I’ve watched two rocket launches from the Sawgrass Atlantic Everglades Trailhead, located at the western end of Atlantic Blvd. in Coral Springs, Florida. I had two completely different experiences, so I’ll describe them separately.

Note: if you assume the trail runs from north to south, the launching rocket will appear approximately 5-15 degrees to the left of “straight ahead” and arc towards the right a few degrees above the horizon. The landing booster rocket will appear to descend “straight down, straight ahead” (at least, if OCISLY is moored 15-20 miles offshore from Cape Canaveral). Remember, most of Fort Lauderdale and Miami lies to the east of Cape Canaveral’s longitude, so Cape Canaveral will only be “directly north” if you’re slightly WEST of US-27/Krome Avenue.

The Verdict:

It’s a potentially good place to watch night launches, a complete waste of time for SpaceX day launches, and might be worthwhile for ULA day launches of rockets with solid rocket boosters (like the Delta IV). Hobe Sound is slightly better… but the jury’s still out on whether it’s sufficiently better to justify spending an hour and a half driving instead of a half hour.

Night Launch (SpaceX CRS-17; May 4, 2019 @ 2:46am)

The good:

• Excellent visibility. The conservation trail on top of the levee gets you up high enough for the rocket to become visible within a few seconds of launch. Both the launch AND first-stage landing burn (on OCISLY, approx. 12 miles offshore from Cape Canaveral) were clearly visible. The flames seemed to cut out a lot earlier than I expected, though… I’m not sure whether that was due to clouds, or because the final second or two was below the horizon.
• Dark… but not TOO dark. The lights on the Sawgrass Expressway illuminate the area about as much as a full moon. It doesn’t interfere with the rocket’s visibility, and frankly is kind of nice to have considering that it’s literally the edge of the Everglades, and you can hear the wildlife having a metaphorical street party a few hundred feet away.
• Abundant parking (at night… daytime parking is another matter), easy access. From northbound Sawgrass Expressway, exit at Atlantic Blvd, turn right (the only direction you can turn), make the first U-turn, then continue straight under the Sawgrass Expressway to the trailhead access road. I believe if you’re heading south on the Sawgrass Expressway, you’d exit at Atlantic Blvd, then turn right at the traffic light onto the trailhead access road instead of turning left onto Atlantic Blvd.

The bad:

• There’s a fence and a gate. The gate was closed, but not locked. I didn’t see any obvious signs prohibiting entry or stating that it was ‘closed’, but I’d recommend arriving at least 10-15 minutes before launch so you’ll have time to execute ‘Plan B’ (below) if you arrive & the gate is locked.
• The mosquitoes are absolutely fierce.
• The area was totally deserted.
• I didn’t see any wildlife, but it was unquestionably nearby. Be aware that snakes are a definite possibility. Bring a flashlight bright enough to illuminate at least 10-20 feet around you, and stick to the center of the cleared path. Don’t be neurotic, but definitely remain aware of your surroundings.

The photos:

 

Day Launch (Falcon Heavy; April 11, 2019 @ 6:35pm)

The good:

• Convenient location adjacent to Sawgrass Expressway
• About two dozen other launch enthusiasts present

The bad:

• Daytime Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches really aren’t much to see from Broward County, especially if it’s even slightly cloudy. The Falcons are liquid-fueled, and their exhaust trail is nowhere close to being as thick & long-lasting as the smoke belching from the Space Shuttle’s solid rocket boosters used to be. After the booster engines cut off, you’ll be lucky to see a thin, wispy vapor trail that disappears within a couple of minutes.
• The trailhead’s parking lot is pretty small. There were at least 6-10 cars forced to park wherever they could find a spot next to the access road. I wouldn’t be terribly worried about getting a ticket if you’re only going to be there for 15-20 minutes, but even that parking is severely limited by the curb and fence along most of the access road.

The Photos:

As you can see in the photo, the Falcon Heavy’s exhaust trail isn’t much to see from 180 miles away. Also, the trail itself didn’t become visible until a few moments before this photo was taken due to clouds somewhere between Fort Lauderdale and Cape Canaveral that were between the guy’s shoulder and the horizon. The exhaust from a Delta IV with Shuttle-like solid rocket boosters would probably be a lot more impressive.

Notice the very, very full parking lot. I think Broward County grossly underestimated just how popular this particular parking lot and access point to the conservation trail was going to be.

“Plan B”

As noted in my description of the night launch, there’s a fence & gate between the parking lot and trail… a gate that could conceivably start getting locked overnight at some point in the future. If you arrive & find the gate locked, my suggestion would be to run back to your car, head south on the Sawgrass Expressway, exit at Commercial Blvd, and turn right at the traffic light at the end of the off ramp. There’s a large parking lot (turn right at the traffic light instead of turning left onto Commercial Blvd) that appears to be a staging area for large trucks & a FPL substation. I wouldn’t recommend getting too close to anything that could make someone suspicious of your reasons for being there, but you’ll probably be OK if you park in an open area, quietly stand next to your car to watch the launch, and leave immediately afterwards. Don’t sneak around, but don’t call attention to yourself either.

Ideas for future launches:

• I haven’t been to the Loxahatchee Road Boat Ramp, but in theory this might be the ideal spot in Broward County for launch-viewing.
• The Broward County Rest Area on I-75 (approx. 10 miles west of US 27) would be a fantastic spot to watch launches, except for one problem… the entire area is lit up like a stadium with blindingly-bright blue-white LEDs. It’s a shame, because it’s probably the safest Everglades location to watch launches… it has a nice raised viewing platform, huge parking lot, a rest area with restrooms, and you can drive home to Fort Lauderdale or Miami without having to make a U-turn of questionable legality and safety.
• If you have a pickup truck & can stand in the bed (to isolate yourself from anything that might be lurking at ground level, like snakes or gators, and to give yourself an additional ~3 feet of height), the parking lot ~2 miles east of the Broward County rest area on northbound I-75 might be a better alternative, because unlike the rest area, this parking lot is pitch black. To return home, just get back on northbound I-75, exit to the rest area in 2 miles, follow the signs to the main building, then follow the signs to southbound I-75 (basically, you’ll be making a big “U” turn under I-75).
• The road leading from Tamiami Trail to the ValuJet 592 Memorial. I’ll personally probably never go to this site because it would be no better than the Broward sites that are closer to both me and Cape Canaveral, but if you’re in Miami, this might be a decent option. Given the fact that it’s literally in the middle of the Everglades, I’d personally park my truck and stand in the bed just to avoid any possibility of having a snake or gator sneak up behind me… or if I were in a car, I’d park someplace where I could remain safely inside. There are absolutely and unquestionably snakes (including pythons) and alligators in this area, and a very real possibility of encountering them if you get out of your car here at night & go walking around.
• The elevated bridge on Tamiami Trail a mile east of the ValuJet 592 Memorial. You’re unlikely to encounter wildlife here, just because the bridge’s midpoint is pretty isolated from the surrounding terrain. The usual cautions about pulling over on a road apply.