A couple of weeks ago, we told you about the horrible and sad places in Broward County.
Needless to say, we hit a nerve.
And that's cool. Many of you are proud of your home and got supermad that we had the audacity to bitch about how a drug store chain can be a soul-sucking eyesore.
But we also have plenty of love for our community. And we know we got a good thing here.
So, to counter all the bad places we talked about, we want to discuss the good things. We aren't focusing on the obvious stuff but rather the not-so-obvious -- the places that only true locals know about and appreciate.
Here now are the six most underrated places in Broward:
See also: The Six Worst Places in Broward
6. The Fox Observatory Vast stars, the solar system, the various craters on the moon, asteroids, comets, and the rings of Saturn. The universe is fucking cool. And it's worth checking out. And you can hit up Markham Park's Fox Observatory and get a closer look with the huge telescope and other viewing equipment. Or bring your own telescope and they'll show you how to align it for maximum viewing awesomeness. The observatory is open to the public Saturdays from sunset until midnight. It's free. And it's better than going to the Regal Oakwood and dropping 25 bucks to watch Sandra Bullock floating around space for two hours.
5. The Water Parks Why pay gobs of money to go to Rapids or drive for three hours to go to Typhoon Lagoon (and also pay gobs of money) when we've got ourselves a pretty kick-ass water park right in our own backyard. For just about $10, you can go to Paradise Cove in C.B. Smith Park and hit up one of the two 700-foot watersides (or both!) and the 400-foot tube ride. There are pipelines and even an area for the kiddies.
Ah, but that's not all. There's also Tropical Splash at Central Broward Regional Park & Stadium in Lauderhill, For the kids, there's Splash Adventure at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach and Castaway Island inside Topeekeegee Yugnee Park in Hollywood.
4. The Biking Trails People are always complaining that there aren't enough places to ride your bike or that the roads in Broward County don't cater to bicycles. That's absolutely true. But the good news is: Bike trails! There are at least a dozen places to take your bike and make an adventure of it. There's T.Y. Park, C.B. Smith Park, Markham, Hollywood North Beach Park, and Tradewinds Park, to name just a few. And for those who want a little more adventure and possibly a very sore ass in the morning, there are a couple of mountain bike trails to hit up, like the ten-mile trail in Markham or the seven-miler in Quiet Waters.
There's also a velodrome in Brian Piccolo Park for those who like riding superfast in circles inside a futuristic-looking track that looks like something out of Star Wars.
3. Airboat Rides! Dude, seriously. Airboat rides. Some airboat companies take you around the Everglades and show you the natural wonders of our swamp, birds, turtles, gators, and critters. And some just take you zipping through the place like you're on the run from the cops. Airboat rides are amazeballs.
2. Monday Night Food Trucks at Young Circle Grab a blanket and head on over to Young Circle in Hollywood so you can stuff your face hole with awesome food while taking in the lovely sights and sounds of the park. Every Monday night, food trucks line up at Young Circle. There are plenty of options to be had (the Rolling Stove is pretty fantastic), and there's, like, cool art to look at and a pretty sweet fountain.
1. Water Sports Stuff Look, people. It's pretty simple. We live in South Florida, and the friggin' ocean is right there BEGGING us to go play in it.
For a quieter, more Zen-like approach, there are streams and lakes to kayak, canoe, and paddleboat. For those who want to get cray, there's THE ENTIRE OCEAN. And you don't even need to own a boat to go boating. Broward has a bunch of places to rent boats, including some parks like T.Y., Quiet Waters, and West Lake. And if you really want to enjoy, try canoeing in Hollywood at West Lake Park, where you can rent a boat and find sanctuary just blocks from the action.
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