The best things to do in Pembroke Pines, FL with kids sort themselves by drive time. Inside ten minutes you get a 299-acre county park with a water park in it, a wetland boardwalk, an ice rink, a nine-screen cinema and a set of free neighborhood playgrounds. Fifteen to twenty minutes adds Davie's gardens, airboats and horses. Past that, you're planning a full day rather than an afternoon. This guide works through all three rings and flags ages, free options and shade, because shade decides more South Florida family outings than anything else.
Reading Pembroke Pines by Drive Time and Shade
Pembroke Pines covers roughly 34 square miles, so "close by" means something different in Chapel Trail than it does in Pembroke Lakes. The east end sits near University Drive and the mall, and the west end runs out to the edge of the Everglades. Almost every family destination inside the city sits on or just off Pines Boulevard or Flamingo Road, which means one of those two roads is usually your whole itinerary.
Shade is the second filter, and it's the one visitors get wrong. Much of western Broward was built on drained wetland with young trees and very little canopy, so a 1pm arrival at an open park in July turns into a short visit. Weather Spark puts the hot season from May 29 to September 30, with August averaging a 90F high and a 77F low. From June through September, afternoon thunderstorms are close to daily. Plan outdoor stops before noon and keep an indoor one in reserve.
Under Ten Minutes: The In-City Core
C.B. Smith Park and Paradise Cove Water Park
C.B. Smith Park is the anchor for families here: 299 acres off Flamingo Road with batting cages, tennis and pickleball courts, lake trails you can walk or bike, and rentable BBQ pavilions near the water. Visit Lauderdale, the county tourism bureau, leads its Pembroke Pines page with it. The pavilions book out weeks ahead for birthdays, and a shaded spot on a Saturday means arriving before 10am. Bikes are the best way to ride the lake loop with kids over about seven, and when the garage stops closing, a 5×10 storage unit is the size that swallows four bikes, the wagon and the folding chairs.
Paradise Cove Water Park sits inside the same park: a large pool, two interactive water playgrounds, a lazy river tube ride and two waterslides. It runs seasonally rather than year round and charges its own fee on top of park entry, so check before driving out in January. Toddlers stay in the splash playgrounds, and the slides carry height limits. Shade is thin, so 10am beats 1pm in July.
Chapel Trail Nature Preserve
Chapel Trail Nature Preserve is the free outdoor stop in Pembroke Pines and the one most family listicles skip. It's 450 acres of wetland at the western edge of the city, with an elevated boardwalk through sawgrass and canoe and kayak access to the channels. Herons, egrets, wood storks and ospreys are routine sightings, and alligators are not unusual, which for most children is the entire point. Go early, because the boardwalk has almost no shade and the mosquitoes take over at dusk in the wet season. Families who keep their own boats launch here rather than trailering east, and a 10×20 unit is the size that takes a kayak rack and a small trailer.
Pines Ice Arena
Pines Ice Arena answers a 92-degree afternoon and a washed-out Saturday at the same time, and it's the only indoor ice in this corner of Broward. Public skating sessions are posted week by week rather than on a fixed timetable, so check the current schedule before you load the car. Skate rentals are available, and proper socks are worth bringing. Classes run from first-timer through advanced, and the rink takes birthday bookings, which matters in a city where most party venues are outdoors.
AMC Pembroke Lakes 9 and Pembroke Lakes Mall
AMC Pembroke Lakes 9 sits inside Pembroke Lakes Mall on Pines Boulevard with nine screens, reserved recliners and laser projection. Reserved seating means you can book from the parking lot when a storm cancels the park plan, though the back rows go first on a Friday opening night. The mall itself carries more than 150 shops plus a food court, and it's fully air conditioned, which makes it the honest default on a July afternoon when nobody can face another hour outside.
The Frank C. Ortis Art Gallery and City Art Classes
The Frank C. Ortis Art Gallery, known locally as the Frank, runs contemporary exhibitions at 601 City Center Way alongside Family Day and FrankStudio programming built for children. It's open Wednesday to Sunday from 11am to 5pm and closed Monday and Tuesday, which catches out a lot of school-holiday plans, and Sensory Sunday sessions are scheduled for visitors who need a quieter room (The Frank). For something longer than a visit, the Pembroke Pines Art & Cultural Center on NW 129th Avenue runs city music, art and drama classes and holiday camps, with registration through the city.
