Turtle Run's Cypress Forest and the Sanctuary a Former Mayor Still Walks
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
In the early 1990s, 38 acres off NW 40th Street belonged to Charlie Bosco, an orchid producer whom Coral Springs Talk credits with inventing the wrist corsage. The land was set to become 195 zero-lot homes. It is now Sandy Ridge Sanctuary. On the first Saturday of each month, the man who led the effort to save it meets visitors at the main gate at 9 a.m.
Turtle Run has its own forest on Turtle Run Boulevard, so the sanctuary west of the neighborhood is easy to overlook. The two preserves don't work the same way. The cypress forest inside Turtle Run is a Broward County natural area with posted hours and firm rules. Sandy Ridge is a city preserve that came out of a citizen-driven bond. If you want the full story of the woods around Turtle Run, Sandy Ridge is the one that comes with a storyteller.
Tall Cypress Natural Area sits at 3700 Turtle Run Blvd. Broward County describes it as a dense, continuous cypress canopy that gives way to slash pines. Shallow willow and pond apple depressions, sabal palm heads, red maples and strangler figs are scattered through it. The County also says the understory of sword and leather ferns, saw palmetto, swamp lily, soft-leaved wild coffee and beautyberry is so thick that crossing the forest on foot is extremely difficult.
With an understory that thick, visitors experience Tall Cypress from its nature trail. The County lists an amphitheater, a covered shelter, interpretive signs, a seating area and a restroom along with the trail. The City of Coral Springs park directory describes the walking trails as paved and unlit and confirms that Broward County operates the site.
Because the County runs it, the County sets the rules:
The no-dogs rule matters most for a neighborhood where the forest is on the same road as people's homes. Tall Cypress is for a morning walk on your own, not for the evening dog walk.
Tall Cypress was not part of the bond that saved Sandy Ridge. Coral Springs Talk reported in July 2026 that former Mayor Roy Gold watched the city develop quickly and brought a preservation idea to the public around 1994. A citizen-driven initiative followed. The city created a $7.5 million environmentally sensitive land bond to buy some of the last forested land inside city limits. State grants added $2.5 million, for $10 million in total. That money bought four parks: Red Lichen Sanctuary, Pine Flats Preserve, Cypress Gateway and Sandy Ridge Sanctuary.
TAPinto Coral Springs puts the purchase in 1996. It describes the land as "tucked between neighborhoods in the heart of Coral Springs" and as one of the area's last remaining pieces of native Florida landscape.
What the bond protected looks different from Tall Cypress. Sandy Ridge is a state-registered gopher tortoise preserve with its own rules, restrictions and maintenance requirements. Over the years the city has moved several tortoises there after development destroyed their habitats. Florida slash pines, oaks and bald cypress grow along a winding trail that passes a large city-created bog and a man-made lake stocked with fish. TAPinto's list of what walkers may spot includes gopher tortoises, woodpeckers and cardinals.
The City's Sandy Ridge listing gives the address as 8501 NW 40th St. and posts daily hours of sunrise to sunset. It lists paved walking trails, restrooms, a playground and pavilions.
| Tall Cypress Natural Area | Sandy Ridge Sanctuary | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 3700 Turtle Run Blvd. | 8501 NW 40th St. |
| Operated by | Broward County | City of Coral Springs |
| How it was saved | Not among the four 1990s bond purchases | 1990s citizen-driven land bond, purchased 1996 |
| Size | 66 acres per County; 68.36 per City | 38 acres |
| Posted hours | 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. per County | Sunrise to sunset per City |
| Signature feature | Thick cypress-to-pine forest seen from a trail | Gopher tortoise burrows, bog and stocked lake |
| Regular programming | Nature Tots for toddlers, $5 | Free guided walk, first Saturday monthly |
At Tall Cypress, interpretive signs explain the forest. At Sandy Ridge, the explaining comes from the former mayor who helped preserve it in the 1990s.
The City's tour page says the guided tour runs on the first Saturday of every month at 9 a.m. Participants meet at the main gate, and the group leaves at 9:10 a.m. Walks usually last 30 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on the group's interests, ages and abilities.
TAPinto describes the walk as free. Gold shares stories of how the preserve was saved from development and points out native trees, plants and wildlife that many visitors would otherwise walk right past. The outlet suggests arriving a few minutes early, wearing comfortable walking shoes and bringing water. For volunteering or booking a tour, Coral Springs Talk lists Louis Goldstein at 954-345-2112.
The schedule doesn't always fall on the first Saturday. The City's past dates for 2026 include June 13 and July 11, so check the live listing before you go.
These are the dated events at the two preserves, plus one evening event that falls on the same day as a Sandy Ridge walk:
Both Nature Tots sessions need preregistration through the County, so sign up ahead of time.
On December 5, the Sandy Ridge walk starts at 9 a.m. and the City Hall tree lighting on Sample Road begins at 5:30 p.m.
The sanctuary's edges are also slated for change. Materials from a January 22, 2025 Coral Springs commission retreat describe a NW 40th Street mobility project. It would replace the asphalt multi-use path around Sandy Ridge with concrete and extend it toward University Drive and Riverside Drive, along with roadway, sidewalk, drainage and shuttle-stop work. That document estimated total construction at $2,111,531. Of that, $422,306 in local funds was committed and $1,689,225 more was requested.
By February 2026, Coral Springs local news reported that preliminary designs for the segment from University Drive to Riverside Drive would be shown at a public meeting, with funding through Broward County's MAP surtax. The City's meeting notice called those materials conceptual plans. As of that notice, the project is planned and funded. No construction had been announced. The trail around the preserve for this year's walks is the existing asphalt one.
For more on what's within reach of Turtle Run, see our Turtle Run neighborhood guide and our summer look at the two roads at Turtle Run's doorstep.
At Portia Voss, we follow the details that make Turtle Run what it is, from a county forest on the neighborhood's own boulevard to a sanctuary a former mayor helped save down the road. If you've ever wondered what a home this close to Tall Cypress is worth today, we're glad to put real numbers behind it. Get Your Home Valuation.
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