The best day trips from Pembroke Pines, FL sort by direction before they sort by distance. Twenty minutes west puts you on an airboat in the Everglades. Twenty five minutes east puts you on sand at Hollywood Beach. The Sawgrass Expressway runs north to Coconut Creek and Palm Beach County, and I-75 or the Palmetto reaches Wynwood in about forty five minutes. Here are thirteen trips in order of drive time, what each one is for, and the one that deserves an overnight instead.
Four Directions Out of Pembroke Pines
Pembroke Pines is wide, and that changes every number below. The city spreads across roughly 34 square miles of southwest Broward, so a time measured from the middle of town near Pines Boulevard and Flamingo Road runs ten or fifteen minutes longer if you start out by Chapel Trail. Every drive time in this guide is measured from the center.
Direction decides the day. West on Griffin Road reaches the sawgrass faster than east reaches the ocean, which is the geographic joke of living here. East means Sheridan Street or Stirling Road. North runs up Flamingo Road through Davie and Plantation before the Sawgrass Expressway takes over. South is the only direction where the clock matters, because Miami trips ride entirely on I-95 or the Palmetto, so leave before 7am or after 9am and start home before 4pm.
Staying local is a legitimate answer too. Pembroke Pines has more parkland, theater and city events inside its own limits than most Broward suburbs, and our guide to things to do in Pembroke Pines covers those. Everything below is for the days you want out.
Under 20 Minutes: Davie, Weston and the Everglades Edge
Tree Tops Park: 15 Minutes to Actual Shade
Tree Tops Park in Davie is 243 acres of oak hammock with a 28-foot observation tower over the canopy and a 1,000-foot marsh boardwalk below it. Shade is the reason to drive here instead of walking the Chapel Trail boardwalk at home, which crosses open wetland with nothing overhead. Pedal boat rentals are seasonal.
iFLY Indoor Skydiving: 15 Minutes, and Only 90 of Them
iFLY in Davie is a vertical wind tunnel that lets you fly without jumping out of anything, and it takes flyers from age three. Treat it as a 60 to 90 minute activity rather than a day, and pair it with another Davie stop. Book ahead, because walk-ins wait, and wear laced sneakers.
Peace Mound Park: 15 Minutes Northwest to a Tequesta Burial Mound
Peace Mound Park in Weston is eight acres built around a Tequesta burial mound, the only playground near Pembroke Pines that sits beside a pre-Columbian archaeological site. The Weston History Walk signs explain what you are looking at, and there is a fishing dock and a lake boardwalk. Shade is the differentiator, since most western Broward parks have none.
Flamingo Gardens: 15 to 20 Minutes up Flamingo Road
Flamingo Gardens is a 60-acre botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary in Davie with more than 3,000 tropical plants, a free-flight aviary, resident Florida panthers and the historic Wray Home Museum. The aviary and the panthers are the reasons to come, and the tram is how you see it with small children before the heat wins. Confirm hours first, since the garden's own site did not respond during research.
Everglades Holiday Park: 20 Minutes West on Griffin Road
Everglades Holiday Park is the shortest genuine Everglades trip in the region, on Griffin Road about twenty minutes west. Sixty minute airboat tours run alongside alligator shows from the Gator Boys rescue team and encounters where you can hold a baby gator. Tours run 9am to 5pm daily, rain or shine, with the last one leaving at 5pm sharp and tickets posted at $41.99 for adults and $29.99 for ages 3 to 11.
Bergeron Rodeo Grounds: 20 Minutes to a Working Rodeo
Bergeron Rodeo Grounds in Davie has hosted rodeo, equestrian shows and festivals for more than forty years, twenty minutes from a Broward shopping mall. Old Florida cowboy culture is not what visitors expect out here, and the surprise is the point. The grounds are entirely event-driven, so check the schedule; there is nothing to see on a random Tuesday.
20 to 30 Minutes: The Coast and the Water Taxi
Lady Pamela II Sportfishing: 20 Minutes East for Drift Fishing
Lady Pamela II runs four-hour and nighttime drift fishing trips out of Hollywood, roughly 7.5 miles east. Drift fishing is the low-commitment version of a charter: rods and bait are included, you share the boat, and nobody has to organize a group. In summer, book the night trip, because afternoon heat on open water is punishing.
Hollywood Beach Broadwalk: 25 Minutes to the Nearest Ocean
The Hollywood Beach Broadwalk is a 2.5-mile oceanfront promenade of restaurants, shops and live music, and it is the closest real beach to Pembroke Pines. Walking it costs nothing, which makes this the best no-cost day out on the list. Parking is the whole problem: the municipal garages fill by 10am on weekends, so take Sheridan Street and park north of the main strip.
Las Olas Boulevard and the Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi: 30 Minutes Northeast
Downtown Fort Lauderdale is about thirty minutes northeast, and Las Olas Boulevard carries the galleries, boutiques and restaurants that anchor the day. The Water Taxi is the honest way to see the yacht basins without chartering anything, so buy an all-day pass and hop off at Las Olas. Our Pembroke Pines nightlife guide covers what is open when you get back.
40 Minutes to an Hour: Butterflies, Street Art and Sawgrass
Butterfly World: 40 Minutes North on the Sawgrass Expressway
Butterfly World in Coconut Creek keeps roughly 20,000 exotic butterflies and free-flying birds inside screened aviaries, plus lorikeet feeding encounters children remember longer than any exhibit. The clock rules this trip. Hours run 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 11am to 5pm Sunday, but last entry is 4pm and the final lorikeet feeding is 4:15pm, so an afternoon start does not work.
