Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
Just north of Red Reef across A1A, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is one of Florida's best-known sea turtle centers: free to visit, with a sea turtle hospital, large outdoor aquariums, a boardwalk through a coastal hammock and an observation tower above the canopy.
What's here
- A sea turtle rehabilitation center, open since 2010.
- Large outdoor saltwater aquariums and indoor exhibits.
- A boardwalk through a tropical hardwood hammock, and an observation tower with an ADA-accessible ramp.
- A butterfly garden.
Good to know
Gumbo Limbo is at 1801 N Ocean Blvd and is free; donations support the animals. The center is open Tuesday to Sunday 9 a.m.–4 p.m. and Monday noon–4 p.m., while the trail, boardwalk and tower open daily 7 a.m. to sunset. Phone: 561-544-8605.
Sea turtle rescue
Gumbo Limbo has monitored sea turtles along Boca Raton's beaches since the 1980s, and in 2010 it opened a rehabilitation facility for injured and sick turtles. It's one of only a handful of Florida centers that accept turtles with fibropapillomatosis, a tumor disease. Visitors can see patients in outdoor tanks and learn their stories; most are treated and released back to the ocean.
The hammock and tower
The center protects 20 acres of barrier island hammock, first described in 1870 as the Boca Raton Hammock. A shaded boardwalk winds through the tropical hardwood hammock to an observation tower, reached by an accessible ramp, with views over the canopy to the ocean and the Intracoastal.
Turtle walks
In nesting season, Gumbo Limbo runs guided night walks to watch a loggerhead nest, usually in June and July, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights from about 8:45 p.m. to midnight. Tickets have been $15 for residents and $20 for non-residents, for ages 8 and up, and they sell out fast; book online as soon as reservations open.
Partners
The center is run with the Gumbo Limbo Coastal Stewards and the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District, and hosts a research facility for Florida Atlantic University's biology department.
See the rest of the park
Gumbo Limbo is one of 6 featured areas at Red Reef Park.