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Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

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Palms along an atoll

Miami

One of Florida’s busiest metropolitan areas, Miami is the gateway to three national parks and gardens galore


Contents

  • 1 Resources
  • 2 Exploring Miami
  • 3 National Parks Near Miami
    • 3.1 Big Cypress National Preserve
    • 3.2 Biscayne National Park
    • 3.3 Everglades National Park
  • 4 Featured Parks and Trails in Miami
    • 4.1 Eco Pond
    • 4.2 The Barnacle Historic State Park
    • 4.3 Christian Point Trail
    • 4.4 Matheson Hammock Trails
    • 4.5 Eastern Continental Trail
    • 4.6 Guy Bradley Trail
    • 4.7 Florida Trail, Big Cypress South
    • 4.8 Mahogany Hammock Trail
    • 4.9 Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
  • 5 Articles
    • 5.1 Crossing Big Cypress
    • 5.2 Florida’s Best Urban Parks

Resources

The Florida Trail Guide book cover 50 Hikes in South Florida book cover South Florida Explorers Guide book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover The Hiking Trails of Floridas National Forests Parks Preserves book cover

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us continue to provide public information on this website.


Exploring Miami

As a gateway to three national parks – Biscayne, Everglades, 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.

Some parks that interpret historic sites, like Vizcaya and the Deering Estate, or have a botanical theme, like Fruit and Spice Park.

For those who love gardens, a trip south through Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, and Pinecrest provides access to a bevy of beautiful botanical wonders, including two of the country’s oldest tropical gardens.


National Parks Near Miami

Big Cypress orchid

Big Cypress National Preserve

Big Cypress National Preserve
Biscayne National Park

Biscayne National Park

Biscayne National Park
Everglades Pay-Hay-Okee

Everglades National Park

Everglades National Park

Featured Parks and Trails in Miami

Eco Pond

Eco Pond

Eco Pond
The Barnacle

The Barnacle Historic State Park

The Barnacle Historic State Park
Christian Point Trail

Christian Point Trail

Christian Point Trail
Matheson Hammock Trail

Matheson Hammock Trails

Matheson Hammock Trails
Shallow water with mangrove-lined islands beyond

Eastern Continental Trail

Eastern Continental Trail
Guy Bradley Trail

Guy Bradley Trail

Guy Bradley Trail
Big Cypress Swamp

Florida Trail, Big Cypress South

Florida Trail, Big Cypress South
Mahogany Hammock

Mahogany Hammock Trail

Mahogany Hammock Trail
Fairchild Tropical Gardens

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
 
More Trails More Parks


Articles

Florida Trail, Big Cypress

Crossing Big Cypress

February 4, 2019//  by Sandra Friend

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.

Oleta River State Park

Florida’s Best Urban Parks

October 27, 2016//  by Sandra Friend & John Keatley

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.



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

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NORTHWEST FLORIDA
Apalachicola. Apalachicola National Forest. Blackwater River State Forest. Blountstown. Bonifay. Bristol. Cape San Blas. Carrabelle. Chattahoochee. Chipley. Crawfordville. Crestview. DeFuniak Springs. Destin. Ebro. Eglin Air Force Base. Fort Walton Beach. Freeport. Gulf Islands National Seashore. Madison. Marianna. Milton. Monticello. Mossy Head. Navarre Beach . Niceville. Panama City Beach. Pensacola. Ponce De Leon. Port St. Joe. Quincy. Sopchoppy. South Walton. St. Marks. St. Marks NWR. Tallahassee. Vernon. Wakulla. Wewahitchka

NORTH FLORIDA
Alachua. Amelia Island. Baldwin. Branford. Bunnell. Cedar Key. Chiefland. Crescent City. Dowling Park. Ellaville. Fernandina Beach. Flagler Beach. Gainesville. Green Cove Springs. High Springs. Jacksonville. Keystone Heights. Lake Butler.Lake City. Live Oak. Mayo. Macclenny. Micanopy. Olustee. Orange Park. Osceola National Forest. Palatka. Palatka-Lake Butler Trail. Palm Coast. Perry. Salt Springs. St. Augustine. Starke. Steinhatchee. Suwannee River Wilderness Trail. Suwannee Springs. Talbot Islands. Timucuan Preserve. Trenton. Welaka. White Springs. Williston

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MULTI-REGION
Big Cypress Swamp. East Coast Greenway. Everglades National Park. Florida National Scenic Trail

CENTRAL FLORIDA
Apopka. Belleview. Brandon. Brooksville. Bushnell. Canaveral National Seashore. Christmas. Chuluota. Clearwater Beach. Clermont. Coast to Coast Trail. Cocoa Beach. Cross Florida Greenway. Crystal River. Dade City. Daytona Beach. De Leon Springs. DeBary. Deland. Deltona. Dunedin. Dunnellon. Frostproof. Geneva. Inverness. Kenansville. Kissimmee. Lake Mary. Lake Wales. Lakeland. Largo. Leesburg. Longwood. Melbourne. Melbourne Beach. Merritt Island. Merritt Island NWR. Mims. Mount Dora. New Port Richey. New Smyrna Beach. Ocala. Ocala National Forest. Ocklawaha. Orlando. Ormond Beach. Osteen. Oviedo. Palm Bay. Ridge Manor. Sanford. Silver Springs. Spring Hill. St. Cloud. St. Petersburg. Tampa. Tarpon Springs. Titusville . Walt Disney World. Weeki Wachee. Winter Springs. Withlacoochee State Forest. Withlacoochee State Trail. Yeehaw Junction

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA
Bradenton . Charlotte Harbor. Ding Darling NWR. Englewood. Estero. Fort Myers. Immokalee. Naples. Pine Island. Port Charlotte. Punta Gorda. Sanibel Island. Sarasota. Venice

SOUTH FLORIDA
Arcadia. Basinger. Big Cypress National Preserve. Big Cypress Seminole Reservation. Clewiston. Everglades City. Fisheating Creek. Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail. Lake Placid. LaBelle. Lakeport. Moore Haven. Okeechobee. Pahokee. Port Mayaca. Sebring. South Bay

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
Big Pine Key. Biscayne Bay. Biscayne National Park. Boca Raton. Boynton Beach. Coral Gables. Davie. Delray Beach. Northeast Everglades Natural Area. Florida Keys. Fort Lauderdale. Fort Pierce. Hobe Sound. Hollywood. Homestead. Islamorada. Jensen Beach. Jupiter. Juno Beach. Key Biscayne. Key Largo. Key West. Marathon. Miami. Ocean to Lake Greenway. Overseas Heritage Trail. Palm Beach. Port St. Lucie. Redland. Sebastian. Stuart. Vero Beach. West Palm Beach

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