Outdoors
National forests, parks, lakes and recreation areas with hiking trails near Coral Gables, closest first.
Good to know: Carry more water than you think you need, check the managing agency’s page for trail closures and fire restrictions, and start early on hot days.
16 mi south · National Park Service
Eliott Key is only accessible by boat. No services are available on the island. Elliott Key is the park's largest island. Restrooms with sinks and cold water showers, picnic tables and grills are available.
42 mi west · National Park Service
Pinecrest Campground offers four group campsites that provide a nice, quiet and relaxing atmosphere. This is a wonderful location for a group to start their south Florida adventure.
44 mi southwest · National Park Service
Established in 1947 as the first national park created for its biodiversity, Everglades National Park protects 1.5 million acres of wetland, forest, and marine habitats and the native plants and animals that call it home.
Map of 13 places loads as you scroll.
Eliott Key is only accessible by boat. No services are available on the island. Elliott Key is the park's largest island. Restrooms with sinks and cold water showers, picnic tables and grills are available.
Pinecrest Campground offers four group campsites that provide a nice, quiet and relaxing atmosphere. This is a wonderful location for a group to start their south Florida adventure.
Established in 1947 as the first national park created for its biodiversity, Everglades National Park protects 1.5 million acres of wetland, forest, and marine habitats and the native plants and animals that call it home.
The freshwaters of the Big Cypress Swamp, essential to the health of the neighboring Everglades, support the rich marine estuaries along Florida's southwest coast.
The Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1951 under the authority of the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 with a 50-year license agreement between the State of Florida and the U.S.
Established in 1989, Southwest Florida’s Florida Panther National Wildlife is located within the heart of the Big Cypress Basin, encompassing the northern reach of the Fakahatchee Strand, the largest cypress strand in the Big Cypress…
Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1996 under provisions of the Arizona-Florida Land Exchange Act of 1988.
As lake, waterway and surrounding countryside, Okeechobee shows the many faces of Florida. A canopy of moss-draped live oaks hides clusters of sabal palms. A tangle of water plants marks the boundary where wetland meets lakeshore.
The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area (ONA) is part of the Bureau of Land Management’s 27-million acre National Conservation Lands; and the only complete unit east of the Mississippi River.
An amazing world exists within the pristine mangrove-fringed waterways, uplands and freshwater wetlands that can be found only a few miles away from downtown Naples.
Nathaniel P. Reed Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge contains the largest contiguous section of undeveloped beach in Southeastern Florida and is considered one of the most productive sea turtle nesting areas in the Southeastern United…
St. Lucie Campground provides a relaxing camping experience on the St. Lucie Canal, part of the 152 mile Okeechobee Waterway that spans South Florida from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.
J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, on the subtropical barrier island of Sanibel in the Gulf of America along Florida’s west coast, is part of the largest undeveloped mangrove ecosystem in the United States.
Distances are straight-line miles from downtown Coral Gables. Listings come from Recreation.gov’s federal recreation database; check each official page for hours, fees, fire restrictions and closures before you go.
THINGS TO DO · YOUTUBE SHORT
A local activity Short shared by Relocating to Florida - Gino Santarossa.
Watch on YouTube ↗
THINGS TO DO · YOUTUBE SHORT
A local activity Short shared by City on a Dime.
Watch on YouTube ↗
Elliot Key Campground (National Park Service), about 16 miles south of Coral Gables as the crow flies. Next are Pinecrest Group Campground (42 mi) and Everglades National Park (44 mi).
Based on Coral Gables’s average highs, November–April. Conditions at higher elevations can be much cooler.
Federal agencies including Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, US Army Corps of Engineers. Each listing links to its official page for hours, fees, closures and current conditions.