The best things to do in Pembroke Pines, FL with kids sort themselves by drive time. Inside 10 minutes you get a 299-acre county park with a seasonal water park in it, a wetland boardwalk, an ice rink, a nine-screen cinema and a set of free neighborhood playgrounds. Another 15 to 20 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 1 p.m. arrival at an open park in July turns into a short visit. NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 climate normals for the Fort Lauderdale airport station, the reference station for this part of Broward, put July and August at a 90°F average high and a 78°F low, with June the wettest month at about 9.6 inches. From June through September, afternoon thunderstorms are close to daily. Plan outdoor stops before noon and keep an indoor one in reserve.
Under 10 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 10 a.m. Bikes are the best way to ride the lake loop with kids over about 7, 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, and it’s bigger than most families expect: four five-story waterslides, the Crazy Creek tube ride and two play areas, Sharky’s Lagoon and Parrot’s Point. It runs seasonally rather than year-round and charges its own fee on top of park entry, so check before driving out in January. Broward County Parks lists admission at $15 a person all day or $10 a person after 3 p.m., and the 2026 season runs weekends only from August 15 before closing for the season on September 27. Toddlers stay in the play areas, and the slides carry height limits. Shade is thin, so 10 a.m. beats 1 p.m. 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, on Sheridan Street, with a 1,650-foot elevated boardwalk through sawgrass and an observation pavilion at the far end. Herons, egrets, wood storks and ospreys are routine sightings, and alligators aren’t unusual, which for most children is the entire point. The city’s preserve page lists it as free, open 8 a.m. to dusk Monday to Saturday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, and notes that canoe rentals are suspended indefinitely, so this is a walking trip rather than a paddling one. Go early, because the boardwalk has almost no shade and the mosquitoes take over at dusk in the wet season. If your own kayaks and bikes have pushed the car out of the driveway, a 10×20 unit is a one-car garage’s worth of space and takes all of it.
Pines Ice Arena
Pines Ice Arena on Taft Street answers a 92-degree afternoon and a washed-out Saturday at the same time, and there aren’t many indoor rinks in this corner of Broward. Public skating runs daily on a standing weekly timetable the rink can change without notice, so check it before you load the car. Admission is $14 with skate rental at $6, 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. The gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed Monday and Tuesday, which catches out a lot of school-holiday plans, and admission is free year-round except for summer exhibitions, which carry a $5 charge. Sensory Sunday sessions are scheduled for visitors who need a quieter room. For something longer than a visit, the Pembroke Pines Art & Cultural Center at 901 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, three pavilions and grills, though the city doesn’t permit parties there, so treat it as a morning stop rather than a birthday venue. 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.
15 to 20 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 plant species, 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 6, because the walking loop outlasts most small children. The garden opens daily at 9:30 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m., with last entry at 4 p.m., so an after-lunch start is tighter than it looks.
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 boardwalk through 23 acres of restored freshwater marsh, a nature center, equestrian trails and paddle boats for rent at the lake. Tree Tops is a Broward regional park too, so the same $3 weekend and County holiday vehicle fee applies here. 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. It opens at 9 a.m. daily and runs 60-minute airboat tours and live alligator shows from the Gator Boys Rescue team, with the last boat leaving at 5 p.m. in spring and summer and 4 p.m. in fall and winter. Tours cost $41.99 for adults and $29.99 for ages 3 to 11 and include the gator show. Holding a baby alligator is part of the Animal Encounters package, a separate $49.99 add-on rather than something the tour ticket covers, so decide before you’re at the counter with a child who’s already seen it. Tours run rain or shine.
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 3. Budget 60 to 90 minutes rather than an afternoon, 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 SW 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 rare playground near Pembroke Pines sitting beside a genuine pre-Columbian archaeological site. Miramar Regional Park, about 15 minutes south, is the plainer overflow answer when C.B. Smith is full and charging weekend entry.
20 to 40 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. The museum opens Wednesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday, with last admission at 5:30 p.m. and tickets at $12. It’s roughly 20 to 25 minutes north. Ages 2 to 12 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 5 to 14, an indoor trampoline and adventure park about 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 city puts the oceanfront promenade at 2.5 miles, running from Jefferson Street to Sheridan Street, and it’s flat, paved and lined with restaurants, shops and live music, which makes it genuinely strollable in a way most Florida beaches aren’t. Parking is the whole problem: weekend spaces fill early and metered street spots turn over slowly, so go in the morning 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 4 p.m. and the last lorikeet feeding is 4:15 p.m., with the park open Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., so an afternoon start doesn’t work. 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 can change its public session times without notice, and Paradise Cove runs seasonally, so a January drive to the water park is a wasted trip.
Fees are the other surprise. Most of Broward’s regional parks, C.B. Smith and Tree Tops included, charge $3 per motorized vehicle carrying eight or fewer occupants on weekends and County holidays and nothing on a weekday, while the city parks in this guide cost nothing any 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 7 a.m. 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 on October 28 and SnowFest on December 5, 2026 on the city events calendar. The costumes and decorations those generate spend the other 10 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 all city-run and 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 $3 per motorized vehicle carrying eight or fewer occupants on weekends and County 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 main indoor options inside the city, and the Frank C. Ortis Art Gallery adds a smaller one Wednesday through Sunday. Another 20 to 25 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’s 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 runs late public sessions on Friday and Saturday nights. 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 9 a.m. 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 is a small walk-in closet’s worth of space, enough for bikes, strollers and outgrown baby gear, and a 10×10 unit holds the contents of three rooms, roughly a one-bedroom apartment, which covers a playroom and a spare bedroom 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.
