Everything from a $0 wetland boardwalk to a Sunday polo match: attractions, concerts, fairs and festivals, spring training, snorkeling, shopping and day trips, from Boca Raton up to Jupiter and west to the Everglades.
The short answer
The top things to do in Palm Beach County are snorkeling the reef at Red Reef Park, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee, concerts at Mizner Park Amphitheater and iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, Sunday polo in Wellington, spring training baseball in Jupiter and West Palm Beach, and the wetland boardwalks at Wakodahatchee and Green Cay.
Local's pickA free coastal nature center on a barrier island hammock, with four saltwater tanks, a sea turtle rehabilitation facility and a boardwalk that climbs to a 40-foot observation tower over the mangroves. Summer turtle walks are the single most-booked family activity in Boca Raton.
Local's pickA free county nature center in South County Regional Park with a half-mile elevated boardwalk over a cypress wetland, live exhibits and a two-story observation tower.
Local's pickA free 1.5-mile boardwalk over 100 acres of constructed wetlands. Go at sunrise for alligators, roseate spoonbills, otters and purple gallinules without leaving the walkway.
Local's pickAn 1860 red brick lighthouse you can climb — 105 steps to a 360-degree view over the Loxahatchee River and the inlet — plus a small waterfront history museum and nature trail.
Local's pickA three-quarter-mile boardwalk loop across 50 acres of ponds — arguably the best free bird photography spot in South Florida, with nesting wood storks and great blue herons in spring.
The El Rio Trail runs a shaded, paved six miles along the El Rio Canal from Yamato Road to Palmetto Park — the city's best flat run or family bike ride away from traffic.
Local's pickA 132-acre municipal park with a free hands-on science museum, a carousel, a huge wooden playground and a shaded willow theater. The Explorium is the best rainy-day option in Boca for kids under 12.
A small, charming hands-on museum inside two restored 1912 pioneer houses, aimed squarely at kids aged 2 to 8. Ideal for a rainy morning downtown.
A pay-one-price room of restored pinball machines and classic arcade cabinets on Atlantic Avenue. Works equally well as a rainy afternoon with kids or a late-night detour.
Local's pickSixteen acres of six distinct Japanese gardens, a koi-filled lake, a bonsai collection and a museum of Japanese art, plus the Cornell Cafe for bento lunches. Allow three hours.
Local's pickA lakeside county amphitheater in South County Regional Park with a free and low-cost concert series — bring a blanket, arrive early, and watch the sun drop behind the lake.
The county's leading contemporary art museum, anchoring the north end of Mizner Park with rotating exhibitions, a modern and contemporary permanent collection and an outdoor sculpture garden that is free to walk.
A 4,000-capacity open-air amphitheater on the Mizner Park green hosting touring concerts, the Festival of the Arts BOCA and free community nights under the stars.
Whitehall, Henry Flagler's 1902 Gilded Age mansion, preserved with original interiors and his private railcar. The best single stop for understanding how Palm Beach County came to exist.
The county's largest performing arts complex: touring Broadway, the Palm Beach Symphony, comedy and dance across three theaters, 30 minutes north of Boca by Brightline.
Local's pickTwo walkable miles of patios, rooftops and live music between Swinton Avenue and the ocean. Start at Pineapple Grove around 7pm and work east.
Local's pickRated among the best shore dives in the world: a shallow snorkel trail under the bridge with seahorses, octopus and rays, all from a free public park. Go on the hour either side of high tide for visibility.
Local's pickA free coastal nature center on a barrier island hammock, with four saltwater tanks, a sea turtle rehabilitation facility and a boardwalk that climbs to a 40-foot observation tower over the mangroves. Summer turtle walks are the single most-booked family activity in Boca Raton.
Local's pickA free sea turtle hospital on Juno Beach where you can walk the outdoor tanks and see rehabilitating loggerheads and greens up close. Nesting season runs March through October and the guided evening turtle walks book out fast.
