Tropical Park is a
urban park in
metropolitan
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
Miami,
Florida. The park is located just southwest of the intersection of the
Palmetto Expressway (SR 826) and
Bird Road, just west of
South Miami.
History
The land opened as a
county public park in 1979, on the grounds of the former
Tropical Park Race Track
Tropical Park Race Track was a horse racing facility built on at the current intersection of Bird Road and the Palmetto Expressway in Southwest Dade Miami part of metropolitan Miami, Florida and what is now Olympia Heights. The race track was ...
, which had used the lands since 1931.
Facilities
It has a boxing center, fields for
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
,
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
and
softball, as well as facilities to play
basketball,
volleyball 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 An equestrian facility is created and maintained for the purpose of accommodating, training or competing equids, especially horses. Based on their use, they may be known as a barn, stables, or riding hall and may include commercial operations descr ...
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 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
A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...
, and carnival rides.
[http://www.santasenchantedforest.com/]
References
{{Greater Miami
Parks in Miami-Dade County, Florida
1979 establishments in Florida