Named after the saltwater fish found abundantly in its Atlantic waters, Pompano Beach lies towards the northern end of Broward County, bordering Hillsboro Beach to the north and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea to the south.
Pompano Beach boasts a variety of attractions, quaint tropical hotels and a plethora of culinary experiences from Café Maxx and Sunfish Grill to Cap’s Place and Jeremiah’s waterfront eateries.
Beaches
As its name suggests, Pompano Beach also boasts 3 1/2 miles of beautiful beach, certified as “Blue Wave” by the Clean Beaches Council for exemplary cleanliness and safety. The beach also has several playgrounds and other family activities. But what makes Pompano Beach’s coastline all the more alluring is the diving that can be done just a few hundred yards from the shore. Pompano is home to a unique natural three-tiered system, as well as artificial reefs such as Captain Dan, Copenhagen and Rodeo 25 serving as magnets for exotic marine life.
Coral Reef
Another benefit of Pompano Beach’s living coral reef system is found in the world-class fishing that can be done off its shores. Pompano Beach has several venues for chartered, open-sea fishing excursions, and the top-notch boat fishing is complemented nicely by its 1,800-foot municipal fishing pier to which visitors flock like seagulls.
Events
Year-round, Pompano Beach’s calendar of events is full of concerts, sporting events and festivals for the whole family to enjoy. Annual events in Pompano Beach include:
Held annually each April, the Pompano Beach Seafood Festival is a weekend featuring crafts, adventurous activities such as bungee jumping and a rock-climbers’ wall, a full line-up of live music and, of course, a limitless supply of seafood.
Pompano Beach Fishing Rodeo allows professionals and amateurs alike to compete and see who can catch the heaviest fish.
AirFair
The annual Pompano Beach AirFair draws thousands of visitors and locals, with a spectacular display of more than 20 aircraft from World War I to Desert Storm, including several historic aircraft. The event also includes a USO Canteen Dance, featuring a live big band orchestra; Navy Parachute “Leapfrog” Teams and a Car Show, showcasing Classic, Antique, Exotic, Muscle Cars, Street Rods, Motorcycles, & Military Vehicles. A favorite destination for concertgoers is the Pompano Beach Amphitheatre and its live concerts.
Butterfly World
Pompano Beach is home to Butterfly World, whose seven acres of lush gardens and aviaries are alive with tens of thousands of brilliantly colored butterflies in free flight. The attraction’s Tropical Rain Forest Aviary is a mammoth 8,000-square-foot screened-in enclosure, making it the largest single butterfly habitat in the world. Butterfly world also features hummingbirds, lorikeet encounters, a variety of flowers, an insectarium, and charming waterfalls and streams.
Festival Marketplace
Another spot not to miss while visiting Pompano Beach is Festival Marketplace, an indoor flea market with over 600 stores full of brand name merchandise at outlet prices, as well as a farmer’s market with fresh produce and other foodstuffs. Pompano Citi Centre features small shops as well as anchor stores.
Visitors to Pompano Beach can also select from a wide variety of places to stay. For visitors looking for a quaint environment, Pompano Beach is home to a great selection of smaller properties that proudly belong to Greater Fort Lauderdale’s list of Superior Small Lodgings. These affordable, cozy properties are dotted across Greater Fort Lauderdale, often on or near the beachfront.
Deerfield Beach
Deerfield Beach in Broward County is named for the numerous deer that once roamed the area. Now, with its cove-like beaches, it is famed for its Blue Wave beaches.
Deerfield Beach Fishing Pier is a hot spot for avid fishermen for its catches like King Mackerel and other large species of fish you would normally find in deeper water.
The Deerfield Beach Arboretum is home to more than 200 different species of trees and palms from five continents around the world.
Deerfield Island Park is on an island bordered by the Royal Palm Waterway, Hillsboro Canal and the Intracoastal Waterway, an “urban wilderness area” with an 8.5-acre mangrove swamp filled with wildlife and two nature trails, the Coquina and the Mangrove Trail.
At Quiet Waters Park you can swim, fish, canoe, water-ski, camp, picnic, enjoy a playground, mountain bike, or play in a water playground called Splash Adventure. The annual Cajun/Zydeco Festival spices up Quiet Waters Park in May.
There are jousting knights, court jesters, displays of weapons, games of chance and feasting when history comes to life at Deerfield Beach’s Florida Renaissance Festival in February.
Deerfield Beach has four sites on the Nation Register of Historic Places: the 1920 Old School House, the 1923 James D. and Alice Butler House (now the Butler House Museum and the Society offices), the 1926 Deerfield School (now the Deerfield Beach Elementary School) and the 1926 Seaboard Airline Railway Station (now the Tri-Rail Station).