Brooker Creek Preserve

Brooker Creek Preserve is a county park but it's not a typical park. Most parks around here are dry; winding through wooded flatlands. But the Preserve is almost exclusively wetlands. Almost all of the Preserve is elevated boardwalk over swamp and other wetlands. It's really a much more natural look at untamed Florida. (You can see a pdf of the trail map here.)

We only had a chance to explore about half of this fascinating preserve when a typical summer thunderstorm rolled in and we had to dash for the car. (DSLR's and thunderstorms are a bad combination!) Still, we got a ton of photos and spent about 90 minutes before we had to leave.

As you enter the boardwalk, they have these metal rings of art and one looks like a dragonfly arching over the path.

There's a lot of informative pieces like this really beautifully artistic one telling you about the importance of the land.

 

 

Metal butterfly bench near a wildflower garden.

We're past the bulk of butterfly season and I didn't have my macro lens but I did get a few shots of one!

 

 

Brooker Creek Preserve is open from about 7am - 1 hour before sunset (or about 7pm currently) seven days a week, but the education center and gift shop is closed on Sundays. So we might just have to go back and do some further exploring and check out the gift shop next time too!