Local's pickA 132-acre municipal park with a free hands-on science museum, a carousel, a huge wooden playground and a shaded willow theater. The Explorium is the best rainy-day option in Boca for kids under 12.
Local's pickThe rocks at the south side of the Boca Inlet are the city's best free vantage point for watching yachts run the pass, plus reliable shore fishing at an outgoing tide.
Local's pickTwo walkable miles of patios, rooftops and live music between Swinton Avenue and the ocean. Start at Pineapple Grove around 7pm and work east.
Local's pickAn intimate wine bar with a deep by-the-glass list, charcuterie and a low-lit room that stays conversational — the antidote to a loud night on Clematis.
A Mizner Park mainstay with live bands seven nights a week, a long martini list and a patio that spills onto Plaza Real. The default first stop of a Boca night out.
Local's pickAmerica's first drive-through safari, where you cross four miles of open range with lions, rhinos, zebras and giraffes from your own car, then walk the amusement park side with a splash ground and animal feedings. Budget three to four hours and go at opening when the animals are active.
Local's pickA free sea turtle hospital on Juno Beach where you can walk the outdoor tanks and see rehabilitating loggerheads and greens up close. Nesting season runs March through October and the guided evening turtle walks book out fast.
Local's pickA free two-storey observation center beside the FPL plant where manatees gather in the warm-water outflow from November to March. On a cold morning you can count dozens from the deck.
Local's pickAn 80-acre island in the Lake Worth Inlet reachable only by water taxi, with a snorkeling lagoon, a campground, and President Kennedy's Cold War bunker. Bring everything you need — there is no shop.
A compact, shaded 23-acre zoo in Dreher Park with jaguars, Malayan tigers, koalas and a fountain playground that saves the afternoon with young kids. Small enough to finish in half a day without complaints.
A by-appointment big cat sanctuary in Wellington housing cheetahs, clouded leopards, servals and jaguars in large planted enclosures. Tours are small, guided and genuinely close up.
Local's pickAn open-air tiki restaurant and live music venue on the Jupiter waterway, built under banyan trees with a boat dock and nightly bands. Come for sunset, stay for the music, expect a wait on weekends.
Palm Beach County's 19,000-capacity outdoor concert venue and the stop for national arena tours all summer. Lawn tickets are cheap, parking is not — carpool and leave early to beat the single-exit traffic.
A waterfront bandshell on the Lake Worth Lagoon that runs free evening concerts, drum circles and the Lake Worth Beach farmers market on Saturday mornings. Parking is free and the Intracoastal view is the point.
Delray's downtown outdoor stage, host to free Friday concerts, film screenings and the city's big holiday events, one block off Atlantic Avenue. Easy to combine with dinner and a walk.
A 1987 Clematis Street institution and the county's longest-running alternative music club, with touring indie bands, DJ nights and a courtyard bar. Late, loud and cash-friendly.
Local's pickFlorida's largest waterfront music and art festival, taking over the West Palm Beach downtown waterfront over four days each spring with two stages of national acts and fireworks. Buy the multi-day pass and take the Brightline in.
Local's pickA three-day April street festival that closes 12 blocks of Atlantic Avenue for art, crafts, food and live music — the largest arts and crafts event in the Southeast. Free to attend, brutal for parking; use the shuttle lots.
A 17-day January fair at the Expo Center with rides, livestock barns, headline concerts and an absurd amount of fried food. Weekday afternoons are far quieter than weekend nights.
A President's Day weekend juried fine art festival in Palm Beach Gardens with 300 artists, a youth art gallery and live music. Consistently ranked among the best art fairs in the country.
A February weekend of rare and exotic cars on the lawn of The Boca Raton resort, with an auction and a black-tie gala attached. Sunday's field is the part to see.
Ten days of orchestral concerts, chamber music and author talks each March at Mizner Park Amphitheater and the Boca Raton Museum of Art. Lawn seating is the cheap and pleasant option.
