A.D.(Doug) Barnes Park — Attraction in South Miami

Miami has some really great parks and this is one of them. Opened in 1977, this 65 acre park was named A.D. "Doug" Barnes, the first Director of the Parks and Recreation Department. Mr. Barnes strongly supported that idea that recreation was essential for the citizens of Miami-Dade County. This park has offered programs for people in the community with disabilities since is opening.

Park amenities include a pool (closed) that normally offers swim classes for children and exercise programs for seniors., a lake for fishing, covered pavilions, tables, grills, nature trail, nature center, and open grassy area.

The park also contains a 15 acre of Pine Rockland habitat. The hard rocky ground is made of limestone and there are pine trees. The trail in this portion of the park is part of the Florida Birding Trail and the Audubon lists it as one of the best places to birdwatch in Miami. It is also a great place to see zebra long-wing butterflies. White tail deer have even been spotted here.

How wonderful it is that nature has a place to thrive in urban Miami. Thanks to the work of A.D. Barnes generations of Miamians have a place to exercise and play promoting health and well being of mind. This is a very nice place to catch...

The amenities here are good for birthday parties. I've been here multiple times since 1995, for many different occassions.Booking a "shelter" here for parties is worth it. There is a public swimming pool that is located in the park grounds, you do have to pay to get in. It is not the bigggest, it has no water slides, but it does have some activities for seniors. Now as for just other park activities, I feel the park may limit sport activities due to its lay out. The terrain is not flat everywhere, and there are a lot of trees at random points. There is 1 good softball field and that is usually always being used. This park acts more as a nature preserve over anything else. There are good walking trails all over, and towards the back there is a canal where fishing is allowed. Bottom line is, if you want to play sports, you may find it more appealing if you were to go to tropical park a mile West of this park. There is more open field there than in this park. Otherwise this is a very...

AD Barnes has such a lush landscape with so much to do. They have a section for covid testing being done by nomi and they have NO LINE. The park has a nice eco trail with a small water fall, a diverse botanical mix where plants are cohabitating and growing within one another.

They have a fire pit that is available for reservations and a permit from the park and a nice structure to see above the park. We saw many families walking around and it seemed that lots of single dads were with their kids.People were out playing basketball and the park is very central bird road near the palmetto.

Additional to the plant life, the animal life is extremely visible. Tons of bugs, fish, turtles, butterflies, and unfortunately even cats.

Note if you are looking to adopt a cat on the street they have a few there just roaming around.

It was nice to see where the original Ludlam train used to ride by.

Highly recommended for a...