Road Trips Starting from Fort Lauderdale, FL
Best National Parks Near Fort Lauderdale, FL
The largest national park east of the Mississippi River is Everglades National Park, which encompasses 1.5 million acres of land and water. This park, located about 95 miles from Fort Lauderdale, is home to endangered animals like manatees, Florida panthers, and American crocodiles. This massive park has three entrances, including Homestead, Miami, and Everglades City, and offers airboat tours regularly.
Located 170 miles from Fort Lauderdale sits Biscayne National Park, just outside of Miami. This park is known for being a top snorkeling and diving destination, and it is full of tropical beaches and coastal trails. Bottlenose dolphins are often spotted in the park, and kayaking is popularly enjoyed year-round.
Beyond Key West is Dry Tortugas National Park, 190 miles away from Fort Lauderdale. This unique park is made up of seven islands, and it features coral reefs under the water around them. This park is only accessible by boat or plane, but it holds the promise of great experiences for scuba divers and snorkelers.
Popular State Parks Near Fort Lauderdale, FL
Found right in Fort Lauderdale, Jonathan Dickinson State Park is Southeast Florida’s largest state park. At this park, visitors can explore Hobe Mountain, an ancient sand dune, or take an interpretive boat tour. This park also offers boat rentals, bike rentals, and horse-drawn wagon rides.
Found 25 miles away from Fort Lauderdale is John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, which offers scuba diving, snorkeling, and paddling in the ocean. This park, located in Key Largo, is known as the United States’ first underwater park, and it’s full of picturesque coral reefs. At the park’s visitor center, you can see a 30,000-gallon saltwater aquarium.
Long Key State Park is found along the Overseas Highway that connects the Florida Keys, about 123 miles from the heart of Fort Lauderdale. At this park, you’ll find opportunities for saltwater fishing with species like snook, trout, tarpon, bonefish, and redfish. You can also see Key deer, which are a unique type of white-tailed deer only found in the Florida Keys.
Must-see Monuments and Landmarks Near Fort Lauderdale, FL
Preserving the freshwater pieces of the Everglades, Big Cypress National Preserve is found 71 miles outside of Fort Lauderdale. This preserve is essential to protecting the tropical plant community of the area, and it encompasses over 729,000 acres of land and water. For visitors, making a trip to this preserve is a great way to see local wildlife such as alligators, sandhill cranes, and Florida black bears.
Located near the Kennedy Space Center is the Canaveral National Seashore, which is another preservation site for the Atlantic Florida coast. Found 206 miles from Fort Lauderdale, visitors can see rocket launches from the Space Center from the national seashore, or they can go swimming and paddling in the water. This location is known for its year-round pleasant temperatures, too, making it a nationwide destination.
For history buffs, the De Soto National Memorial is a must-see and is 232 miles from Fort Lauderdale. This memorial is dedicated to the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in Florida in 1539 and the natives who lived there long before them. At this memorial, you can explore Camp Uzita, a living history museum.
RVshare’s Top Picks for Nearby RV Parks & Campgrounds
There are plenty of great camping options found in Fort Lauderdale, such as Paradise Island RV Resort, which has 232 RV sites with full hookups available. There are also pull-through sites for easy parking, and showers and Wi-Fi are top amenities. This pet-friendly campground has entertainment options too, such as a library, a recreation room, and outdoor yard games.
Aztec RV Resort is a gated campground on over 100 acres of land, and it can be found in Margate, about 14 miles from Fort Lauderdale. This campground offers 645 campsites for Class A motorhomes to use, and it has amenities ranging from tennis courts to a fitness center and RV washing services.
In Moore Haven, about 98 miles from Fort Lauderdale, you’ll find The Glades RV Resort. This campground has 360 campsites with full hookups for all types of RVs, plus there are both back-in and pull-through sites for easy parking. Amenities of this campground include a golf course and a dog park. The resort is within driving distance of Lake Okeechobee.
RV Dump Stations Near Fort Lauderdale, FL
Paradise Island RV Resort is one dump station located right in Fort Lauderdale. At this campground, guests may use the dump services for free, and others can use it for a small fee.
Easterlin Park, also known as Broward County Park, offers RV dumping services for free for registered camp guests. If you aren’t a guest there, you can also use the dump station for $15. This station is found 5 miles away from Fort Lauderdale.
In Indiantown, the Dupuis Wildlife Reserve Equestrian Center is open year-round for RV dumping. Dumping at this location is free for all, and you will find the dump station about 94 miles from Fort Lauderdale.
