9700 SW 328th St. Sir Lancelot Jones Way
Homestead

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There might not be a better place on God's good earth to spend a day than Biscayne National Park. And in this day and age, there might not be a better example of the difference an enlightened citizenry can make when it comes together to fight powerful interests. The park simply would not exist without the determination of farmers, fishermen, doctors, pilots and others who took on a small group of the ultra rich who wanted to use the bay for their own ends.

Biscayne is vast and diverse, about 175,000 acres, extending from just south of Key Biscayne and Cape Florida to the Turkey Point nuclear reactor south of Homestead. Most of those 175,000 acres are water, dotted with numerous islands, some small, some larger. The best way to see the park — the only way really — is by vessel. The park offers canoe and kayak rentals, and there is a boat tour that takes visitors to one of the islands, Boca Chita Key (bottom photo). The park attracts a large population of birds, some rare.

Sans boat you can take in the Dante Fascell Visitors' Center and walk the grounds, including a quarter-mile trail that terminates near a large bird colony at the tip of a jetty. There is plenty of parking, restrooms and a bookstore that sells a few snacks. There is no entry fee, but the park closes at 5:30 p.m.