Matheson Beach is great for beginners, or those who simply enjoy a peaceful practice session. Matheson Hammock Park is a lovely scenic park with an unusual feature--a man-made atoll pool, which is flushed naturally with the tidal action of nearby Biscayne Bay. Its tranquil breeze-swept beach is a haven for families who enjoy its warm, safe waters and beautiful waterside views. 

Matheson is also a prime spot for Kite-Boarding. Its active breezes and calm shallow waters make launching easy. 

The park also has a full-service marina, snack bar and restaurant built into an historic coral rock building, picnic pavilions and nature trails. Matheson also contains a sailing and power boat school.

Marina

A nearby bayside park makes this one of our most popular marinas. Dock here and you'll enjoy a tropical hammock, sailing with the pros at Castle Harbor Sailing School  and a sandy beach and natural atoll pool with a first-class restaurant.

Matheson Hammock Park also has a scenic lake bordered by a large coral rock picnic pavilion and smaller pavilions with charcoal grills, picnic tables and benches. Nature trails and bike trails weave throughout the park.

Red Fish Grill Restaurant

The Red Fish Grill was featured on the Cooking Channel and awarded the 100 Best Al Fresco Dining Restaurants in the Nation, 2016. The restaurant on the beach serves fresh seafood, pasta, chicken and steak nightly, except Mondays. You can dine inside the historic coral rock building or outside, overlooking the beach and Biscayne Bay. The Grill's snack bar offers casual food for lunch, daily. View the menu, make a reservation or get directions to the restaurant by visiting Red Fish Grill's website.

Atoll Pools

Public Swim Hours
Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday - Sunday 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Dear Park Patron, this is an update to the previously posted project information.

We would like to take the opportunity to let you know about upcoming improvements to the existing features of the park. Access to the park will transition through three phases:

1. Planning and design
2. Construction 
3. Completion

Artistic representation of the project

• Trail 1
• Trail 2
• Trail 3
• Trail 4
• Trail 5

Planning and Design Phase
Parks are a balance of features and elements that represent the multiple needs of the community and allow the safe enjoyment by everyone. West Matheson is an approximately 109-acre portion of Matheson Hammock Park with nearly 90% designated as a Natural Forrest Community and Environmentally Endangered Land. Matheson Hammock Park is a Metropolitan and a Heritage Park recognized by the County for its historical significance as its first park. As described in the County’s Comprehensive Development Master Plan and Park and Open Space Master Plan, the service area for Metropolitan Parks is countywide, affording and encouraging access and usage by all 2.8 million residents and visitors to Miami-Dade County. Therefore, access to metropolitan parks take place from major roadways, not small neighborhood roads.

With this in mind, Miami-Dade County is moving forward with the implementation of the masterplan for the west side of Matheson Hammock Park that reflects and balances the desires and safety of parks users from an array of backgrounds, age groups and interests. The elements of the masterplan include:

• Repairs to the Old Cutler Road parking lot and hardwood hammock nature trail 
• Open play areas for children and families (the Old Cutler Road parking lot and hardwood hammock nature trail will provide access to the open areas for families to enjoy picnics and for children to explore the outdoors)
• Restoration of the native habitat as a botanical garden 
• Nature trails restorations 
• Restoration of the Coral Rock Nursery (grant for the structural assessment of the building has been applied for)
• New crosswalk with beacon and sidewalk connecting east and west side of Old Cutler Road

For the next few months as we finalize the design work, the parking lot along Old Cutler Road is available for general use and parking. The park and parking lot are open during regular park operation hours: sunrise to sunset. The School House Road north entrance to West Matheson is open and available to pedestrians and cyclists. Vehicular access to metropolitan parks is provided along major roadways not small neighborhood roads. Automobile access is limited to visitors with disabilities and authorized park service vehicles. Visitors who would like to enter the park through the north entrance with their vehicles must display a valid disabled person parking permit. Once the improvements to the Old Cutler Road entrance are completed, School House Road access will be closed to all vehicles. Please note this access point was originally created for park service vehicles to access the maintenance yard within the area and not intended to serve as vehicular access for the general public. The Old Cutler Road parking lot and nature trail will serve as the main entrance to West Matheson and they will both be ADA-compliant.

Additionally, a park ranger on a golf cart will provide residents who need assistance with transportation into the park.

Construction Phase
Miami-Dade County is surveying the natural areas at West Matheson. You might have seen some of the stakes/markers that are part of this effort and the upcoming parking lot and nature trail boardwalk improvement project. The County has the responsibility to ensure for the safety of the community and ensure that all its construction sites are safely secured. The County also has the responsibility to protect environmentally sensitive lands, making fencing around the construction site not feasible without impacting the protected lands. Therefore, access will be restricted, and West Matheson will be closed temporarily to visitors during the 90 day construction phase.

Completion / Future improvements
This project will improve the Old Cutler Road parking lot and nature trail to enhance parking and access for the entire community. This will serve as the permanent entrance to the park. The parking lot will have permeable pavers and provide a safer and more inviting arrival point into West Matheson. The nature trail will be ADA-compliant and feature an elevated boardwalk withing the existing footprint of the trail, through the Natural Forest Communities and Environmentally Endangered Lands. These improvements focus on resiliency, habitat protection and education with interpretive signage describing the history of the park and its status as a premier trail for birding and other wildlife observation, in one of the last remaining pristine hardwood hammocks in Miami-Dade County. The trail will provide full access to all the park’s amenities – nature habitats, open areas for families to enjoy picnics and for children to explore the outdoors, recreational features, and a new spacious area dedicated for dogs.

Future improvements will include restoration of the park’s historic Coral Rock Nursey to provide eco-educational programs for children and adults, the development of subsequent trails and paths throughout the park for hikers, joggers, and cyclists of all ages, as well as a safe pedestrian crossing on Old Cutler Road connecting the east and west areas of Matheson Hammock Park.

Master Plan
This project is nested within the master plan for Matheson Hammock Park and follows the original intent to restore the ecological habitat, as presented in public community meetings and discussions of improvements to Matheson Hammock Park in 2008 and 2015. See plan below.

Through the years, improvements to Matheson Hammock Park, a designated Miami-Dade County Heritage Park, have expanded from the restoration of the ecological habitat that strengthens the health of the hardwood hammock and restores wildlife habitat for endangered species, to the development of additional amenities that represent the diverse interests of the community. Parks bring people together regardless of age, income, or ability and connect communities to each other and the outdoors where everyone can benefit from their many positive health impacts.

Artistic representations are subject to change