Broward’s island park gets upgraded: The plan to lure more nature seekers

Broward County’s only island park is set to reopen to the public this summer, offering more amenities for a great day outdoors.

Undergoing renovations is the Deerfield Island Park, a 53-acre reserve that is just north of East Hillsboro Boulevard in Deerfield Beach, on the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway.

The destination, which opened as a park in 1980, is only accessible by boat. So the Parks and Recreation Department on Tuesday will ask county commissioners for permission to apply for a $125,000 grant to buy a new pontoon boat for the island.  

This vessel, which will have shade coverings and be wheelchair accessible, would be the latest in a string of improvements. Among the changes:

— A new boardwalk was completed a few years ago.

— A trail system, made longer with much of the dirt path replaced with a rubberized surface, was finished earlier this year. The trail is now ¾ of a mile, or triple in size.

— A refurbished dock is being worked on now.

A 16-seater boat has shuttled patrons back and forth between Deerfield Island Park and Sullivan Park, a Deerfield Beach park where the public leaves their cars. If the Florida Inland Navigational District’s Waterways Assistance Program grant is approved, the county will spend an equal amount of money to purchase the second ferry, this one longer at 35 seats.

The current ferry “is not the size we need,” said Dan West, director of the county’s Parks and Recreation Division. That’s because the county’s vision is to ultimately take a “busload of children from the school district and have experiences on the island.”

The long-term vision is for an “island lab” that would serve as an outdoor classroom, to learn about marine sciences and environmental education with help from the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, West said.

The program goal will be “to educate the public about the fragile South Florida ecosystems, impacts of severe weather, sea level rise, and climate change,” according to county records.

The island is a state-designated Critical Wildlife Area for gopher tortoises, a refuge for coastal birds and its mangrove swamp is a nursery for many juvenile fish species.

Eventually the county will seek yet another new ferry to accommodate as many people as possible, especially when demand increases on the weekends, West said.

The park has been closed for about a year and should be ready to reopen this summer, West said.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash