Things to Do in Miami with Kids

Southwest Miami-Dade's zoo is open every day of the year, with free parking. Between exhibits, kids burn off energy at the Playworld Playground and the animal-themed splash pad nearby, and step into the indoor Conservation Action Center to wriggle through a giant model python and learn about invasive species. Mostly outdoors; kids 3–12 $26, 2 and under free.

General admission covers the Treewalk Village, a playground, the Manu Aviary and the Guardians of the Jungle show; meeting capybaras, lemurs, sloths or wallabies, and the petting zoo, cost extra. Outdoors, open daily 9:30 to 5, admission from $22.95. Tip: the garage is $20, so count it in the day's budget.

A tropical botanic garden in Coral Gables with two spots kids head for: the Children's Garden, a play space built from natural materials, with shade and cooling mist, and Wings of the Tropics, home to more than 40 species of butterflies. Mostly outdoors; kids 3–11 $11.95–$18.95, under 3 free, free parking. Tip: buying online saves up to $5 a ticket.

Everglades National Park's Shark Valley entrance on Tamiami Trail: a 15-mile paved loop to bike (rentals on site) or ride on a narrated tram, with an observation tower halfway. Outdoors; $35 per car for seven days, tram $19 for kids 3–12; helmets required for riders under 16. Tip: from November to April the lot often fills by 10 a.m.

A garden park in Pinecrest that works especially well with toddlers: the Splash 'N Play splash pad is open daily 9 to 4, and a mini viewing zoo 10 to 4. Outdoors; $8 for ages 2–64, under 2 free. Tip: the splash pad closes when it's under 75°F or there's lightning, so check the weather on cool winter days.

Inside Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek. Besides the butterflies, kids can feed lorikeets from a cup of nectar ($2, cash only, last feeding 4:15). Outdoors; kids 3–11 $22.50, 2 and under free; open Monday to Saturday 9 to 5, Sunday 11 to 5. Tip: on weekends Tradewinds Park charges a $3 per car gate fee on top of admission.

A garden and wildlife sanctuary in Davie where admission includes a narrated tram ride through 42 acres of the grounds, easier on little legs. Outdoors; kids 3–11 $17, 2 and under free, open daily 9:30 to 5 except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Tip: last entry is at 4 p.m.

A historic estate in Palmetto Bay with a nature preserve: from October 1 to May 31 guided preserve tours leave at 12:30 p.m., and kayaks and paddleboards rent from Deering Point, 17350 Old Cutler Road. Outdoors; kids 4–14 $10 plus tax, under 4 free. Note: the Stone House is closed for renovation; the rest of the estate is open.

More than 2,000 alligators live at this farm in Homestead, with live feeding and handling shows several times a day, and airboat rides into the Everglades leave right from the property. Outdoors, open daily 9 to 5:30 except Christmas Day. Admission is paid: check current prices on everglades.com before you go.

On US 27 in Weston, one general-admission ticket covers an airboat ride into the Everglades plus the park's wildlife exhibit areas, 363 days a year. Outdoors; kids 4–12 $20.95, under 4 ride free. Tip: reservations are required and tours often sell out, so book before you drive out.

A garden on Convention Center Drive in Miami Beach where admission is always free, Tuesday to Sunday from 9 to 5. Kids head for the Gnome & Fairy Children's Garden, an interactive play space added in 2025. Outdoors. Tip: the garden's calendar also lists family events, some of them free.

Inside Crandon Park on Key Biscayne, this nature center charges no admission and is open daily 9 to 4; you pay only Crandon's $7–$10 parking. Its Family Seagrass Adventures take kids into the shallows with a naturalist to net and look at small sea creatures (registration required). Indoor exhibits, outdoor programs.

A Miami-Dade County park in Homestead devoted to fruit and spice plants, open daily 10 to 5. Admission includes a garden tram tour at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.; tasting tours at noon and 3 p.m. cost extra and need a reservation. Outdoors; kids 6–11 $8, 5 and under free.

The seasonal Redland farm stand known for its cinnamon rolls moved under new owners in December 2025 to a farm nearly 8 miles north of the old Homestead site, at 16790 SW 177th Ave. The 2026–27 season opened October 13 (Tuesday to Sunday, 8 to 5); u-pick strawberries are due around Christmas. Outdoors; pay only for what you buy.

A 1924 coral-rock pool in Coral Gables, filled daily with spring water from the aquifer, that reopened in December 2025 after a long renovation. Children must be at least 3 and 38 inches tall; ages are checked at the door. Outdoors; kids 3–12 $18 for non-residents. Tip: book online, since ticket sales stop once the pool is full.

A two-mile beach on Key Biscayne where an offshore sandbar keeps strong surf away from swimmers, a calmer choice with small kids. Off the sand, the Family Amusement Center has a historic carousel and an outdoor roller rink. Outdoors; parking is $7 Monday to Thursday and $10 Friday to Sunday, plus tax.

A county park on Old Cutler Road in Coral Gables whose natural atoll pool, next to a sandy beach, gives small children calm water to splash in, with lifeguards on weekends and holidays. Outdoors; parking is $7 on weekdays and $10 on weekends and holidays, plus tax. Tip: Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is just down Old Cutler Road.

A state park on Key Biscayne, home of the Cape Florida Lighthouse, open 8 a.m. to sundown; $8 per car. Climbing the lighthouse is normally free with entry at tour times, but since late October 2026 its grounds are closed until further notice because of king-tide flooding. Outdoors. Tip: on busy weekends the park can close early once full.

A free waterfront park at 1 Washington Avenue, at the south end of Miami Beach, open daily from sunrise to sunset. Its playground has slides, climbing pieces and a splash spray zone, so pack a change of clothes. Outdoors; entry is free, but parking nearby is paid.

Hollywood's oceanfront Broadwalk runs roughly two to two and a half miles along the beach, easy going for strollers and bikes. Charnow Park, on the Broadwalk at Connecticut Street, has playgrounds and a splash fountain for a break from the sand. Outdoors and free; parking is paid.

A free oceanfront park at the end of Las Olas Boulevard, on Fort Lauderdale Beach, with metered and garage parking. It's where the city holds seasonal family events: the Pumpkins & Palm Trees fall festival is free to walk into, with carnival rides on a paid wristband, and the park hosts a menorah lighting in December. Outdoors.

A county park on Biscayne Bay in Homestead with a natural atoll pool and a beach, right next to Biscayne National Park's visitor center, so the two make one outing. Outdoors, open sunrise to sunset; parking is $5 on weekdays and $7 on weekends.

A free county park on SW 72nd Avenue in Miami with a splash playground for children 1 and older and a pool that's open year-round ($3 a swim; swimmers must be 3 or older). It also holds a 15-acre sanctuary of native plants and trees for birds and wildlife, run by Miami EcoAdventures. Outdoors.

A county park in Hialeah with Tom Sawyer's Play Island, an accessible playground for ages 2–12, a Farm Village that recreates Miami-Dade's farming past, and 5.5 miles of wooded mountain-bike trail, free to ride. Outdoors; entry is free Monday to Thursday and $8 per car Friday to Sunday and on holidays.

A free linear park under the Metrorail tracks, opening in stages between Brickell and Dadeland. In Brickell, the Hammock Playground is a nature-inspired play space with accessible paths; in South Miami, the Nikki Spoelstra Play Forest opened in August 2026 next to City Hall at 6130 Sunset Drive. Outdoors and free.

A water park in Miami that opens only for its season (the 2026 one ended September 27; check the site for next year's dates). Children under 36 inches have Shipwreck Island, taller kids get Pirate's Plunge, and the whole family can float Buccaneer River, a lazy river ridden on tubes. Outdoors; kids 2–13 $9, under 1 free.

Paradise Cove is the water park inside C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines. It's seasonal: open over spring break, on spring and fall weekends and every day in summer. Outdoors; $15 a person for the day or $10 after 3 p.m., under 1 free, plus the park's gate fee on weekends and holidays.

Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach is open all year; in summer its Splash Adventure water playground, never deeper than 12 inches and watched by lifeguards, suits the smallest swimmers (2026 season: June 4 to September 27). Outdoors; $6 a person, less after 3 p.m., under 1 free. Kids 12 and under need an adult 18 or older with them.

A Broward County park in Davie with nature trails, a boardwalk across a marsh and an observation tower that looks out over the treetops. Riders who bring their own horses can use its public horseback trails. Outdoors; there's a $3 per car gate fee on weekends and holidays.

An indoor roller rink in southwest Miami-Dade. Wednesdays from 7 to 10 p.m. are Family Skate Night, Sundays from 5 to 7:30 are buy-one-get-one for families, and Saturday-morning Roller Rookies sessions are for beginners, with skate trainers included. Admission varies by session; skate rental is $6, or bring your own.

