I explore to discover finds like this! Doral Glades Park is a 23 acre park and state of the art environmental center. Ten acres of land for the park was provided by a developer as part of a settlement. The city was able to purchase fifteen additional adjacent acres with funds from a grant from the Florida Communities' Trust (FCT) Florida Forever Program. The Florida Forever Program has enabled communities to preserve over 770,000 acres of lands all over the state for recreation and conservation. The City of Doral invested 10.5 million dollars in the project and after thirteen years of development, the park opened on August 2, 2019. The city designed the park to focus on nature and conservation. By combining a sports facility and a nature center it truly has something for everyone.
My favorite part of the park is the board walk and paved nature trail that winds around a 12 acre lake. This part of the park was inspired by the Everglades. Native plants were installed and to provide a natural habitat for the fish and and animals in this ecosystem. There is a pier built over the water so you can get closer to the birds flying in to the lake. Although it was closed, there is a nature enter with interactive exhibits. Displays in the nature center focus on the history of the area, nature, and the City of Doral. The center hopes to teach people how important it is to conserve ecologically valuable areas like the Everglades.
Other park amenities include a shaded nature themed playground, open lawn, two tennis courts, sand volleyball court, basketball court, and fishing pier. Outdoor pavilions are available for rental. The city has plans to hold events in the park including a fishing program for veterans. This is the only nature center in north Dade county and it is a wonderful place to experience the outdoors. read more