The three beaches in Boca Raton – Reef Park, Spanish River Park and South Beach – count themselves lucky, finding themselves as they do in just the spot where the Gulf Stream drifts closer than any place on the Florida coast.
With its perfect climate, Boca Raton is a sought-after Florida vacation destination. There are many family attractions like the Coconut Cove Water Park and Recreation Center. More than 160,000 works of art are on display at the International Museum of Cartoon Art, including comic strips, animations, caricatures, books, and greeting cards. Watersports include ocean and freshwater fishing, sailing, waterskiing and surfing, canoeing and scuba diving.
Boca Raton’s Mizner Park
If you tire of the beaches and the other attractions, try Boca Raton’s Mizner Park, an outdoor shopping mall of restaurants, cafés, a multiplex theater and an amphitheater surrounding a Mediterranean-style courtyard. It is also home to the Boca Raton Museum of Art.
Daggerwing Nature Center
Outdoors, the Daggerwing Nature Center includes exhibit areas with live animals and natural history displays, a children’s area, classroom facilities, and a 2,000 foot elevated pine boardwalk which takes you on a relaxing journey through a wet forest. At Red Reef Park look out for sea turtles, ospreys, pelicans and manatees in their natural habitat.
Annual events
Annual events include Fiesta of Arts, first weekend in February; Arts, Music & Orchids in the Park, mid-April; and Boca Raton Green Market, Saturday from October-April.
Boca Raton of course is part of Palm Beach County so it enjoys the county’s distinctive attractions, its assortment of cultural venues, top-notch festivals and edge-of-your-seat sporting activities. This sub-tropical paradise, which features 47 miles of beaches, is home to 37 distinct cities that are rich in diversity.
Hotels
Palm Beach County boasts more than 16,000 guestrooms at more than 200 hotels. Luxurious resorts, affordable inns, and bed & breakfasts create an extensive list of accommodations from which to choose. Elegant and casual dining is found at more than 2,300 restaurants.
Shopping
Shoppers enjoy fantastic venues for every taste. From the funky and forward shops of Atlantic Avenue and the famous and elegant boutiques of Worth Avenue, to five superior shopping malls and the small European town center of CityPlace, Palm Beach County boasts world-renowned shopping at a vast selection of locales.
Arts
More than 40 cultural venues are located across the county. From the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and Norton Museum of Art to Ballet Florida and Boca Raton Museum of Art, all reflect a diversity of excellent entertainment and unequaled exhibits.
Water Activities
Palm Beach County is surrounded by water, so its no wonder water activities abound. Anglers will find the best in deep-sea fishing and numerous fresh water spots. For scuba enthusiasts, the waters offer brilliantly colored corals, sea turtles, nurse sharks and the Western Hemisphere’s widest variety of tropical and sport fish. Ecotourists will realize that they are in an exploration utopia, both on land and under the sea. Adventures await yachters, canoe/kayaking enthusiasts, beach-goers, divers and pleasure boaters alike.
Weather
Excellent weather makes Palm Beach County a superb place to experience the outdoors and enjoy recreational activities. Fully registered as Florida’s Golf Capital SM, Palm Beach County has more than 160 public and private golf courses.
With an average annual temperature of 78° F, visitors can enjoy the great outdoors year-round at any of the 70 parks in the County, 13 of which are beachfront. State, county and local parks offer everything from boating to horseback riding while beach-goers bask in the sun on a 47-mile stretch of shoreline.
Delray Beach
Delray Beach is located on the Atlantic seashore next to Bacon Raton between Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.
The beaches of Delray Beach stretch 3 miles along the coast, one-and-one-half miles of which is protected by one of America’s finest Ocean-Rescue Departments; a life guard team that has been awarded many State and National honors.
The municipal beaches are family oriented with recreational areas to the north and south that cater to surfing, boating and volleyball. The beaches are frequently groomed and warmed by the Gulf Stream currents, the clean waters average 78 degree temperatures.
The Delray Beach shore has been rated as the top swimming area in the south eastern United States and among the top 35 beaches in all America.
But Delray is not just about fun in the surf. Shopping opportunities and museums attract visitors from far and wide.
The Atlantic Antique Mall offers up thousands of upscale antique and vintage collectibles, including Lalique crystal, ivory, estate jewelry, art, Murano glass, and furniture. And Delray Beach’s finest shopping, dining and galleries can be found in charming Pineapple Grove, just North of Atlantic Avenue.
Among the many museums are the Carson Cottage House Museum, once home to a family of Delray Beach pioneers, and The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum, the former home of the late Solomon D Spady, Delray Beach’s most prominent African American educator and community leader.
For nature lovers, the American Orchid Society showcases 3.5 acres of dazzling orchids, tropical flora, themed gardens, inspired water features and a magnificent display greenhouse. The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens includes an idyll with small lakes, nature trails and pine forests in the expansive Japanese Gardens. And the Sandoway House Nature Center, located in a beautiful and historic beach front home, provides a live history lesson with exhibits, facilities and activities that delve into the fascinating, yet delicate marine and freshwater ecosystems of Delray Beach.
North of Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, named after an American Civil War major, is the county’s third largest city and was rated the #1 beach in Palm Beach County by the Palm Beach Post.