On one of our adventures this week, we took the kids to the FIT Botanical Gardens. This is another great free place to spend a few hours, and it’s right on the campus of the Florida Institute of Technology!
Parking is located off of S. Babock Street. There are a few spots designated to the garden, so get their early to secure yourself a parking space. After parking, you walk down a large covered bridge to reach the garden. If you are visiting in the summer (as we were), make sure to bring your bug spray! It’s definitely humid and buggy in the gardens.
You can stop at one of the picnic tables here to have some lunch, and then start walking about the trails. There are several paved trails in the area with walks along a tiny stream. You’ll see a map posted near the entrance. You can view it on the bottom of this page as well.
Trails
Once you get on the paved trail, it walks you along a small stream where you can look for fish. There are a couple of opportunities to venture off the paved path to a wooded trail in the back, but it’s fairly overgrown. We enjoyed just staying on the path and taking in the scenery.
The path takes about 30 min to an hour to walk around. There are some pavilions along the trail that you can stop to take a rest. Also, there you will find a large courtyard area near the front of the gardens. The courtyard is laid with pavers and has a shaded pavilion and a pond as well.
While we were stopped in the courtyard, the kids spotted more fish and a couple of yellow belly slider turtles as well. The turtle were very friendly!
When you make your way back towards the picnic tables by the entrance, you will notice a large building called the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts. The center was closed while we were visiting on a Sunday, but this is another free attraction that is right next to the garden. It offers different exhibits throughout the year.
So, we spent about an hour at the FIT botanical gardens. It was summer and we were hot! You could stay much longer in a nicer season. Also, here is a map of the gardens to guide you while walking around:
If you’re looking for more to do tin the area, don’t miss our page on the Melbourne area to find some other budget friendly activities!
FIT Botanical Gardens Website: https://www.fit.edu/garden/ Facebook Phone: (321) 309-3836
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