Hugh Taylor Birch State Park

Birch State park's roots began in 1893 when Chicago attorney Hugh Taylor Birch visited South Florida in search of a secluded area to build a home. Ultimately, he chose a small village in Fort Lauderdale, Florida that included just a few homes, old army posts, and a store.{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/hugh-taylor-birch-state-park/history |access-date=2020-11-30 |website=Florida State Parks |language=en}}

He purchased the oceanfront property for approximately a dollar an acre, ultimately owning a 3.5 mile stretch of beachfront. At age 90, in 1940, he built an Art Deco home on his 180-acre estate naming it "Terramar" or "land to the sea" and maintaining it until his death in 1943.{{Cite web |title=History |url=https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/hugh-taylor-birch-state-park/history |access-date=2020-11-30 |website=Florida State Parks |language=en}} This is now home to the park's visitor center.

Among the wildlife of the park are the gopher tortoise, eastern indigo snake, butterflies, and turtles. Visitors also can see gray squirrels, marsh rabbits, and opossums, as well as more than 200 species of wading birds, hawks, and ducks.

In 2015, gray foxes had returned to the area after being absent in the area for almost a decade.{{Cite web |last=Fleshler |first=David |title=Foxes return to Hugh Taylor Birch State Park |url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-park-foxes-20150224-story.html |access-date=2022-01-02 |website=sun-sentinel.com|date=24 February 2015 }}

Activities include canoeing, bicycling, fishing, swimming, Segway tours and group camping. Visitors can also enjoy inline skating, hiking, picnicing, and wildlife viewing.

Amenities include kayak and jet ski rental, a mile-long freshwater lagoon, two short trails, a beach, picnic areas, and a group/youth campground. In recent years, an outdoor restaurant and bar joint, Park & Ocean, was built on the outskirts of the park overlooking the ocean.{{Cite web |title=Park and Ocean inside Hugh Taylor Birch State Park – Explore Eco Adventures in Ft. Lauderdale {{!}} Hugh Taylor Birch State Park Enjoy Kayaking, Jet Skis, Canoes, Mountain Biking, Segways and Guided Tours |url=https://parkandocean.com/ |access-date=2020-11-30 |language=en-US}}

The Terramar Visitor Center is located in the Mediterranean and Art Deco style home of Hugh Taylor Birch, an attorney for Standard Oil who built his home in 1940.http://www.friendsofbirchstatepark.org/story.htm Story of Hugh Taylor Birch State Park The visitor center is open from 9:00am until 4:00pm, Monday through Friday. Terramar features exhibits about Hugh Taylor Birch, the history of Fort Lauderdale, Florida ecology and wildlife of the park's ecosystem.

Florida state parks are open between 8 a.m. and sundown every day of the year (including holidays).

File:Hugh_Taylor_Birch_State_Park.jpg|Entrance to the park

File:Ardea Alba in Hugh Taylor Birch State Park 2.JPG|Great egret in the park

File:Gasteracantha cancriformis seen in Hugh Taylor Birch State Park 2.JPG|Orb-weaver spider

File:Racoon portrait from Hugh Taylor Birch State Park.JPG|Raccoon

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• [https://www.floridastateparks.org/HughTaylorBirch Hugh Taylor Birch State Park] at [https://www.floridastateparks.org Florida State Parks]
• [http://birchstatepark.org/ Friends of Hugh Taylor Birch State Park]

{{Protected areas of Florida}}

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Category:State parks of Florida

Category:Parks in Broward County, Florida

Category:Museums in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Category:Natural history museums in Florida

Category:Protected areas established in 1941

Category:Tourist attractions in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Category:1941 establishments in Florida

Category:Beaches of Broward County, Florida

Category:Beaches of Florida

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