Anne Kolb Nature Center

ABOUT THIS PLACE

The Anne Kolb Nature Center sits in West Lake Park at Hollywood and protects what is described as one of the largest urban mangrove forests remaining in Florida. The tower is the thing people climb: five levels, 68 feet above sea level, with stairs and an elevator. Four trails run out from it, the Lake Observation and Mudflat trails at seven tenths of a mile each, the Fishing Pier Trail at a quarter mile, and the South Trail at over three miles. Inside the main building there is a 3,500 gallon saltwater aquarium and exhibits on the mangrove forest, on the birds that roost in the red mangroves and on the crustaceans in the mud, together with a space showing local artists' work on nature themes. Only kayaks, canoes and electric boats are allowed on the water. That restriction on engines is the reason the water stays quiet enough for the birds, and it is why paddlers get the mangrove channels more or less to themselves. Fishing is allowed from the pier at the end of its own trail