Resources
Resources for exploring the area
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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
Everglades National Park In 1.5 million acres across South Florida, Everglades National Park has outdoor experiences from accessible boardwalks and paved trails to rugged adventures in harsh wilderness.
Biscayne National Park Florida's largest offshore park, Biscayne National Park protects living coral reefs and islands that are the northernmost part of the Florida Keys
Big Cypress National Preserve Protecting nearly three quarters of the million-acre Big Cypress Swamp, Big Cypress National Preserve is Florida's second largest and most remote wilderness. Parks and Trails in Miami
A.D. Barnes Park Paved trails wind through the woods at A.D. Barnes Park, a Miami city park, where a tiny slice of native pine rocklands survives.
Anhinga Trail For most visitors, the Anhinga Trail is their first glimpse into Everglades National Park. It's short, and the alligators are right there: hard to miss
Arch Creek Park An oasis of natural tropical hammock in North Miami, Arch Creek Park hugs the eastern edge of its namesake creek, which once had a natural limestone bridge used by indigenous peoples and pioneers. 
Bayshore Loop A walk through the mangrove-lined edge of Florida Bay and the unique coastal prairie habitat of the Everglades, the Bayshore Loop explores the site of the former fishing village of Flamingo.
Bear Cut Preserve On the northern end of Key Biscayne, a set of sandy and paved trails lead out to a boardwalk overlooking fossilized coral reefs and downtown Miami in the distance. 
Bear Lake Trail Everglades Paralleling the former Homestead Canal, the Bear Lake Trail takes you on a journey through tropical hammock and mangrove forests along a road scooped from the canal diggings. 
Bill Sadowski Park At the Bill Sadowski Park and Nature Center, the Old Cutler Hammock Nature Trail offers a glimpse of what Cutler Ridge, south of Miami, looked like before development.
Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay is a shallow estuary bounded by barrier islands and coral reefs along the Miami shoreline, more than 63,000 acres of placid salt water.
Biscayne National Park Florida's largest offshore park, Biscayne National Park protects living coral reefs and islands that are the northernmost part of the Florida Keys
Bobcat Boardwalk The 0.3-mile Bobcat Boardwalk at Shark Valley is a popular destination in winter and spring to see migratory and nesting birds.
Cape Florida Nature Trail At Cape Florida State Park, the 1.5 mile nature trail loop bisects the natural areas of the park between the lighthouse and marina and shows you views of Stiltsville in Biscayne Bay.
Cape Florida State Park A popular destination for sun worshipers, Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park has a long strand of beachfront complimenting trails along Biscayne Bay and a historic lighthouse at the point.
Castellow Hammock Preserve Burrow into Florida's geological and cultural past on this short but rugged hike on an ancient rocky island once surrounded by the Everglades in The Redland.
Christian Point Trail The Christian Point Trail is one of the more challenging trails in Everglades National Park, leading you deep into the mangrove forest along Florida Bay.
Coastal Prairie Trail Ready for a wilderness challenge? On the Coastal Prairie Trail, battle mosquitoes, unrelenting sun, and deep and sticky marl mud to camp at remote Clubhouse Beach.
Eastern Continental Trail A hiking route spanning more than 4,800 miles along the East Coast, the Eastern Continental Trail spends nearly 1,300 miles crossing Florida from its southern terminus at the Southernmost Point in Key West. 
Eco Pond One of the easiest destinations for birding in Everglades National Park, Eco Pond sits near the end of Main Park Road in Flamingo, with a half mile trail around it.
Elliott Key In the northernmost of the Florida Keys, Elliott Key is the most remote place in Florida where you can take a hike in the shadow of a major city.
Everglades Long Pine Key Trail On an upland island surrounded by seas of grassy wetlands, a six mile linear trail leads across South Florida rocklands from Long Pine Key Campground to Pine Glades Lake. 
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden Established in 1938 as one of the world’s largest collections of tropical plants, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is an integral part of the history of Florida botany and of Coral Gables.
Florida Trail, Big Cypress South 30.3 miles. Traversing a vast wilderness in the wet wilds of Big Cypress National Preserve, the southernmost segment of the Florida Trail is the toughest backpacking trip in Florida
Fruit and Spice Park From its humble beginnings in 1944, Fruit and Spice Park has blossomed into a showcase of tropical fruits, flowers, and spices grown commercially in the Redland.
Greynolds Park Opened in 1936, one of the oldest parks in Miami-Dade County features a shaded paved loop under twisted oaks and strangler figs, passing picnic tables overlooking the Oleta River.
Gumbo Limbo Trail At Royal Palm Hammock in Everglades National Park, the Gumbo Limbo Trail is a gentle paved path that gets you up close and personal with a tropical hammock and its oolite holes. 
