Miami Recreation Guide: Beaches, Boating, Fishing and Parks

The City of Miami parks system covers over 150 parks and more than 1,400 acres, with 12 pool facilities and 43 community centers (City of Miami Parks and Recreation).

Beyond neighborhood parks, the Miami Parks and Recreation Department lists four gymnasiums, a Japanese Garden, the Little Haiti Cultural Center and Caribbean Marketplace and Grapeland Water Park among its facilities (City of Miami Parks and Recreation). Swimming is split between 6 year round pools and 6 seasonal pools at 12 aquatic sites, and the same Aquatics Division houses the city Ocean Rescue section, which works out of Virginia Key Beach. Learn to Swim registration is first come, first served.

Three natural areas in the Miami park system are designated Natural Forest Communities: a hammock with a visitor center at Simpson Hammock Park, the 32-acre Virginia Key hammock restoration with its interpretive trail, and the hammock at Alice Wainwright Park (City of Miami Parks and Recreation). Virginia Key also carries the city mountain bike trails and walking trails.

The Miami Parks and Recreation page still listed iFit Miami outdoor fitness classes for January 19 to March 20, 2026 when it was checked on October 15, 2026, dates already past on the day it was checked (City of Miami Parks and Recreation). Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the City of Miami Parks and Recreation website.

The City of Miami beaches are on Virginia Key, where Historic Virginia Key Beach Park sits at 4000 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami 33149, phone 305-960-4600 (City of Miami park directory).

The Miami Parks and Recreation Department lists beaches, mountain bike trails and walking trails there (City of Miami Parks and Recreation). The city Ocean Rescue section, part of the Aquatics Division, is based out of Virginia Key Beach.

Downtown, the Bayfront Park Management Trust runs two waterfront parks. Bayfront Park, at 301 Biscayne Blvd, is a 32-acre waterfront park open daily from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM, and Maurice A. Ferre Park, at 1075 Biscayne Blvd, covers 30 acres along Biscayne Bay and is open daily from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM (Bayfront Park Management Trust). The Bayfront Park office answers at 305-358-7550, Monday to Friday 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM.

Miami-Dade County runs the atoll pool at Matheson Hammock, a lagoon that is open seven days a week with lifeguards on weekends and holidays (Miami-Dade Parks, Matheson Hammock). Summer hours there are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and winter weekday hours close an hour earlier, at 4:30 p.m. Tents, grills and open flames are not allowed on the Matheson Hammock beach. Parking for a car costs $7 plus tax on weekdays and $10 plus tax on weekends and holidays, and the county annual park pass is $165 plus tax, or $50 plus tax for seniors 62 and over.

The split matters when planning a Miami beach day: Virginia Key Beach Park is a City of Miami facility with its own phone line, while Matheson Hammock fees and hours are posted by Miami-Dade Parks, which says operating hours are subject to change due to wildlife, natural disasters or water quality. The Miami beaches guide covers the island beaches, beach access and coastal natural areas in more depth.

City of Miami marina slips and racks are full and filled from a waitlist, while Miami-Dade County runs public boat ramps at Pelican Harbor and Matheson Hammock (City of Miami Marinas).

The Miami Marinas Division owns and operates over 1,300 wet slips, dry racks and mooring buoys (City of Miami Marinas). Dinner Key Marina and Mooring Facility in Coconut Grove has 587 wet slips and 250 moorings (the Dinner Key page itself says over 250 moorings) and finished a $22 million, three-year restoration in October 2021. Miamarina at Bayside has 125 wet slips, and Marine Stadium Marina on Virginia Key is a dry rack facility with 250 racks.

The waitlist fills slips by boat size, first come, first served. A boater who only needs short-term or transient space at Dinner Key does not join the waitlist and instead calls 305-329-4755; the Dinner Key office is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (Dinner Key Marina).

The county ramps are the open option. Pelican Harbor boat ramps are open 24 hours and launch and retrieve rates apply (Miami-Dade Parks, Pelican Harbor). Matheson Hammock Marina has 11 boat launch ramp lanes open sunrise to sunset, and a trailered vehicle pays $20 plus tax Monday to Thursday and $30 plus tax Friday to Sunday and on holidays (Miami-Dade Parks, Matheson Hammock). The Monday to Thursday rate at Matheson Hammock is $10 less than the Friday to Sunday rate, and a boat ramp annual decal is $360 plus tax, or $180 plus tax for seniors 62 and over. The Miami boating guide covers channels, marinas and public water access in more detail.

A Miami angler needs a Florida fishing license to land saltwater species, and a resident annual saltwater license costs $17.00 (FWC).

For Miami anglers fishing Biscayne Bay or beyond, FWC requires a Florida fishing license to land saltwater species in Florida whether they are caught in state or federal waters (FWC). A resident five-year saltwater license is $79.00. Non-residents pay $47.00 for a year, $17.00 for 3 days or $30.00 for 7 days.

Shore anglers on the Miami waterfront have a cheaper route: the resident annual saltwater shoreline license is no cost, valid from the shoreline or a structure fixed to shore, but not from a vessel or from a shoreline reached by vessel (FWC). It is also not valid when taking or attempting to take fish by swimming or diving. The Miami fishing guide covers species, seasons and where to fish around Biscayne Bay.

Biscayne National Park has no entrance fees, but docking at Boca Chita Key or Elliott Key costs $25 a day Friday to Monday and on federal holidays (National Park Service fees).

The park is 95% water and includes the northernmost Florida Keys (Biscayne National Park), and the park fee page says a boat is needed to get to each remote island. Overnight camping and docking at Boca Chita and Elliott Keys is $60.00 per night, covering up to two tents and six people, and it is paid through the recreation.gov app, which has to be downloaded before arrival (National Park Service fees). Slips and campsites are first come, first served, and reservations are not accepted.

Biscayne National Park lists a mailing address of 9700 SW 328th Street, Sir Lancelot Jones Way, Homestead, and a phone of 786-335-3620 (Biscayne National Park). Fees are due daily upon arrival or no later than official sunset (National Park Service fees).

Three Miami recreation guides sit under this hub: the Miami beaches guide, the Miami boating guide and the Miami fishing guide.

City parks, pools and community centers are covered by the Miami parks section, and the Biscayne National Park guide there covers the national park in depth. Fees and hours on this hub were checked on October 15, 2026, against the City of Miami, Miami-Dade Parks, National Park Service and FWC pages linked above.