farm. He talked to the goats and chickens, he said hello to the "mooses" which after much debate we agreed had horns not antlers and so they had to be bulls, not "mooses". They alsobhad a sign for pony rides, also closed and a closed playground. I can't wait to come back post-COVID when everything reopens.

Then there's this little railroad that we actually parked by. The schedules says it only runs one weekend a month, but another sign says open weekends. Either way it was closed today, Friday, and that was great because the walk along the tracks was lovely and easy for my little guy to navigate.

One and only drawback...FIREANTS!!!! The hills are everywhere. My son stepped in several until he saw the ants boiling out of the mound. We bring a picinic blanket to lay out for lunch or snacks and we are super careful...

I did my son's birthday there on the weekend that they do the train, pony rides , petting zoo and bounce house. My son is severe mentally disable and also diagnose with MR. His favorite things are train and horses.The park is beautiful but the people working doing this activities were rude to me , my family and guest. First the train they were run by senior citizens from the cashier till the driver and all of them look and talk to us like they were piss off about something . They couldn't find my reversation and while the driver was making sure we were all seat it right , the person that couldnt find our reservation screaming at the driver take them all ready did I mention that he didnt even look for our reservation in the computer or a book just told us there's no reservation.Then the driver ask did you give them the safety speech and he said no and am not going to. Then the horses after paying for my son and guest everyone doing the line my son puts tje helmet and when his turn comes he gets excited and the person running the line says to us that we have wait for the manager. She comes this really old white american lady and tell us that he is not allowed to ride the horse because he is over the height my son is 2 inches above the height requierement but his weight is ok which makes no sense. I told her that I call and spoke with them last week and explain my sons disability that we may have kids with didabilities coming and they told me is ok then she call me a liar while my son start getting upset I told her he had plenty of experience with horses, he takes horse therapy and had ride in North Carolina and other parks before. Horses even smaller that the ones there. She said not here he hasnt .she keeps pointing out that they have a program for disable kids so now it feels personal because of his disability. That program is the same program that he has done before and it has nothing to do on the weekends or birthday parties. I ask her if he can at least touch the horse she said no then lie about she is not the main manager, others workers even went to her to talk to her again to let my son ride they felt it wasn't fair she said no. This went on for a while and I said can we go to the petting zoo then the same lady the manager told me to late the last tour left already and it was ownly 2:35 the park closses at 5 or 6. So we couldn't do the horses the petting zoo. Treated different because of my sons disability or even about race we are hispanic and they only do that activities the third weekend of the month so for two days in one moth they couldn't treat families good and with respect worse experience ever my boy have to be treated like that the day of his birthday party.. Also the pavilions full of grafitty and...

At 625 acres Tradewinds Park has something for everyone. The site was originally a horse farm. The original farm house still stands on the property and you can tour it. The park is so large it spans both sides of Sample Road. The south side of the park contains the immensely popular Butterfly World and the north side has the horse stables, farm, and mini train ride run by Tradewinds & Atlantic Railroad, Inc.

On a Saturday afternoon I found myself on a photographic expedition to Butterfly World on the the south side of the park. Admission to Tradewinds Park is $1.50 on weekends and holidays. Butterfly World is a separate admission price and is the largest butterfly park in the world with 20,00 butterflies. Also on this side of the park are large athletic fields. People who would like to celebrate a special occasion will find ample picnic shelters with grills. Further in the back of the park is a nice bike trail and the Cypress Trail boardwalk that crosses over a waterway and takes you into the woods. It is under renovation and hopefully will become a loop. Right by Butterfly World I was delighted to see a bat house where shelter was being provided for these important pollinators.

The north side of the park hosts the Holiday Fantasy of Lights every November and December. It is a drive through light display held during the evenings. Check the park schedule because on a few select nights they also allow you to bike through it which is my preferred way of seeing it. On this side you can find the mini train ride run by the Tradewinds & Atlantic railroads. They offer rides on the weekend and their schedule can be found on their website. Opposite the train you will see a field full of beautiful horses. It was quite the treat watching them being let out of the barn into the fields. Horseback riding is offered to the public for $35 an hour. Equine Assisted Therapies offers therapeutic horse encounters for people with disabilities. Also in this side is the McClean Country House which is open for tours. It was the farmhouse the first owners of this land lived in. There is a playground and an educational public farm that offers tours every weekend. The general store offers concessions on the weekend. If all that wasn't enough you can fish here and play disc golf if you provide your own equipment.

We are really lucky to have so many great parks in Broward County. They are so varied. I love seeing all kinds of people out enjoying nature on the weekends. Tradewinds Park is another addition i a stellar lineup of wonderful places to enjoy outdoor recreation in...