Florida State Parks - OLETA RIVER STATE RECREATION AREA

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Florida state parks are open from 8 a.m. until sundown 365 days a year.

State Park Guide
To discover and experience all of the Real Florida at Florida's 145 state parks, ask a Park Ranger where you can pick up a copy of the Florida State Park Guide, or call 850/488-9872.

Oleta River State Recreation Area is located at 3400 N.E. 163rd St, off I-95 in Miami.

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OLETA RIVER STATE RECREATION AREA

At 993 acres, Oleta River State Recreation Area is the largest urban park in the state. Located on Biscayne Bay in northeast Dade County, the most prominent natural feature of the park is the Oleta River, for which the park is named.

HISTORY
The beauty of the river has drawn man to its banks for centuries. As early as 500 BC, the river was home to the Tequesta Indians who camped along the river's shore. The estuary provided them with a rich and varied diet. When Spaniards first visited the area they encountered bear, deer, panthers, bobcats, wolves, alligators, manatees and numerous birds and small animals.

In 1841, the river was named Big Snake Creek and was part of the route used by Federal troops in the Second Seminole War to travel south from Loxahatchee.

In 1881, Captain William Hawkins Fulford explored the river and settled further inland in the area known today as North Miami Beach. Once "discovered", other settlers ventured north from Miami and by the 1890s, pineapple and vegetable farms had sprung up along the river in the newly formed town of Ojus. The river linked the Everglades with Biscayne Bay. An Indian trading post was established at what is now Greynolds Park. In 1922, Big Snake Creek was renamed the Oleta River by developers.

NATURE
Today, the Oleta River no longer flows north into the Everglades but its beauty and splendor lives on. Waterbirds feed along the mangrove-lined shoreline and the endangered West Indian manatee finds refuge from south Florida's crowded waterways.

RECREATION
With miles of bicycle and canoe trails, a sandy swimming beach, shaded picnic pavilions and a fishing pier, Oleta River State Recreation Area offers visitors an outstanding, outdoor recreational experience within the confines of urban south Florida.

Recreational activities including picnicking, swimming, fishing, canoeing, paddle boating, bicycling, mountain biking and jogging.

Seven covered picnic pavilions are available on a first-come, first-served basis or may be rented by reservation.Contact the park office for fees and availability.

For more information:

Oleta River SRA

3400 N.E. 163rd Street

North Miami, FL 33160

305/919-1846.

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