West Lake Park is a coastal mangrove wetland located on South Florida's East Coast, south of Fort Lauderdale, in Hollywood. Early settlers to South Florida regarded mangrove forests as being useless, mosquito-infested, uninhabitable lands. Today, ecologists realize their important role in coastal ecosystems. Mangrove leaves, trunks and branches fall into the water and are transformed into detritus, which is the basis of an elaborate food chain. Mangroves provide protected habitat, breeding grounds and nursery areas to many terrestrial and marine animals.
Mangroves also provide shoreline protection from wind, waves and floods.
Visitors can observe the West Lake Park via electric-powered boats, canoes or interpretive walking trails. An informational nature center with an observation tower is also available. For more information, please visit the West Lake Park and Anne Kolb Nature Center website . Come climb the nature center's five-story observation tower with us and take a walk along the interpretive nature trails . A photo gallery is available for this page.