Local's pickThe center of American polo, running Sunday matches from January to April in Wellington with lawn seating, box tables and a famous divot stomp at halftime. Dress up; it is that kind of afternoon.
Local's pickHome of the Winter Equestrian Festival, twelve weeks of world-class show jumping from January to April. Grounds admission is free most days and Saturday Night Lights is one of the county's best free evenings out.
The largest croquet facility in the world, with ten acres of lawn in West Palm Beach, public lessons on Saturday mornings and a restaurant overlooking the courts. Whites are traditional but not required for beginners.
A 1,700-acre county park with a water-ski lake, BMX track, nature center, golf course and miles of paved trail. Free to enter and big enough that it never feels full.
A 27-hole county-run course in West Boca that plays well above its green fees, with a lit driving range and a good grill. Book a week ahead for weekend mornings in season.
A poker room, simulcast racing and a surprisingly good restaurant, open late seven days a week just off Belvedere Road. The main indoor late-night option in the county.
Local's pickRated among the best shore dives in the world: a shallow snorkel trail under the bridge with seahorses, octopus and rays, all from a free public park. Go on the hour either side of high tide for visibility.
Local's pickFlorida's only National Wild and Scenic River, paddled from Riverbend Park through cypress bends to Trapper Nelson's homestead. Rentals are available at the park and the upper stretch is calm enough for beginners.
Jupiter's surf and paddleboard shop, renting boards and running guided paddles on the Loxahatchee River and the inlet. They will tell you honestly whether the surf is worth it that morning.
Airboat rides into the sawgrass of the northern Everglades from the western edge of Boca Raton, 30 minutes from downtown. Morning trips see more alligators and wading birds.
A small county park at the Boynton Inlet with a kayak launch into the mangrove islands of the Lake Worth Lagoon, plus jetty fishing and a snack bar. Manatees are common in the channel.
Boynton Beach's long-running dive operation, running two-tank drift dives on the reef line most mornings and lionfish and lobster trips in season. Certified divers only; snorkel trips run in summer.
Local's pickSaturday mornings in Old School Square Park: produce from Loxahatchee farms, prepared food stalls, live music and dogs everywhere. Runs October through May and shifts indoors for the summer.
A mile of dealers, decorators and design showrooms along South Dixie Highway, the best browsing in the county for furniture, mid-century pieces and estate finds. Most shops close Sundays.
An outlet center on Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard with around 100 stores, a Whole Foods and a food hall. The practical stop on a rainy day heading north.
West Palm's walkable open-air district of shops, restaurants and public art, anchored by a lawn with regular free events and a cinema. Easiest downtown parking in the city.
Palm Beach Gardens' upscale mall with Nordstrom, Saks and a skylit central court, quieter and easier to park at than Town Center. Worth the drive if you are already north.
The county's flagship indoor mall with Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Saks and around 220 stores. Fully air-conditioned, which makes it the default August afternoon.
Local's pickThe northernmost remnant of the Everglades, with a cypress boardwalk, a marsh trail and 20 miles of canoe route west of Boynton. Sunrise here is the best wildlife hour in the county.
Local's pickA Nature Conservancy preserve on Jupiter Island where the Anastasia limestone shoreline shoots plumes of seawater into the air at high tide during winter swells. Time your visit to the tide table or it is just a pretty beach.
A 23-square-mile wetland that supplies West Palm Beach's drinking water, with free boardwalks, guided canoe trips and a nature center. Quiet on weekday mornings and full of wading birds.
Nearly two miles of undeveloped barrier island beach reached by a long boardwalk over the estuary, with kayak rentals and one of the best snorkeling reefs in the county at low tide.
11,500 acres of pine scrub and river north of Jupiter, with the Hobe Mountain observation tower, mountain bike trails, camping and boat tours up the Loxahatchee to Trapper Nelson's camp.
The paved dike-top trail around Lake Okeechobee, an hour west, with big-sky views you get nowhere else in South Florida. Pahokee Marina is the easiest access point for a short ride or sunset.