Southwest Ranches: Rural Yet Accessible
Embracing a pastoral way of life, fostering harmony with nature, Southwest Ranches is a rural sanctuary abundant with farmland, families, wildlife, and scenery exemplifying a small-town feel. Despite its location just 15 miles from Fort Lauderdale, Southwest Ranches preserves the art of life on the countryside.
Though incorporated as a city just over 10 years ago, the concept behind Southwest Ranches extends further back, to a group of like-minded residents with bucolic aspirations.
In 1996 legislation was introduced to annex the area to the city of Pembroke Pines, but homeowners of Southwest Ranches called for the right to become their own city, in a bid to uphold the rural lifestyle so integral to the area.
They met with overwhelming success, and Southwest Ranches is now the community they envisioned -- predominantly residential with single-family dwellings, open space for farms, equestrian tracks, and families, with minimal commercial and industrial space.
The rolling hills and lush greenery of Southwest Ranches are prized features of the town, and 150 acres of this land have been allocated for park space. The first park completed was the Sunshine Ranches Equestrian Park, an essential homebase for a group that promotes the role of horsemanship in the community. The park is a sumptuously landscaped 20-acre space featuring 10 acres of nature trails for traversing on horseback.
Comprehensive amenities for riders are located within the park, including a 10,400 square foot equestrian practice ring, a 37,500 square foot show ring with judges’ stand and spectator seating, wash rack, a large stabilized space for trailer parking, and a sculptural “Equestrian Oasis” designed for watering horses and providing a shady spot for rest and meditation. Human residents of the neighborhood have much to enjoy in this green oasis as well -- there’s a ranch themed playground, picnic pavilion, and a pond system highlighting native wetland vegetation.
Extensive planning for the remaining acres of devoted green space include no fewer than six distinctive parks to be finished in the coming years, all designed with a primary focus on preserving history and nature.
Among them is Southwest Meadows Sanctuary and Calusa Corners, providing a lush vista of open recreational space in addition to serving as the site for Town Hall and various small developments within its borders.
The Country Estates Fishing Hole transports its visitors back in time, providing quiet space to enjoy one of Florida’s favorite historical pastimes. Freshwater fishing space is also offered by Rolling Oaks Passive, a jewel among the Southwest Ranches park system. Open fields and a vast meadow are preserved forever as recreational free space for play and relaxation, while a one acre fitness trail provides more rugged terrain. A pollinator garden is also planned, which will encourage the propagation of native plantlife through organic means.
Local flora and fauna are also given a space to thrive within Frontier Trails, which aims to preserve the history of the area while providing an opportunity for visitors to learn and document the undisturbed natural scenery of Southwest Ranches and Southern Florida. Finally, Trailside Park is composed as a small recreational area acting as a buffer between Southwest Ranches and the commercial developments along its eastern border.
The profoundly rural nature of the neighborhood extends beyond its prodigious green space, though -- many of the communities and estates within Southwest Ranches, such as Country Estates, Green Meadow, and Sterling Ranch Estates, have designated dozens of miles of greenway multi-use trails. On any day of the week residents can be found on horseback, on bicycles, or walking the paths that traverse the village. Homes are required to be built on at least one acre parcels, and the town has typically halted the construction of streetlights and sidewalks in an effort to conserve both energy and the pastoral nature of the area.
Southwest Ranches remains distinctly small town, but the amenities of Broward County are just minutes away, including police, emergency medical services, and schools, while the Miami International Airport is a half hour drive away. A county bus also stops throughout the town for public transportation. There are large stores along the city borders, while the odd commercial outpost and farmers market can be found within.
Southwest Ranches is indeed one of the most distinctive and beautiful neighborhoods within the state. It’s a haven of sunny skies, verdant rolling hills, stately homes and a unique accord with the history and nature of the area -- all come together to create a Southern Florida retreat both idyllic and extraordinary.
