By Steve Wright

Boardwalks. They conjure up images of hot dogs and cotton candy and seaside strolls along a sandy beach. Boardwalks certainly can be all that and more, but for disabled people, they can be a wonderful means of accessing everything from historic architecture to cypress swamps to ocean fishing to an ecological environment unlike any in the world.

Boardwalks in South Florida lead to all these fascinating attractions. The man-made elevated structures, made wheelchair-accessible by gently sloping ramps, lead to many wonders in Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach—the four counties that make up the region known as South Florida.

Great strides have been made in replacing stairs or ladders with ramps that lead for access. In some areas, the use of modern materials such as recycled plastic has made boardwalks that are less bumpy than those made with wooden planks.

Starting in Monroe County in the Florida Keys and working north up the coast, many South Florida landmarks—both man- and nature-made—can be reached via boardwalk.

Crane Point Hammock, on the grounds of the Museum of Natural History of the Florida Keys, is the most beautiful natural area in Marathon. The museum itself is wheelchair-accessible and ramps lead to the elevated outdoor areas, too. The only catch is, the wooden boardwalk through a hardwood hammock can only be reached by rolling along areas “paved” with mulch, then bumpy rocks.

Anne’s Beach in Islamorada offers a long boardwalk through the mangroves and buttonwood trees lining the oceanside beach. The only drawback is the boardwalk is accessible only on one end—the southern point. The northern ending point has a few steps down, so wheelers are forced to turn around and roll back to the south entry point. On the plus side, there are several barrier-free picnic shelters along the boardwalk, which serve as excellent points to observe the nearby shallow waters of the Atlantic.

Most of the attractions at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo are underwater—the place is a scuba diver’s paradise. Though often overlooked by the diving set, the on-land attractions of Pennekamp are beautiful and very accessible. The Mangrove Trail features a barrier-free boardwalk that loops through a natural wetland. The trail is near the Atlantic coastline, where a ramp leads to a small shelter and overlook area.

Everglades National Park, in southern Miami-Dade County, is a natural wonder unlike any other. Famous for its gators and swamps, it also has several boardwalks that accommodate wheelchairs.

The Royal Palm Visitor Center, which also is fully accessible, is an excellent place to view alligators from nearby boardwalks. The Anhinga Trail, which provides access via pavement and wooden boardwalks, is a fabulous half-mile trip.

The Everglades also is home to Pahyokee Overlook, a quarter-mile trail boardwalk loop that provides sweeping vistas of the “river of grass.” It is fully wheelchair accessible.

Shark Valley, a visitor center on the northern edge of Everglades National Park, features the Bobcat Hammock, an accessible boardwalk trail that goes through both hammock and open sawgrass environments.

Fabled Miami Beach has enjoyed a lucrative renaissance thanks to its perfect beaches and the unparalleled charm of the art deco hotels that stretch along it.

Deco hotels both restored and in need of some TLC can be viewed during a refreshing stroll on Miami Beach’s boardwalk. The wide walkway stretches more than two miles and passes by legendary Fontainebleau and Eden Roc hotels, as well as a host of historic structures labeled as MIMO, for their Miami Modern architecture.

Farther up the barrier island, in Sunny Isles, there is another wooden structure that accommodates wheelchair users who want to experience the sea.

The Newport Fishing Pier isn’t just for fishermen. For a dollar, sightseers can enter, then walk and roll several hundred feet out over the Atlantic.

In Broward Country, there are boardwalks in natural areas and a boardwalk in an old-fashioned seaside area complete with outdoor cafes, souvenir shops and an oceanfront band shell.

Hollywood is home to the Broadwalk, which isn’t elevated and is constructed of asphalt, not boards. Actually, the only boards are a series of about 100 embedded in the sand. They serve wheelchair users as a way of getting to the edge of the ocean without having to traverse the ribbon of sand that is as inhospitable to wheelchair traction as it is clean and beautiful.

The big plus is this pedestrian path allows for easy wheelchair navigation from beach to bistros and bars without ever having to deal with automobile traffic.

Hollywood also is home to a popular nature center filled with several boardwalks. The ones at West Lake Park are made with recycled plastic that never warps or rots, guaranteeing a smooth, level ride for wheelers.

The Lake Observation Trail, a 1,374-foot wheelchair-accommodating nature trail, winds past a mangrove swamp where little crabs and other creatures scurry across the pathway.

West Lake Park is also home to Anne Kolb Nature Center, which features a wheelchair-accessible observation tower some 50 feet above its meandering trails. An elevator transports guests to the open-air observation deck, where visitors can see the Intracoastal Waterway and catch a glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean.

The ocean in Broward County is served by no fewer than a quartet of wooden fishing piers. Each has ramped access and charges a nominal $1.00 fee for sightseers and fishing fees of about $5 per visitor.

The Dania Pier is perfect for watching cruise ships leaving Port Everglades to the north. Anglin’s Fishing Pier in Ft. Lauderdale boasts a tiny diner on its planks and lots of charming shops and restaurants near its entrance.

Pompano Beach Fishing Pier has a tavern and restaurant as part of its complex, but the real attraction is world-class sport fishing off its railings. Deerfield Beach International Fishing Pier, at the northern tip of Broward County, is a calm and quiet place to gaze at sailboats and other ocean vessels.

Secret Woods Nature Center, located inland in Dania Beach, was Broward County’s first interpretive wilderness area. Created nearly a quarter century ago, Secret Woods features the New River Trail, a 3,200-foot boardwalk that travels through an oak hammock to an overlook on the New River’s south fork.

Tree Tops Park, a few miles west of Secret Woods in the town of Davie, has a 1,000 foot, barrier-free boardwalk that accesses 23 acres of restored salt marsh. Heading farther north in the county, another accessible boardwalk is located at Fern Forest Nature Center in Coconut Creek. The Cypress Creek Trail is a half-mile boardwalk through a low hardwood hammock and maple/cypress woods.

The posh Palm Beach County community of Boca Raton is home to the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. Its one-third mile boardwalk weaves through the unique semitropical coastal hammock community. On the western edge of upscale Boca, Dagger Wing Nature Center features a 2,000-foot elevated pine boardwalk that takes you on a beautiful journey through a wet forest.

Western Palm Beach County also is home to the most tranquil of all the wondrous boardwalks in South Florida. The Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge contains the most northerly remaining part of the Everglades within its 221 square miles. The half-mile Cypress Swamp Boardwalk is one of the most spectacular barrier-free paths in America. The sunlight setting through the canopy of trees makes for a mystical visit.

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