# School Is Out. The World Cup Is Coming. Here’s Your Miami Gardens Summer Guide for Families. --- url: https://miamigardens.com/summer-guide-miami-gardens-families/ author: David published: 2026-06-05 modified: 2026-06-05 type: post categories: Local Information tags: Families, Juneteenth, Kids, Miami Gardens, Parks, Summer Guide, World Cup 2026 --- > M-DCPS ended yesterday. The World Cup starts in 11 days. Juneteenth is Saturday. Here is what families in Miami Gardens need to know about the most packed summer in the city's history. [Home](https://miamigardens.com/)  /  [Family](https://miamigardens.com/family/)  /  Parks # 10 Miami Gardens Parks, Ranked by What They Are Actually Good For Not which one is best. They are good at different things. One has six pickleball courts, one has no restrooms, one is a Native American heritage site sitting inside a stadium parking lot, and one opens at 5:45 in the morning. **By David Abayomi**, Community Manager Published July 23, 2026 10 min read School does not start until August 13, which means Miami Gardens parents have three more weeks to fill. The city has more parks than most residents realize, and the usual advice, go to Betty T. Ferguson, is only right about a third of the time. So we sorted them by job instead of by score. Toddler with energy to burn is a different problem than a serious morning workout, which is a different problem than a Sunday cookout for twenty people. Each entry below says what that park is genuinely good for, and what to know before you load the car. **One thing worth saying up front.** Hours at city parks shift with the season and with staffing, and a few amenities, splash pads especially, go offline without much warning. Every set of hours below was verified in July 2026, but a phone call before a long drive with tired kids in the back is never wasted. Where a park has a real drawback, we say so. That is more useful than pretending every park is perfect. ## If you are going to move your body Best for a real workout 01 ### Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex 3000 NW 199th St786-279-1222Mon to Fri 5:45 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. The flagship, and it earns it. A fitness center, an indoor basketball gym, indoor volleyball, a swimming pool, a track, a football field, a soccer field, an exercise trail, a dance studio, an auditorium, and an amphitheater, all on one site. It is the only facility in the city where you can do a serious workout indoors in August without melting. It is also the busiest and best-reviewed public facility in Miami Gardens, with more than 900 Google reviews averaging 4.5 stars, and the regulars will tell you the best thing about it is that nobody bothers you while you train. **Know before you go:** Saturday hours end at noon and it is closed Sundays. Plan weekend visits for Saturday morning or not at all. Best for walking laps and pickleball 02 ### Rolling Oaks Park 1317 NW 183rd StDaily 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sun to 6 p.m. The nicest walking park in the city and it is not close. A clean exterior trail under mature oaks where three laps runs roughly 3.25 miles, which makes it the one park where you can plan a real distance workout without doing math. Six pickleball courts in genuinely good condition, plus basketball and a children’s play area. The oaks matter more than they sound. Shade is the difference between a July walk and a July ordeal. **Insider tip:** your GPS will route you to a side entrance that is closed. The entrance you want is off NW 183rd Street near 14th Avenue. Regulars have been warning newcomers about this for years. ## If you are bringing small kids Best for toddlers and the splash pad 03 ### Buccaneer Park 3100 NW 207th St305-622-8000Daily 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sun to 5 p.m. The splash pad is small but fully enclosed, which is the whole point when you are chasing a two-year-old. Three dollars per child, consistently clean bathrooms, and staff that parents repeatedly describe as friendly and attentive. For the under-five crowd this is the best park in Miami Gardens and it is not particularly close either. **Know before you go:** the splash pad closes without notice and there is no reliable way to check online. Call 305-622-8000 before you drive over. This is the single most common complaint about an otherwise excellent park. Best for a quick hour close to home 04 ### Cloverleaf Park 303 NW 191st St305-652-1732Daily 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., weekends shorter Only about 1.5 acres, and it does more with that than it should. A recent renovation added a small recreation center with a community room and restrooms, public WiFi, a new basketball court, and a playground with shade structures and soft foam flooring. Parents describe it as the ideal burn-off-energy stop before homework. **Know before you go:** it is genuinely small. Older kids get bored here in about forty minutes, and the open grass is uneven since the renovation added trees. Best for quiet and the learning center 05 ### Bennett M. Lifter Park 20701 NW 22nd Ave305-624-6712Daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. A small neighborhood park most of the city has never visited, clean and well kept, with a basketball court in good shape. The thing that makes it worth the trip is indoors: a learning center where staff run painting and coloring activities for kids. Visitors describe being pleasantly surprised to find it at all. **Insider tip:** call ahead to ask what the learning center has scheduled. It is not advertised well, which is exactly why it is never crowded. ### Make a day of it Find the restaurants, ice cream shops, and stores near every park in the city. [Explore the Directory](https://miamigardens.com/?select=&lp_s_loc=&lp_s_tag=&lp_s_cat=&s=home&post_type=listing) ## If you are feeding a crowd Best for a big group cookout 06 ### North Glade Park 17355 NW 52nd Ave305-621-2461Daily 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Room to spread out, picnic tables, a recreation center, basketball courts, and a pond behind it that makes the setting nicer than you expect from