Fort Lauderdale Recreation Guide: Beaches, Dogs, Boating and Parks

City of Fort Lauderdale Parks and Recreation lists nine beach entries, from Canine Beach to Willingham Park, and eight of them give the phone number (954) 828-7275 (Fort Lauderdale Parks and Recreation).

Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, at 1100 Seabreeze Blvd, carries the longest amenity list: a non-motorized boat ramp, grills, outdoor showers, picnic tables, a playground, restrooms, a full basketball court and a volleyball court (City of Fort Lauderdale). Las Olas Oceanside Park, at 3000 E. Las Olas Blvd, has a splash pad, restrooms, outdoor showers, a drinking fountain, a walking path and a bicycle rack (City of Fort Lauderdale).

Willingham, Loggerhead and Vista parks are listed with open areas, benches or picnic tables and no restrooms, so beachgoers who need showers and restrooms should plan on Las Olas Oceanside Park or Fort Lauderdale Beach Park, the two city beach listings that include them (City of Fort Lauderdale). The Parks and Recreation office is at 1150 G. Harold Martin Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304 (City of Fort Lauderdale).

Dogs are allowed on Fort Lauderdale beach only at Canine Beach, open 6 to 9 a.m. and 5 to 7 p.m., in the posted stretch from lifeguard tower 16 to 100 yards north of Sunrise Boulevard (Fort Lauderdale Parks and Recreation).

Canine Beach sits at the second set of parking spaces north of Sunrise Boulevard on A1A, and the city allows a maximum of three dogs per owner or handler there (City of Fort Lauderdale). Dogs may be walked on the west side of A1A from Sunrise Boulevard south to Seabreeze Boulevard during the same morning and evening hours, and on the west side of A1A north of Sunrise Boulevard at any hour (City of Fort Lauderdale).

Away from the beach, the Holiday Park dog park is closed every Monday and Wednesday from 8 to 11 a.m. for maintenance, and puppies under four months old are not permitted there (City of Fort Lauderdale). In other Fort Lauderdale parks, pets stay out of athletic fields, courts, playgrounds, splash pads, swimming areas and any body of water unless permitted by law, and every dog needs current vaccinations and a license (City of Fort Lauderdale).

Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, the Florida state park in Fort Lauderdale, is open 8 a.m. to sunset, 365 days a year, and charges $6 per vehicle for up to eight people (Florida State Parks).

A single-occupant vehicle or motorcycle pays $4 at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, and pedestrians, bicyclists and extra passengers pay $2 (Florida State Parks). These hours and fees are published by Florida State Parks, not by Fort Lauderdale Parks and Recreation, so the state page is the one to check before a visit. For one person, walking or cycling in is the cheapest way into the park, at $2 against $4 for a single-occupant car (Florida State Parks).

The City of Fort Lauderdale runs two marine facilities, Cooley's Landing and New River/Downtown Docking, both listed at 450 SW 7th Ave and open to the public on a first come, first served basis (Fort Lauderdale Marine Facilities).

The Cooley's Landing office answers daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at (954) 828-4626 or (954) 828-5423 and monitors VHF channel 9 (City of Fort Lauderdale). The city's marine facilities are designated Clean Marinas by the Florida Clean Marina Program, and docking spreads along the New River, Riverwalk Linear Park and the Intracoastal Waterway (City of Fort Lauderdale). Boat ramp and marina parking is listed on the City Parking website rather than the marina page (City of Fort Lauderdale).

One stale line on the Fort Lauderdale marine page: in October 2026 it still says mobile sewage pump-out service is coming spring 2026, so boaters on the New River should call Cooley's Landing before counting on a mobile unit (City of Fort Lauderdale).

Sea turtle nesting season on Fort Lauderdale beaches runs March 1 to October 31, and the city warns that artificial lights near the beach can lead hatchlings to crawl away from the water (City of Fort Lauderdale).

Nesting in Broward County and on Fort Lauderdale beaches starts in early March with leatherbacks, followed by loggerheads in April and green turtles in May and June (City of Fort Lauderdale). Among the city's listed window requirements, tinted glass should cut light coming from windows by 45 percent, and interior lights should not be visible from the beach (City of Fort Lauderdale). The City of Fort Lauderdale maps sea turtle nests, sets up protective barriers where necessary and checks the beach for new nests each morning with Broward County, and the peak of nesting usually falls at the end of June or beginning of July (City of Fort Lauderdale).

The Fort Lauderdale Parks Bond is a $200 million general obligation bond approved by voters in 2018 that pays for planning, design and construction in more than 90 parks (City of Fort Lauderdale).

The Fort Lauderdale project list names parks across the city, including Holiday Park, Lauderdale Manors Park, Loggerhead Park and the Las Olas Tunnel Top Park (City of Fort Lauderdale). On October 15, 2026 it showed the Aquatic Center South Building as projected completed and Annie Beck Park in final closeout (City of Fort Lauderdale).

The Bass Park entry still reads that construction is scheduled to start in February 2026, a date that had passed when this hub was checked, so the City of Fort Lauderdale Capital Projects Department is the office to ask to confirm whether work at Bass Park has begun (City of Fort Lauderdale).

No deeper guides sit under the Fort Lauderdale recreation section yet, so this hub answers the main questions itself and points to the landmarks section for single places.

The Hugh Taylor Birch State Park guide, the Las Olas Boulevard guide, the Riverwalk guide, the New River guide and the Bonnet House Museum and Gardens guide in the Fort Lauderdale landmarks section cover those places in depth, and the International Swimming Hall of Fame guide covers the swimming museum on the beach.