Wynwood and Downtown Miami: 40 to 45 Minutes South
Wynwood Walls and the street-art blocks around it are why most Pembroke Pines families drive south, with the Design District, HistoryMiami Museum, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens and the Adrienne Arsht Center filling out the day. Wynwood parking is paid lots only, and a weekday morning gets you photographs without crowds.
Shark Valley, Everglades National Park: 50 Minutes to an Hour
Shark Valley is the national park's northern entrance, with a tram road loop, bike rentals and an observation tower over the sawgrass river. Visit Florida measures it at 34 miles and about 45 minutes from downtown Miami, so budget closer to an hour going south and then west. The dry season, roughly December to April, is the better wildlife window, the tram fills up, and there is no shade on the loop.
An Hour or More: Palm Beach County and the Keys
Delray Beach, Boca Raton and the Morikami: About an Hour North
An hour north on I-95 or the Turnpike buys the quiet, high-end version of a South Florida day: Gumbo Limbo Nature Center and Mizner Park in Boca Raton, then Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens sits just west of Delray and combines with either. The Morikami opens Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm and charges $18 for adults and $12 for ages 6 to 17.
Key Largo and John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park: About 1 Hour 45 Minutes
Key Largo is the first of the Florida Keys and the diving and snorkeling anchor of the region at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. Visit Florida measures it at about 60 miles and 1 hour 15 minutes from downtown Miami, so budget 1 hour 45 from here, since you first have to get south and east onto US 1. Leave by 8am and reserve boat trips. Snorkel gear that earns its keep three weekends a year is what a 5×5 storage locker is sized for.
Key West: The Trip That Deserves an Overnight
Key West is not a day trip from Pembroke Pines, and any guide that lists it as one has not driven it. Visit Florida puts Key West at about 160 miles and 3.5 to 4 hours from downtown Miami, so call it four hours each way from here. The Overseas Highway narrows to two lanes for long stretches, and one crash adds an hour. Book a night.
Parking, Storm Season and What Closes on Mondays
Parking governs three of these trips more than opening hours do. Hollywood Beach garages fill by mid-morning on a weekend, downtown Fort Lauderdale is garage-only, and Wynwood is paid surface lots. Broward County regional parks, Tree Tops included, charge a per-vehicle entrance fee on weekends and holidays, which is worth knowing before you reach the gate expecting a free park.
Monday is the quiet trap. The Morikami closes Mondays and major holidays, Butterfly World stops admitting visitors at 4pm every day, and Everglades Holiday Park sends its last airboat out at 5pm. Anything with a tram, a tunnel or a boat wants a booking: iFLY, the Shark Valley tram and the Key Largo snorkel trips all sell out before the parking lot does.
Weather sets the calendar more than anything else. Weather Spark puts the hot season from 29 May to 30 September with daily highs above 87F, and June through September brings near-daily afternoon thunderstorms that have nothing to do with tropical systems. The Atlantic hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November and peaks on 10 September, according to the National Hurricane Center, so book refundable rates in that window. Our guide to the best time to visit Pembroke Pines goes month by month.
Gear is the last practical problem, and it is a local one. Beach chairs, coolers, bikes and paddleboards take over a Pembroke Pines garage within two seasons of taking day trips seriously, and a 5×10 storage unit holds the lot without costing you a parking space. Heat is the argument for a climate controlled unit in Pembroke Pines over a closed garage in August, because wetsuits, camera gear and anything with foam in it do not survive that treatment long.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far is Pembroke Pines from a beach?
About 25 minutes. Hollywood Beach and its 2.5-mile Broadwalk are the nearest ocean access, reached by taking Sheridan Street or Stirling Road east. There is no beach inside Pembroke Pines, because the city sits inland in southwest Broward County. Plan around parking rather than driving time, since the garages fill by mid-morning on weekends.
What to do near Pembroke Pines, FL?
Within twenty minutes you can take an airboat into the Everglades at Everglades Holiday Park, walk the oak canopy boardwalk at Tree Tops Park, fly in the iFLY wind tunnel, or see Florida panthers at Flamingo Gardens. Push to thirty minutes and you add Hollywood Beach and Las Olas Boulevard. Almost everything worth driving to sits inside a half-hour ring.
Where is good to go for an extreme day trip?
Shark Valley in Everglades National Park is the most ambitious single day that still works, at roughly an hour each way plus a tram loop or a bike ride with no shade. Key Largo, at about 1 hour 45 minutes, is the outer edge for snorkeling and back in a day. Key West, at four hours each way, is the trip people attempt and regret.
What are the best family day trips from Pembroke Pines?
Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, the airboats and gator shows at Everglades Holiday Park, and the free-flight aviary at Flamingo Gardens hold a child's attention longest. iFLY takes flyers from age three, and Peace Mound Park pairs a shaded playground with an archaeological site. For options closer to home, our guide to things to do in Pembroke Pines with kids stays inside the city.
Where the Gear Lives Between Trips
Value Store It's Sheridan Village facility sits on the same Sheridan Street corridor most of these trips use to reach the coast, and it rents month to month with no long-term contract. A 10×5 unit takes a garage bay's worth of seasonal overflow, a 10×10 storage unit holds roughly a one-bedroom, and the 10×20 unit is sized for a full house or a small business inventory. If you are not sure which one fits what you own, the storage unit size guide sorts it out in a couple of minutes.
