Elevated board walk that starts behind the nature center. The foliage is overgrown so you can't see much but trees, where you do get a glimpse into the water you can see the iguanas laying on the trees trying to sun themselves. The entire park is large, so walking on the paved paths on the perimeter of the park along canals, allows you to see some shore birds and others. We did find a restroom open behind the tennis courts. It was a rainy day and we still found many birds, so I expect there are more birds on a sunny day.

We really enjoyed our walk on the beautiful brand new elevated boardwalk. We knew it was going to be great when we saw the gator and variety of turtles in the water from the bridge leading to the paths. There are two out and back paths. The .1 mile path has a three story observation tower at the end. The .2 mile paths is a nice meandering walk thru the trees. There is even an easy kid friendly Geocache in the parking lot!!!!

The boardwalk was closed and will be probably for months. The nature center was closed, as it is on all Mondays and Tuesdays. That wasn't the problem. I can go in a building anytime. I was dreaming of a nice walk in nature and the Daggerwing boardwalk, which the Sun Sentinel featured in a recent article on boardwalks, seemed promising. Imagine our disappointment when we drive all the way cross town to the huge Burt Aaronson Regional Park, locate the nature center and discover that the boardwalk is, closed indefinately. I'd even called in advance to be sure it was open The guy at the other end of the phone said nothing about the boardwalk being closed. But when we got there--after a cross-town drive--the only thing open was a pretty little Butterfly Garden in front tended by a sweet volunteer lady. The boardwalk was completely closed and it looked like the government is making a project of it, so I wouldn't waste my time. Yes, Burt Aaronson Regional Park is an immense place--we drove around it and saw lots of parking spaces, wooden signposts pointing toward Osprey Golf Course, various sports facilities, more parking spaces, even a theater. And of course more parking spaces. What we didn't see were very many trees, the very thing that defines a park. I guess they were all in the Daggerfield Nature Center area and that is closed, closed, closed. We agreed this West Boca park was like the homes surrounding it: mammoth in size, but when you got closer there was nothing in it to really satisfy.

We took out-of-town guests to see the turtles, fish and walk the grounds. Unfortunately they were x-raying the large turtles (before releasing) so we enjoyed the acquariums. The nature walk was nice but the but can use a face-lift to reach the high bar set by some local wet-lands. It's a GREAT place to take grandkids and the volunteers are very pleaseant and helpful.

Daggerwing Nature Center is located inside of Burt Aaronson South County Regional Park. Just follow the signs in the park, you can't miss it. The nature center is named for the S Ruddy Daggerwing butterfly. The 39 acre nature center has a 3,000 foot exhibit center built in 2007 when the nature center underwent 2 million dollar expansion. The exhibit hall has live animals, displays, laboratories, classrooms, and a butterfly garden out front. Many educational programs are put on by the staff here throughout the year. One of the programs they offer is night hikes. I used to take my daughter to the Earth Day program and ladybug release. This year the Earth Day celebration is on April 27th from 10 to 2 PM. The center has limited hours and even when it is closed you can still visit the nature trail elevated boardwalk. The .6 mile boardwalk trail starts off behind the nature center. It crosses over wetlands where I saw turtles swimming. In the past I have seen alligators here. The boardwalk then enters into a tropical hammock. Here you will see pond apple, strangler figs, and myrsine. If you take the trail to the left you end at an observation tower where at the top I found some teenagers smoking pot. The trail to the right takes you over the forest floor covered in giant ferns. The trail dead ends and you have to turn around to go back. Animals that have been spotted at the nature center include Osprey, woodpeckers, butterflies, turtles, and alligators.The purpose of the nature center is to provide environmental education and recreation. There is no cost to visit. It's perfect for kids or anyone who loves nature. If you are lucky and look closely you may spot the centers namesake butterfly among the flowers out front.