Free Neighborhood Parks Across the City
Four city parks fill the gap between the big regional park and your own street, and all of them are free every day. Alhambra Park in the far west has a playground, pavilion and grills, which makes it a small-birthday venue without a booking fee. Ben Fiorendino Park on Taft Street has trails and exercise stations and better shade than most newer parks, so it's the stroller and running one. Ashley W. Hale Park is a basketball court and playground that stays quiet on a weekday morning, and Rose G. Price Park is the pick on a weekend when C.B. Smith is charging entry and running at capacity.
Fifteen to Twenty Minutes Out: Davie, Weston and Miramar
Flamingo Gardens
Flamingo Gardens in Davie is 60 acres of botanical garden and wildlife sanctuary about 15 to 20 minutes straight up Flamingo Road, with more than 3,000 tropical plants, a free-flight aviary and wildlife exhibits that include Florida panthers and alligators. The aviary and the panthers are the reasons to come. Take the tram if anyone in the group is under six, because the walking loop outlasts most small children. The garden's own site didn't respond during our research pass, so confirm hours directly before you drive out.
Tree Tops Park
Tree Tops Park in Davie gives you the one thing Pembroke Pines can't: canopy. It's 243 acres of oak hammock about 15 minutes away, with a 28-foot observation tower over the treetops, a 1,000-foot marsh boardwalk, a nature center, equestrian trails and seasonal pedal boat rentals. Weekend and holiday vehicle entry fees apply, as at every Broward regional park. If Chapel Trail felt too hot and too flat, this is the same wetland idea with a roof of oaks over it.
Everglades Holiday Park
Everglades Holiday Park on Griffin Road is about 20 minutes west and is the shortest genuine Everglades trip in the region. Sixty-minute airboat tours and live alligator shows from the Gator Boys Rescue team run 9am to 5pm daily, with the last tour leaving at 5pm sharp (Everglades Holiday Park). Children can hold a baby alligator at the animal encounters, which is the photo everyone comes home with. In August 2026 tours listed at $41.99 for adults and $29.99 for ages 3 to 11. Tours run rain or shine, though hours move with the weather.
iFLY Indoor Skydiving and WB Family Ranch
iFLY Indoor Skydiving in Davie is a vertical wind tunnel that lets a child fly without leaving the ground, and it takes flyers from age three. It's a 60 to 90 minute activity rather than a day out, so pair it with something else nearby. Book ahead, arrive 15 minutes early, wear laced sneakers and leave jewelry in the car. WB Family Ranch on Southwest 112th Avenue, roughly 15 minutes out, runs horseback riding on a working Davie ranch. Ride in the morning, because those trails carry no shade at all.
Peace Mound Park and Miramar Regional Park
Peace Mound Park in Weston is eight acres built around a Tequesta burial mound, about 15 minutes northwest, with a shaded playground, a fishing dock, a lake boardwalk and the Weston History Walk signs along the path. It's free, and it's the only playground near Pembroke Pines sitting beside a genuine pre-Columbian archaeological site. Miramar Regional Park, ten minutes south, is the plainer overflow answer when C.B. Smith is full and charging weekend entry.
Twenty to Forty Minutes Out: Days That Need a Plan
Young At Art Museum
Young At Art Museum is a hands-on children's art museum with drawing, painting, clay, mixed media and digital stations, plus story time and sensory-friendly sessions. It now sits inside Broward Mall in Plantation rather than its old freestanding building, so navigate to the mall (Young At Art). Hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm, closed Monday and Tuesday, roughly 20 to 25 minutes north. Ages two to twelve get the most out of it; teenagers run out of room quickly.
Urban Air Adventure Park
Urban Air Adventure Park on South University Drive in Plantation is the standard rained-out answer for children roughly five to fourteen, an indoor trampoline and adventure park about 15 to 20 minutes north. Ticket levels are tiered, and buying the tier you actually want before you arrive costs less than upgrading at the desk. Socks are mandatory and sold at the counter if you forget them.
Hollywood Beach Broadwalk
Hollywood Beach Broadwalk is the nearest real beach to Pembroke Pines, about 25 minutes east, and walking it costs nothing. The 2.5-mile oceanfront promenade is flat, paved and lined with restaurants, shops and live music, which makes it genuinely strollable in a way most Florida beaches are not. Parking is the whole problem: municipal garages fill by 10am on weekends and metered street spots turn over slowly, so leave early or take Sheridan Street and park north of the main strip.
Butterfly World
Butterfly World in Coconut Creek is about 40 minutes north via the Sawgrass Expressway, and it's screened aviaries holding roughly 20,000 butterflies and free-flying birds, plus lorikeet feeding encounters. The timing is strict: last entry is 4pm and the last lorikeet feeding is 4:15pm, so an afternoon start doesn't work (Butterfly World). Summer thunderstorms can close the aviaries, so phone on the morning you plan to go. If a drive of that length is on the table anyway, our guide to day trips from Pembroke Pines covers what else is in range.