Trampolines, a ropes course, roller skating and bowling under one roof in Fort Lauderdale, plus junior go-karts for kids 5 to 9 with no height minimum. There's no entry fee: you pay only for the activities you pick, which makes it easier to keep a rainy afternoon on budget. Indoors.

Miami-Dade's public library branches run free programs for kids, from LEGO Club sessions (the Coconut Grove Branch is one host) to toddler programs such as Talking is Teaching: Talk, Read, Sing for ages 18 months to 3. Indoors and free. Tip: check the library system's online calendar for what's on at your nearest branch.

On the second floor of the Broward County Main Library in downtown Fort Lauderdale, the Active Learning Center is a free play space for children from birth to 5. The Main Library also hosts free family movie nights that come with a craft. Indoors and free; check the library's site for current hours.

Wynwood's outdoor street-art park, open daily 10:30 to 6:30, suits kids 8 and up. Children 12 and under are free but still need a ticket, teens 13–17 pay $5, and every group needs an adult 18 or older. Tip: Miami-Dade residents get in free with the digital local membership.

Downtown Miami's performing arts center runs Family Fun Live, a season of shows for kids and families (the 2026–27 series opened with Marionetas de la Esquina: Superheroínas), and Arsht for Miami, a season-long series of free community events for all ages. Indoors; Family Fun Live is ticketed. Tip: on a budget, check the free Arsht for Miami dates first.

The Children's Theatre at Actors' Playhouse, in the Miracle Theatre on Coral Gables' Miracle Mile, stages kids' shows on Saturdays at 2 p.m., with sensory-inclusive performances. Coming in its 2026–27 season: Junie B.'s Essential Survival Guide to School in January and February 2027 and Finding Nemo in July 2027. Indoors; ticketed.

At the New World Center in Miami Beach, WALLCAST concerts are projected onto the building's outside wall in SoundScape Park: free, no tickets, and room for kids to move around. Inside, ticketed Concerts for Kids are made for ages 4 to 9, with pre-show activities and a sensory-friendly room.

Fort Lauderdale's performing arts center runs the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Imagination Series, a season of shows for families, and some family shows have sensory-inclusive performances. Indoors; ticket prices vary by show. Tip: with a child who's sensitive to noise or crowds, look for those sensory-inclusive dates when you book.

A Miami theater company that turns children's books into live shows for young audiences, with puppets, music and plenty of audience participation. Matinees at the Sandrell Rivers Theater on NW 7th Avenue start at $7 plus fees, and the company also brings free shows to Miami-Dade public libraries. Indoors.

A state park in North Miami Beach for riding and paddling: besides more than 10 miles of harder mountain-bike trail, it has 4 miles of novice trail and 3 miles of paved path for first rides, and kayaks, canoes and paddleboards rent inside the park. Outdoors; $6 per vehicle, up to eight people.

Biscayne National Park charges no entrance fee; its Dante Fascell Visitor Center in Homestead is open daily 9 to 5, and kids can pick up a Junior Ranger booklet there to earn a badge. On the water, the Biscayne National Park Institute runs paid boat and snorkel trips (shared snorkel trips for ages 8+). Homestead Bayfront Park is next door.

Not a drop-in outing but a place for kids 6 to 17 to learn to sail: the club, founded in 1946, runs youth sailing training all year and seasonal camps on Biscayne Bay, and US Sailing lists it as an accredited sailing school. Outdoors in Coconut Grove; program fees apply, so check the current season's schedule.

Everglades National Park's Anhinga Trail, at Royal Palm about four miles past the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center near Homestead, is a 0.8-mile round trip on pavement and boardwalk, easy with small kids and strollers. Outdoors; $35 per car for seven days, with fee-free days such as Veterans Day. Tip: wildlife is most plentiful December to March.

In Key Largo, John Pennekamp's glass-bottom boat trips run three times daily, letting kids who can't swim yet look down on the coral reef from a dry seat. Boat tickets are $30 for ages 4–11, free for 3 and under, on top of park entry per vehicle. Outdoors. Note: construction has limited some facilities and services since July 2026.

On the Big Cypress Seminole Indian Reservation, this museum tells the story of the Seminole Tribe of Florida in its galleries and along a boardwalk through the Everglades. Plan at least two hours; boardwalk entry closes at 4. A family ticket covers two adults and up to four kids 5–18 for $30; 4 and under free.