Exploring Miami
As a gateway to three national parks – Biscayne National Park, Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve – Miami has wild spaces within easy reach of the urban core.
The Miami-Dade Parks system includes many smaller gems, most protecting a sliver of natural landscape amid vast urban spaces, with some parks that interpret historic sites, like Vizcaya and the Deering Estate, or have a botanical theme, like Fruit & Spice Park.
For those who love gardens, a trip down the coastline south of downtown through Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, and Pinecrest will provide access to a bevy of beautiful botanical wonders, including two of the country’s oldest tropical gardens.
Resources
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Featured Destinations
National Parks Near Miami
Other Parks and Trails
Articles
Crossing Big Cypress
It’s Florida’s roughest, wettest, weirdest backpacking trip, best tackled with friends. Along this 30 mile stretch of the Florida Trail in the heart of Big Cypress National Preserve, immersing in the swamp is the point of the hike. Sandra tackled it as the final stretch of her multi-year 1,110-mile section hike of the Florida Trail, end-to-end.
Florida’s Best Urban Parks
When you live in a tightly packed space, you need somewhere green as your go-to place nearby. These are our top picks for parks in Florida’s urban areas, chosen for their diversity of outdoor activities and/or their unique green spaces.
Adding to the Life List
Although John is a native Floridian, our research trip to South Florida became an opportunity for him to see many natural “firsts” in Florida that most people have on their life lists.
Videos
NEARBY: Big Cypress National Preserve, Biscayne National Park, Everglades National Park, Florida Keys, Fort Lauderdale | INCLUDES: Biscayne Bay, Coral Gables, Key Biscayne, Homestead | PART OF: Southeast Florida