Fun Facts about Greater Fort Lauderdale

Wednesday, Jan 12, 2022 0

Greater Fort Lauderdale (Broward County) encompasses 1,197 square miles (766,016 acres). It has a resident population of almost 1.9 million living in 31 municipalities. Over 180,000 reside in the city of Fort Lauderdale, the largest city and the seat of county government. Visit Lauderdale is the regional tourism organization representing all of Greater Fort Lauderdale. Find information on places to stay, things to do, dining and more at visitlauderdale.com.

Greater Fort Lauderdale’s climate is tropical with an average year-round temperature of 76°F / 25°C and 3,000 hours of sunshine. Winter temperatures average a mean of 66° F / 19° C; summer, a mean of 84° F / 29° C. January is the coolest month of the year and August is the warmest. The heaviest rainfalls occur during August and September.

24 miles of Atlantic coastline beach line the shores of Greater Fort Lauderdale in 8 beachside cities. From north to south the beach communities are: Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach, Pompano Beach, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach, Hollywood and Hallandale Beach.

Greater Fort Lauderdale spans from the beaches on the east side to the Everglades in the west. A vast expanse of the Everglades ecosystem provides an expansive area for nature exploration, fishing for bass and other freshwater species, and airboat tours. In addition to the Everglades, the “wild west” region includes the rural horse-loving communities of Davie and Southwest Ranches. Take a guided horseback ride along tree-lined trails, invest in riding lessons, visit the rodeo or shop for boots and western wear.

Greater Fort Lauderdale’s tourism slogan, Everyone Under the Sun, reflects the open and welcoming nature of the area thanks to the diverse local population. Greater Fort Lauderdale (Broward County) is a majority minority county. The largest minority group is now Hispanic and there is a large Caribbean-American population, including the most Jamaicans in the United States. The area is also home to the largest percentage of same sex households.

Greater Fort Lauderdale is recognized as Florida’s LGBT+ Capital and as one of the most progressive destinations in the U.S. and is recognized for its authentic, welcoming vibe. Here you’ll find a thriving local LGBT+ community with the highest concentration of same-sex couple households in the country as well as hundreds of gay-owned businesses, many of which are centered around the Wilton Manors neighborhood. Sebastian Beach, a top-rated gay beach in the U.S., is nestled in Fort Lauderdale beach.

Fort Lauderdale transformed from a quiet beach community to Spring Break central with the December 1960 premiere of the film “Where the Boys Are,” shot on location along Fort Lauderdale beach, in Hollywood and several other Greater Fort Lauderdale locations. The area made the decision to move away from promoting the area as a Spring Break destination in the mid-1980s. Today, Greater Fort Lauderdale is known worldwide as a year-round cosmopolitan and diverse destination with something for everyone under the sun.

Greater Fort Lauderdale is experiencing a hotel boom. There is great investor interest in the area, as evidenced by six new hotels that opened in 2020; 10 new hotel openings by the close of 2021; and another seven properties with openings scheduled in 2022, including the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Fort Lauderdale.

The area is known as one of the top scuba diving and snorkeling destinations in Florida. Lauderdale-By-The-Sea is famous as the Shore Diving Capital of South Florida with colorful near-shore reefs and shipwrecks. Shipwreck Park in the waters off Pompano Beach is an artificial reef system including several shipwrecks and other reef structures. The Lady Luck shipwreck is a popular wreck dive adorned with artwork and has been made into an underwater casino, complete with octopus dealers and poker-playing sharks!

“Venice of America” is more than a humble brag for the area. It is the destination’s world-famous nickname based on the 300 miles of navigable inland waterways that run through Greater Fort Lauderdale, with about 165 of those miles in the city of Fort Lauderdale itself.

Fort Lauderdale is also recognized as the Yachting Capital of the World. It’s convenient to find every yachting service you might need including crew training and management, yacht management services, yacht provisioning, yacht and boat repairs and maintenance, yacht brokerage, financial services, dry docking, and an increasing number of slips for larger boats and superyachts. And you can’t beat the great weather year-round. The annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, celebrating 63 years in 2022, is the world’s largest in-water boat show.

Locals and visitors alike love the boating lifestyle. It pays to have a friend with a yacht, but if you don’t, visitors who aren’t comfortable navigating a rental boat can find transportation on the Water Taxi or an independent boat charter for a sightseeing cruise or dock-and-dine evening at the many waterfront restaurants and bars. Private waterway tours are available on a variety of small boats and there are even authentic Venetian gondola tour boats.

The famous Winterfest Boat Parade – currently known as the Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade – celebrated 50 years in 2021. What started in 1971 as a few friends getting together for a fun holiday celebration now features 100 wildly decorated watercraft ranging from superyachts and showboats featuring live music and entertainment to small craft of every size. Over a million spectators line 12 miles of the New River and Intracoastal Waterway to watch the spectacle, which is also carried live on regional television and each year features a celebrity grand marshal.

Fort Lauderdale is home to the tallest dive tower in the Western Hemisphere. The new 27-meter dive tower at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center and International Swimming Hall of Fame includes nine platforms. There are 162 stairs to the top. When the revitalized complex (under construction now) reopens in late 2022, the public can take a “Top of the Tower Tour.” Although you won’t be able to actually take a dive, you can revel in the spectacular view over Fort Lauderdale’s famous beach and the Intracoastal Waterway.

The first Olympic-sized swimming pool in Florida opened at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center in 1928.

Butterfly World, which opened in 1988 at Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek on the northwest side of Greater Fort Lauderdale, is the largest butterfly park in the world and the first park of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.

Greater Fort Lauderdale’s Port Everglades ranks as the third-largest cruise port in the world, typically hosting nearly four million passengers annually.

Greater Fort Lauderdale dining is often seafood-centric with numerous waterfront restaurants with views of the ocean, the Intracoastal Waterway or the many inland rivers and waterways. Popular fresh Florida seafood that can be found includes fish like grouper, snapper and swordfish and shellfish like Gulf shrimp, blue crab and stone crab claws (served in season from October 15 to May 1 each year). Stone crab claws are known as Florida’s renewable seafood resource. Fisherman remove a claw from the crab and then return it to the water alive, where it regenerates a new claw.