Tropical Park is a

urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to r ...

in metropolitan

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The park is located just southwest of the intersection of the Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) and

Bird Road Bird Road, co-signed State Road 976 (SR 976) from the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike (SR 821) in Westwood Lakes, Florida to U.S. Route 1 ( SR 5) in Miami, is a main east–west road running south of downtown Miami in Miami-Dade Count ...

, just west of

South Miami South Miami is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida in the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 11,657 at the 2010 census and as of 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, was 11,911. South Miami's central business district is directl ...

History

The land opened as a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

public park in 1979, on the grounds of the former Tropical Park Race Track, which had used the lands since 1931.

Facilities

It has a boxing center, fields for football, soccer and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, as well as facilities to play

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

and racquetball. Tropical Park has a tennis center with 12 tennis courts that are wheelchair-accessible. There are four lakes within the park, a dog park, as well as paddle-boating, and freshwater fishing. Cyclists, joggers, and runners use the miles of paved pathways circulating through park.

Equestrian Center

Throughout the year, the park hosts horse shows, rodeos, and other special events at the Tropical Park Equestrian Center. The equestrian center hosts over 30 horse shows a year, including international shows. The old racetrack's stables were used as part of the equestrian center.

Stadium

The

Tropical Park Stadium Tropical Park Stadium is a 7,000-seat stadium located in Olympia Heights, Florida, a CDP near Miami, Florida, USA. The stadium is located in Tropical Park and is the home field of Miami Dade FC and FC Miami City. Also, many local high-school foo ...

is home to the Miami-Dade Track and Field Team. It has also hosted prestigious national track and field meets such as the Junior Olympics, USA National Track and Field Championships, and many local high school football games.

Santa's Enchanted Forest

Annually, from early November through the beginning of January, Santa's Enchanted Forest took over a large part of Tropical Park until 2019. The holiday event featured six million lights, a giant Christmas tree, and carnival rides.http://www.santasenchantedforest.com/

References

{{Greater Miami Parks in Miami-Dade County, Florida 1979 establishments in Florida