St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park

We resisted this one for years because the name sounds like a roadside trap. It isn't. The boardwalk runs over a wild bird rookery, so in spring you're standing at eye level with nesting herons and spoonbills while alligators lounge underneath — it's one of the best wildlife-watching spots in the state, and serious bird photographers travel here for it. Kids love it for the obvious reasons. There's also a zipline over the whole thing if that's your family.

Open since 1893 and home to every one of the 24 crocodilian species on earth. There is a wild bird rookery nesting right over the alligator pools and a zipline course through the treetops. Open every day of the year.

We resisted this one for years because the name sounds like a roadside trap. It isn't. The boardwalk runs over a wild bird rookery, so in spring you're standing at eye level with nesting herons and spoonbills while alligators lounge underneath — it's one of the best wildlife-watching spots in the state, and serious bird photographers travel here for it. Kids love it for the obvious reasons. There's also a zipline over the whole thing if that's your family.

We resisted this one for years because the name sounds like a roadside trap. It isn't. The boardwalk runs over a wild bird rookery, so in spring you're standing at eye level with nesting herons and spoonbills while alligators lounge underneath — it's one of the best wildlife-watching spots in the state, and serious bird photographers travel here for it. Kids love it for the obvious reasons. There's also a zipline over the whole thing if that's your family.

We resisted this one for years because the name sounds like a roadside trap. It isn't. The boardwalk runs over a wild bird rookery, so in spring you're standing at eye level with nesting herons and spoonbills while alligators lounge underneath — it's one of the best wildlife-watching spots in the state, and serious bird photographers travel here for it. Kids love it for the obvious reasons. There's also a zipline over the whole thing if that's your family.