McGough Nature Park Earns TripAdvisor's Top Award

LARGO, FL -- The City of Largo's McGough Nature Park has received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence.

The certificate is presented to attractions, accommodations and restaurants throughout the world that deliver a quality customer experience according to reviews from travelers over the past year.

“TripAdvisor is excited to announce the recipients of the 2019 Certificate of Excellence, which for nearly a decade has celebrated businesses that have consistently received positive ratings from travelers and diners on the world’s largest travel platform,” said Neela Pal, vice president of brand for TripAdvisor. “This recognition allows us to publicly recognize businesses that are actively taking into account customer feedback to help travelers confidently experience the most highly reviewed places to eat, stay, and explore.”

The Certificate of Excellence accounts for the quality and quantity of recent reviews submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.

The George C. McGough Nature Park, 11901 146th St. N., is also known as "the turtle park" for its abundant aquatic turtle population. It includes 15 acres of mangroves and submerged areas and 20 acres of upland. It is near the Indian Rocks Bridge and borders the intercoastal waterway.

Visitors can explore the Narrows Nature Center, which houses live animal exhibits and hands-on activities for children.

McGough features a pond by the parking lot with snapping, red-eared, soft-shelled and Florida box turtles. Visitors can feed the turtles from the turtle deck. Gopher tortoises, the size of a small dog, can be found by the pond, too. They dig out up to 30-foot-long burrows shared with snakes and lizards.

The McGough Nature Park Loop, part boardwalk and recycled tires, is .9 miles long. The main trail near the boardwalk area meanders through sand blackberries, wild grape vines, saw palmetto, bracken ferns, slash and long leaf pines, and cabbage palms to an observation deck.

The pier juts out into the bay and is surrounded by red and black mangroves sprouting from the waters edge.

There are two trails: the Osprey Trail and the Fern Trail.

The park has picnic pavilions, a butterfly garden, a playground, birds of prey exhibit, canoe launch, fire pit rental and restrooms.

The park also offers environmental education programs. Click here for a virtual tour.