Guy Bradley Trail Named in honor of the first game warden in Everglades, who gave his life protecting the birds, this paved walk offers excellent views of Florida Bay and insight into why Everglades National Park now exists.
Highland Oaks Park Take an easy mile stroll along an accessible pathway circling the headwaters of the Oleta River, with a good chance of spotting an endangered American crocodile.
Kayaking Oleta River State Park Paddling within sight of downtown Miami? Kayak or SUP from Blue Moon Outdoor Center in Oleta River State Park to explore mangrove shorelines along Biscayne Bay
Kendall Indian Hammocks Park At Kendall Indian Hammocks Park, wind your way through one of urban Miami’s last stands of natural forest, a hardwood hammock known as the Snapper Creek Glade. 
Larry and Penny Thompson Memorial Park In this 270 acre park in metro Miami, explore a gentle loop on a partly-accessible path circling an expanse of one of Florida's rarest habitats: pine rocklands.
Mahogany Hammock Trail Mahogany Hammock is a tree island, a tropical oasis in the Everglades “river of grass,” where the short boardwalk trail immerses you in the jungle-like hammock.
Matheson Hammock Park A tropical retreat along the coast of Coral Gables, Matheson Hammock Park has two distinct sides: a wild slice of the ancient Miami Hammock and a waterfront with a man-made atoll on Biscayne Bay.
Matheson Hammock Trails One of the wilder places showcasing a remaining piece of the ancient Miami Hammock, the Hammock Trails at Matheson Hammock Park immerses you in a tropical forest.
Oleta River State Park Camping cabins and mountain biking in Miami? You'll find them along with the expected beautiful beaches and paddle launches along the north shore of Biscayne Bay.
Otter Cave Hammock Trail Complementing Shark Valley’s loop trail and Bobcat Boardwalk, the Otter Cave Trail gets you out into the Everglades at a walking pace, where you’ll see more wildlife.
Pa-Hay-Okee Boardwalk For a sweeping panorama of the "River of Grass" from a personal perspective, get out of your car and walk the short Pa-Hay-Okee Boardwalk at Everglades National Park.
Pine Island Ridge Natural Area Once part of a chain of islands in the Everglades, Pine Island Ridge is the highest natural elevation in Broward County, a home to indigenous cultures for over 5,000 years.
Pinelands Ecotone Unnamed, un-blazed, and wild, on an old jeep road, the Pinelands Ecotone is an extraordinary hike between two rare habitats – pine rocklands and sawgrass prairies.
Pinelands Trail The Pinelands Trail is a showcase for South Florida’s weird and wonderful karst, a limestone bedrock that’s full of Swiss-cheese like holes, in a tropical forest where colorful tree snails make their home.
Roberts Lake Trail 8.2 miles. Now the Roberts Lake Trail, the former Loop Road to Oasis section of the Florida Trail is now blazed blue. It is where sawgrass and cypress meet, where the Everglades and Big Cypress blend.
Rockdale Pineland Preserve An island of conservation land among residential neighborhoods showcases a rare habitat and the endangered species that rely on this natural community to thrive. 
Simpson Rockland Hammock Preserve A stone's throw from downtown, this old-growth rockland hammock is a tiny remnant of a vast tropical forest that once covered where Miami now stands.
Snake Bight / Rowdy Bend The Snake Bight Trail in Everglades National Park leads you a wild place where tropical forests meet the mangrove shorelines of Florida Bay, where crocodiles cruise the saline shallows and mosquitoes thicken the air.
Snake Warriors Island Natural Area Walk a gentle accessible half-mile loop while learning about the oldest documented settlement in the eastern Everglades at Snake Warrior's Island in Miramar.
The Deering Estate The Deering Estate at Cutler, a Miami-Dade county park, preserves both the historic buildings and a remnant of the Addison Hammock, a pine rockland along the old road following Cutler Ridge.
The Underline In the heart of downtown Miami, hike or bike an urban pathway regreened with micro forests, passing art installations and inviting public spaces along the way. 
Vizcaya Museum & Gardens The grandiose home of industrialist James Deering may be the star attraction, but the gardens of Vizcaya, set along Biscayne Bay, rival those of any formal estate. 
West Lake Mangrove Trail At West Lake, the Mangrove Trail loops through a shady tunnel, showcasing the protector of Florida’s coastline, the mighty mangrove, along the shores of a brackish lake.Articles
Floating in Florida (11/6/2025) Drifting across placid waters, find your bliss with the perfect adventure on Florida's hidden waters, with Lucy Tobias your guide.
Crossing Big Cypress (2/4/2019) It’s Florida’s roughest, wettest, weirdest backpacking trip, best done with friends. Sandra tackled it as the final piece of her 1,110-mile section hike of the Florida Trail, end-to-end.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