Pembroke Pines built the Chapel Trail Park Nature Preserve at 19800 Sheridan St. with almost a third of a mile of boardwalk for visitors to enjoy the Everglades free of charge without having to drive to the two national parks in Miami-Dade.  The preserve office is only open Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Unfortunately, it is one of the best kept secrets in Broward because there are only few visitors per week. The Chapel Trail Park Nature Preserve has been called one of our hidden gems, and it shouldn’t be.

These 450 acres of grassy plains and wetlands border a warehouse district, other businesses, an elementary school and residential subdivisions in western Pembroke Pines near U.S. 27.

Most days, few, if any people show up to hike the boardwalk or sit under the tin-roofed huts. Visitor will find plenty of birds, chirping crickets, marsh rabbits scurrying away in the grasslands, largemouth bass, and snapping turtles swimming in the pristine clear water, lone eagles flying overhead, along with hawks, herons and egrets.

Girl Scout co-leader Heather Mattson said residents are missing a rare opportunity. She, co-leader Bari Butler and their Troop 10235, mostly fifth-graders, hold their twice-a-month meetings at the nature preserve.

Boy scouts from several elementary schools and different cities agreed to meet at the preserve from September to May. People from Chapel Trail, Somerset Academy, Pembroke Pines Charter and Weston and Miami Lakes love it out there.  The Girl Scouts are so dedicated to the preserve that they planted a butterfly garden near its entrance.

“Everyone who goes outside and looks at what is around them is gaining something — gaining a sense of place and a sense of self,” a blogger who calls herself The Nature Teacher wrote after teaching 28 children and 18 adults at the preserve last year.

The nature preserve had a grand opening in January 2005 to celebrate its 1,650 feet of boardwalk that allows visitors to see the preserve’s 120 species of birds, marsh rabbits, alligators, snakes, turtles, insects and other animals. Later that fall, Hurricane Wilma walloped more than half of the boardwalk but the city repaired and reopened the preserve.

Developer Paul Koening, who built the neighboring 4,000-home Chapel Trail community, donated the preserve’s land. Now you can count on Adrian Valdes to find the perfect home for you in Chapel Trail so you can enjoy this beautiful preserve.

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Posted on Thursday, September 2nd, 2010 at 12:10 PM and is filed under Chapel Trail Homes, Pembroke Pines Homes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.