the street. Crucially, it has restrooms, which is what separates a park you can host at from a park you cannot. **Know before you go:** the playground is modest and parts of it use sand rather than soft surfacing. Great for the adults and the food, less of a draw for the kids. Best for the earliest start in the city 07 ### Lake Stevens Park 18350 NW 52nd Ave305-823-2414Daily 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Opens at six in the morning, every day, which is earlier than any other park on this list and the entire reason to know about it in a South Florida summer. A shaded playground, a fitness station, a bike trail, and a large open field. It is a genuinely pleasant place to be at 6:30 a.m. in August, which is the only comfortable hour of the day right now. **Know before you go:** there are no restrooms. None. Plan accordingly, especially with young kids, and note that the splash pad here is frequently out of service. Best for shade and Sunday community 08 ### Myrtle Grove Park 3030 NW 179th St305-624-7421Daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tall trees, deep shade, and almost always a breeze, sitting in the Myrtle Grove neighborhood a block from Myrtle Lake and about two miles from the stadium. On an oppressive afternoon it is measurably more comfortable than the newer, sunnier parks. On Sundays it becomes something else entirely. The Jamaican community takes over the park for the day with soccer, food, dominoes, and music. Regulars describe it as the best day of the week here, and it is one of the genuinely distinctive things about living in this city. **Know before you go:** seating for parents is thin. Bring your own chair, which everybody who comes regularly already does. ## If you want a court, or a surprise Best for pickup ball under lights 09 ### Scott Park 17710 NW 15th Ct305-430-8011Daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Serving the Scott Lake area at the city’s southeastern edge, this is a ball park in the truest sense: basketball, football and baseball fields, tree cover around the court, and lights for evening play. Neighbors describe it as peaceful and friendly, and the court holds a steady run. **Know before you go:** the playground is minimal, essentially a set of swings, and there are few tables or benches. Come for the court, not for a family afternoon. Best for history nobody knows about 10 ### Chittohatchee Park at Honey Hill 1880 NW 199th St305-622-2594Daily 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The highest-rated park in Miami Gardens by review average, and one almost nobody outside the neighborhood has heard of. It is a small preserved Native American heritage site connected to the region’s Tequesta, Seminole, and Miccosukee history, and it sits inside the Hard Rock Stadium parking area, which is why most people drive past it a hundred times without ever registering that it is there. It is not a playground and it is not a workout. It is ten minutes of standing somewhere that was significant to people here long before the stadium, the city, or Carol City existed. Worth doing once, with your kids, and worth treating respectfully. **Know before you go:** on stadium event days this area functions as parking and access changes completely. Visit on an ordinary weekday. ## The short version Serious workout, Betty T. Ferguson. Walking or pickleball, Rolling Oaks. Toddler and water, Buccaneer. Big cookout with bathrooms, North Glade. Six in the morning, Lake Stevens. Shade and a Sunday, Myrtle Grove. Basketball at night, Scott Park. And once, on a quiet Tuesday, Chittohatchee. Three weeks until the first bell. That is roughly twenty more park afternoons, and this city has more of them than it gets credit for. ## Common questions Which Miami Gardens park has a splash pad? Buccaneer Park at 3100 NW 207th Street has an enclosed splash pad at three dollars per child. Lake Stevens Park also has one, but visitors frequently report it out of service. Call 305-622-8000 before visiting Buccaneer, because the splash pad closes without notice and there is no reliable way to check online. Does Miami Gardens have pickleball courts? Yes. Rolling Oaks Park at 1317 NW 183rd Street has six pickleball courts, which players consistently describe as being in excellent condition. Enter from NW 183rd Street near 14th Avenue, because GPS often routes drivers to a closed side entrance. What is the biggest park in Miami Gardens? Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex at 3000 NW 199th Street is the largest and most complete public facility, with a fitness center, indoor basketball and volleyball, a pool, a track, football and soccer fields, a dance studio, an auditorium, and an amphitheater. It is open Monday through Friday from 5:45 a.m. to 8:45 p.m., Saturday until noon, and closed Sunday. Which Miami Gardens park is best for a birthday party or cookout? North Glade Park at 17355 NW 52nd Avenue has picnic space, a recreation center, basketball courts, a pond, and restrooms, which makes it the most practical choice for a large group. Contact the City of Miami Gardens about permits or reservations for organized events. Which Miami Gardens parks open earliest? Lake Stevens Park at 18350 NW 52nd Avenue opens at 6 a.m. daily, the earliest of any city park. Betty T. Ferguson Recreational Complex opens at 5:45 a.m. Monday through Friday. Both are useful in summer, when early morning is the only comfortable time to be outside. ### Sources and verification - Addresses, phone numbers, and operating hours verified July 2026. City park hours change seasonally and with staffing. - Amenity details and the drawbacks noted in each entry reflect current public visitor reports alongside listed facilities. - Splash pad availability, restroom access, and learning center programming change frequently. Call the listed number before traveling. - For permits, reservations, and organized event requests, contact the City of Miami Gardens Parks and Recreation Department. Last updated July 23, 2026. If a park has changed, a splash pad reopened, or we got something wrong, tell us and we will update it. --- *Source: [Miami Gardens](https://miamigardens.com/)*