Juno Beach's Loggerhead Marinelife Center voted best free attraction in the country

Juno Beach's Loggerhead Marinelife Center was voted the best free attraction in the United States in a reader's choice list, beating such iconic spots as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Freedom Trail in Boston and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The list is from USA Today's 2024 Readers' Choice "10Best," which includes a number of categories. The lists are selected by a panel of travel experts and voted by readers as the best in the U.S.

Along with the Golden Gate Bridge, the Freedom Trail and the Smoky Mountains park, the Marinelife Center was competing against other such famous locations as Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, which includes Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia, and the TECO Manatee Viewing Center in Apollo Beach, Florida.

More: Sweet Potato, a subadult loggerhead turtle, is released back into the ocean in Juno Beach.

Loggerhead Marinelife Center placed first, followed by the TECO Manatee center in Apollo Beach, in southern Hillsborough County, then Cape May County Park & Zoo in New Jersey, the U.S. Mint and the Golden Gate Bridge.

What is USA TODAY 10best?

The USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Awards are a series of “10Best” lists that are reader-chosen and highlight the best nationwide in travel, food and drink and lifestyle.

What does the Loggerhead Marinelife Center do?

Loggerhead Marinelife Center is a sea turtle conservation and rehabilitation center, with a sea turtle hospital.

The nonprofit organization has a full-service veterinary hospital, local marine life exhibits, an outdoor classroom and a research lab.

“Exhibits include a massive prehistoric Archelon sea turtle replica, saltwater aquariums and displays of local wildlife, as well as educational displays about South Florida's marine environment,” Loggerhead’s website says.

The center also hosts hands-on experiences like public sea turtle releases, hatchling releases, summer camps and guided turtle walks.

How long does it take to visit Loggerhead Marinelife Center?

Loggerhead Marinelife Center’s public guided tour only takes about an hour. On the public guided tour, visitors get a guided experience of the outdoor sea turtle hospital and meet any turtle patients staying there.

The tour covers each turtle's story, from their rescue event to their diagnosis, rehabilitation process and release plan.Some of the other experiences at the center, like the guided turtle walk, can take up to three hours.

Does Loggerhead Marinelife Center keep any of the turtle patients permanently?

No. The center doesn’t keep any turtles. All of the turtles that stay there as patients are released when they’re healthy enough to re-enter the wild. If a turtle can no longer survive outside of captivity, the turtle is transferred to another facility that hosts resident animals.

“The patients admitted to The Sea Turtle Hospital at LMC follow a ‘Rescue-to-Release’ protocol,” the center’s website says.

“This means that all patients admitted are taken through a treatment and rehabilitation process that aims for their recovery and eventual release back into the wild! We do not keep any patients here permanently.”

Where is Loggerhead Marinelife Center?

Loggerhead Marinelife Center is on the beach in Juno Beach, about a 30-minute drive from West Palm Beach.

USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice Awards Top 10

Best Free Attraction

1. Loggerhead Marinelife Center (Juno Beach)

2. TECO Manatee Viewing Center (Apollo Beach)

3. Cape May County Park & Zoo (Cape May Court House, New Jersey)

4. U.S. Mint Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

5. Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco, California)

6. JC Raulston Arboretum (Raleigh, North Carolina)

7. National Infantry Museum & Soldier Center (Columbus, Georgia)

8. Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina and Tennessee)

9. Freedom Trail (Boston, Massachusetts)

10. Independence National Historical Park (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: USA TODAY '10Best' list has Florida spots in first and second