South Dade Guide

Greater Miami and Miami Beach is home to some truly unique neighborhoods, filled with unexpected gems and authentic experiences you won’t find anywhere else. Take South Dade, dotted with farms that grow exotic fruit and vegetables – and one that even produces its own wine from this tropical bounty.

Bordered by the Everglades to the west, Biscayne Bay to the east and Miami’s bustling urban core to the north, South Dade is where the destination unfurls for a more relaxed pace beneath the wide open sky. Find everything from a NASCAR Championship racetrack to a cultural arts center and animal attractions. Explore fun things to do in Miami’s heartland, South Dade.

A Tropical Winery, Farms & Parks

Schnebly Redland’s Winery & Brewery

Schnebly Redland’s Winery & Brewery is a subtropical estate with a novel approach to winemaking. Instead of producing wines with grapes, Schnebly produces wine from Miami’s native tropical fruit, like mangos, lychee, passionfruit, guava, starfruit, coconut and even avocado.

The estate is also home to Miami Brewing Company, with a taproom where you can sample tropical beers brewed onsite, like Big Rod Coconut Ale. There’s also a farm-to-table restaurant that’s open on the weekends. From special events to wine tastings, food trucks and live music, there’s always something on tap at Schnebly.

Strawberry Picking

One of South Dade’s sweetest crops is the strawberry, and you can visit U-pick farms – like The Berry Farm and Knaus Berry Farm – during strawberry season, typically mid-September or October to mid-April. Pick your own fresh berries, enjoy fun farm activities and indulge in farm-stand treats, like fresh strawberry milkshakes and strawberry shortcake.

The Berry Farm’s season is full of events, from a Harvest Festival to weekly line dancing. At Knaus Berry Farm, the cinnamon buns have garnered a cult following, drawing Miami locals for years on an annual pilgrimage.

Fruit & Spice Park

Spanning 37-acres in South Dade, Fruit & Spice Park is a unique public park that grows more than 500 varieties of fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs. The park offers tasting tours guided by a horticulturist who helps you identify what’s ripe and edible along the way. It’s an educational journey that changes with the seasons.

January promises avocado and starfruit, while April brings mamey and tamarind and July means mango and pineapples. The park hosts a dynamic calendar of events and annual festivals, from jelly- and jam-making classes to stargazing nights and the Redland International Orchid Festival.

Animal Attractions & National Parks

Zoo Miami

Spanning 750 acres in South Dade, with more than 2,000 animals on view, Zoo Miami is a wildly fun attraction. Open-air exhibitions are dedicated to animal habitats from around the world, including Florida’s Everglades, the Amazon, Africa, Australia and Asia.

You’ll watch amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles roam freely in a habitat that mimics their native lands and have the opportunity to feed the animals, watch a wildlife show and ride through the zoo on a monorail or tram. It’s a wonderful way for a family to spend an afternoon in South Dade.

Gateway to Everglades and Biscayne National Park

Everglades National Park

South Dade is famously known as the gateway to Miami’s national parks. The Everglades is one of the country’s most unique ecosystems. These lush subtropical wetlands comprise 1.5 million acres of sawgrass prairies, hardwood hammocks, saltwater marshes and a diverse population of wildlife. In South Dade, the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center will lead you to a variety of camping, hiking, canoeing and ranger-guided tours.

Biscayne National Park

At 172,000 acres, Biscayne National Park is distinct for being 95% underwater, making it the largest marine park in the national system. Enter at the Dante Fascell Visitor Center in Homestead, where you’ll find boat concessioners, a museum and a quarter-mile Jetty Trail to explore. The park is a destination for snorkeling and diving, fishing and lobstering, canoeing and kayaking, boating, camping and wildlife watching.

History & Culture

The Moss Center

Since 2011, The Moss Center has established itself as the bedrock for arts and culture in South Dade. The state-of-the-art venue was designed by homegrown architectural firm Arquitectonica with a 961-seat main stage theater, as well as a black box theater, lab theater and concert lawn.

Dedicated to multi-disciplinary cultural arts, it stages everything from opera to film, musicals, live music, dance and stand-up comedy, while also acting as a community gathering place with education and outreach at the core of its mission. Recent acts have included a Grateful Dead tribute band, piano virtuoso and vocalist Michael Cavanaugh, and The Wailers.

Deering Estate

Situated directly on Biscayne Bay, the Deering Estate is a 400-acre nature preserve and historic estate built by wealthy industrialist Charles Deering in 1913. However, the property’s historical and archeological significance dates back 50,000 years with fossils and bones revealing remains of Paleo-Indians, Tequestas, Seminoles and Afro-Bahamians.

In 1986, Deering Estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places. During a visit, you could tour the main house’s art collection or embark on a nature walk through hardwood hammocks, a bay cruise or kayak adventure. Deering also hosts a dynamic calendar of programs, events and art exhibitions, from ghost tours to photography meetups and artists in residence.

High-Octane Fun & Transportation History

Homestead Miami Speedway

Homestead Miami Speedway is home to November’s exciting NASCAR Championships – and the South Dade racetrack is an action-packed destination year-round. From NASCAR Racing Experiences to the monthly drag racing event Fast Lane Fridays, options abound. You can even get out on the track yourself for an adrenaline-pumping, once-in-a-lifetime experience. The track hosts high-performance driver education and coaching, special concerts and other fun events.

Gold Coast Railroad Museum

Miami’s history has a long legacy with the railroad, thanks to Henry Flagler’s East Coast Railway built at the turn of the century. In South Dade, the Gold Coast Railroad Museum is a must-see for any train enthusiast, with more than 40 passenger cars, freight cars, locomotives and antique railway equipment.

On view, you’ll also find "Ferdinand Magellan," the private railroad car of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and a vast array of model trains, all while learning about South Florida’s locomotive history. On most weekends, it’s all aboard for a ride on one of the museum’s historic railway cars.