Fees, Closures and the Weather That Runs the Calendar
Two midweek closures catch families out every school holiday. The Frank and Young At Art are both shut Monday and Tuesday, which removes the two best indoor art options at the start of the week. Pines Ice Arena posts public sessions weekly rather than on a fixed timetable, and Paradise Cove runs seasonally, so a January drive to the water park is a wasted trip.
Fees are the other surprise. Broward's regional parks, C.B. Smith and Tree Tops included, charge per vehicle on weekends and holidays, while every city park listed here is free every day of the year. Paradise Cove charges again on top of park entry. If the budget is the constraint, Chapel Trail, the four city parks, Peace Mound Park and the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk cost nothing but gas. Mornings out tend to end the same way, and First Watch and Another Broken Egg Cafe both open at 7am with an online waitlist worth using on a Sunday; our Pembroke Pines brunch guide covers the rest.
Weather runs the calendar. The National Hurricane Center puts the Atlantic season from June 1 to November 30, peaking on September 10, and those same months bring near-daily afternoon storms that have nothing to do with hurricanes. November through April is the comfortable window for anything outdoors, and our guide to the best time to visit Pembroke Pines breaks that down month by month. The city stacks its family programming into the cooler half of the year too, with Booville in late October and SnowFest in early December on the city events calendar. The costumes and decorations those generate spend the other ten months in a 5×5 locker for a lot of households.
Humidity is the quieter problem. Photographs, craft projects from the Art & Cultural Center, hurricane supplies and anything made of paper or glue degrade fast in an unconditioned Florida garage, which is why climate controlled storage in Pembroke Pines is worth the difference for the things you actually intend to keep.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some free things to do in Pembroke Pines with kids?
Chapel Trail Nature Preserve, Alhambra Park, Ben Fiorendino Park, Ashley W. Hale Park and Rose G. Price Park are free every day of the week, and so is walking the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk about 25 minutes east. Peace Mound Park in Weston is free too, and it has shade. The catch is that Broward's regional parks, C.B. Smith and Tree Tops, charge a per-vehicle fee on weekends and holidays.
What indoor things can you do in Pembroke Pines with kids?
Pines Ice Arena, AMC Pembroke Lakes 9 and Pembroke Lakes Mall are the three indoor options inside the city, and the Frank C. Ortis Art Gallery adds a smaller one Wednesday through Sunday. Fifteen to twenty-five minutes out you get Young At Art Museum in Plantation, Urban Air Adventure Park and iFLY Indoor Skydiving. Between June and September, keep one of them in reserve every single day.
What is there to do in Pembroke Pines with kids at night?
Evening options are thin, and the honest answer is a film or a meal. AMC Pembroke Lakes 9 runs late showings with reserved recliners, and the Charles F. Dodge City Center programs touring family shows at 601 City Center Way, though its calendar is event driven rather than nightly. Pines Ice Arena sometimes posts evening public sessions. Check schedules the same day, because nothing here runs on autopilot.
How far is Pembroke Pines from a beach?
Hollywood Beach is about 25 minutes east of Pembroke Pines, straight out along Sheridan Street or Pines Boulevard, and it's the closest ocean to the city. There's no beach inside the city limits and no ocean access; Pembroke Pines sits inland in southwest Broward, closer to the Everglades than to the Atlantic. Leave before 9am on a weekend or parking will decide your day for you.
What are the best family day trips from Pembroke Pines?
Everglades Holiday Park at about 20 minutes, Flamingo Gardens and Tree Tops Park at 15 to 20, and Butterfly World at roughly 40 are the four that reliably fill a day with children along. Shark Valley in Everglades National Park is about an hour away and better in the December to April dry season, when wildlife concentrates along the loop and the tram is worth booking ahead.
Storing the Family Gear Between Seasons
Family gear in South Florida is seasonal in a way newcomers don't expect: pool floats and beach wagons for eight months, hurricane supplies for six, camping and holiday bins for a few weeks each. Value Store It's Sheridan Village facility rents month to month with no long term contract and is open seven days a week, which suits a household that swaps things in and out rather than storing them once. A 10×5 unit clears a garage bay of bikes, strollers and outgrown baby gear, and a 10×10 unit takes a full playroom or a spare bedroom's contents while you repaint. Smaller 5×5 lockers handle the seasonal bins on their own. If there's still weekend left to fill, our guide to things to do in Pembroke Pines covers the parts of the city this one leaves out.
