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St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park

Photo: Ebyabe / CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

🎡 Attractions

St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park

St. Augustine, FL · Northeast Florida

About

Open since 1893, this is one of Florida's oldest attractions, and in 1993 it became the first place anywhere to display every living species of crocodilian, all 24 of them, from dwarf caimans to gharials. Maximo, a saltwater crocodile north of 15 feet and well past 1,000 pounds, holds court in his own pool while a boardwalk carries you over alligators basking below. Come spring, the canopy above those gator pools fills with a wild rookery of nesting egrets, herons, wood storks, and roseate spoonbills, which raise their chicks where no raccoon dares climb down.

Highlights

All 24 living crocodilian species in one parkMaximo, a 15-foot saltwater crocodileBoardwalk over a wild wading-bird rookeryOperating since 1893Crocodile Crossing zipline over the exhibits

Getting there

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Florida Attractions

For much of the world, Florida means the attractions. The theme parks that built Orlando, a working spaceport on the Atlantic coast, mermaids who have performed underwater since 1947, and a coral castle one man carved by hand. This is the big statewide guide to what people fly to Florida for, the giants and the roadside icons alike, from the Keys to the Panhandle.