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A rider powering through spray on Biscayne BayKites over the flats off Matheson HammockRigging on the beach at Matheson HammockSunset session off the Matheson beachThe Miami skyline across Biscayne Bay

Chapters / Miami Active

Ride Matheson Hammock, keep it open

Miami-Dade's first county park, a tide-flushed atoll pool, and flat bay water a few minutes from the city.

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324 riders call this homeKiteMatheson Hammock ParkMatheson Hammock Park, Miami-Dade County Parks

Everything you need to know about Matheson Hammock

Live conditions

Why riders love it

What brings people here, from the people who manage it and the people who ride it.

  • Just north of the atoll pool is a kite-boarding area, with rental equipment available.
  • The beach is described by the county as a good one for beginners or for a quiet practice session.

Sources: Miami Waterkeeper / Swim Guide; Miami-Dade County marina page

See the wind right now
Kites over the flats off Matheson Hammock

Access and rules

County rules differ park to park and can change with a single vote. The chapter is the group the county can call, and gets launch rules confirmed in writing.

  • Park office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. The atoll pool opens at 9 a.m.; summer closing is 5:30 p.m. weekdays and 6:30 p.m. weekends, winter closing is 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 5:30 p.m. weekends.
  • Vehicle entry is $7 plus tax on weekdays and $10 plus tax on weekends and holidays. Buses and RVs pay $15 plus tax daily.

Sources: Miami-Dade County Parks

Read the local rules
Rigging on the beach at Matheson Hammock

Ecology and habitat

Cleanups on crowded beaches, respect for dunes and mangroves, and wind-window and right-of-way basics so riders are an asset on a shared shoreline.

  • The park's unusual feature is a man-made atoll pool, flushed naturally with the tidal action of nearby Biscayne Bay.
  • Its calm, shallow water makes it a popular family swimming spot.
  • Restoration after 2017 hurricane damage included dredging the pool and replacing its three culverts, interior retaining wall, stone breaker wall and paved pedestrian walkway.

Sources: Miami-Dade County, Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces

Fund stewardship here
Sunset session off the Matheson beach

Good to know

Location, facilities and history.

  • Matheson Hammock Park is at 9610 Old Cutler Road, just south of Coral Gables, on a peninsula extending into Biscayne Bay.
  • The park surrounds the north and western ends of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.
  • A full-service marina, snack bar, and a restaurant built into a historic coral rock building.
  • Picnic pavilions, a scenic lake, and nature trails.
  • Recognised by Miami-Dade County as its first park, named for county pioneer W. J. Matheson.
  • Matheson and his son Hugh donated approximately 85 acres of tropical hardwood hammock off Old Cutler Road to Dade County in 1930. The county purchased an additional 420 acres of adjacent mangroves and hammock lands in 1934–35, bringing the park to more than 500 acres.
  • Civilian Conservation Corps crews were assigned to the park in 1936 to develop the bayfront area, designed by landscape architect William Lyman Phillips.

Sources: Miami-Dade County; Miami-Dade County; Flashback Miami historical archive; Miami-Dade County; Wikipedia

Meet the riders
The Miami skyline across Biscayne Bay

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Matheson Hammock

Coral Gables. Flat bay water north of the tide-flushed atoll pool.

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Matheson Hammock

An organised rider voice with the county; stewardship and certification behind it.

Know the spot

Matheson Hammock

Puts the chapter within a short drive of most of Miami.

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Why Matheson Hammock needs a chapter

A rider powering through spray on Biscayne Bay
Miami

Matheson Hammock is Miami-Dade's first county park: a peninsula of hammock and mangrove pushing into Biscayne Bay, a few minutes south of Coral Gables. W. J. Matheson and his son Hugh gave the first 85 acres in 1930, and Civilian Conservation Corps crews built the bayfront later that decade.

324riders call this home
Kitedisciplines riding here

Matheson Hammock chapter, World Wind Sports

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Kites over the flats off Matheson Hammock
Miami

Just north of the tide-flushed atoll pool is the kite area: flat, shallow bay water that the county itself calls good for beginners or a quiet practice session. For most of Miami, it is the closest place to launch.

324riders call this home
Kitedisciplines riding here

Matheson Hammock chapter, World Wind Sports

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Rigging on the beach at Matheson Hammock
Miami

At a county park, access can change with one rule review. A chapter gives Matheson riders one organised voice with the county, stewardship days on the bayside flats, and riders who show up trained.

324riders call this home
Kitedisciplines riding here

Matheson Hammock chapter, World Wind Sports

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The riders, schools and crew of Matheson Hammock

Riders from Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, South Miami, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay, West Miami and the schools that teach them.

See the rider directory Talk on the board
WWSThe chapterGives Miami riders an organised voice with the county at a park where the rules can change.WWSThe chapterRuns stewardship days on the bayside flats north of the atoll pool, so the sport stays welcome.WWSThe chapterRuns sponsored certification weekends — trained, self-policing riders, with instructor certification for qualifying stewards and members.WWSThe chapterGives Miami riders an organised voice with the county at a park where the rules can change.WWSThe chapterRuns stewardship days on the bayside flats north of the atoll pool, so the sport stays welcome.WWSThe chapterRuns sponsored certification weekends — trained, self-policing riders, with instructor certification for qualifying stewards and members.
jorge riveraInstructor Level 1, MiamiFrancesco PenaInstructor Level 1, MiamiMartin LustgartenInstructor Level 1, MiamiCharl WesselsInstructor Level 1, MiamiAlexis MelgraniInstructor Level 1, Coral gablesAlvise MagatonInstructor Level 1, MiamiRicardo AveledoLevel 3N, MiamiNico CappellutiLevel 3N, Miamisnezana radnovicLevel 4T, MiamiAnnika VierretherLevel 3L, MiamiCelia Roca AguilarLevel 3N, MiamiAlexander FortmuellerLevel 3K, MiamiBlu GennaiLevel 4Y, MiamiDaniel MatamLevel 3N, MiamiJasper TilmannLevel 3N, MiamiAna PlataLevel 3L, MiamiAntoine TraversatLevel 4T, coral gablesCharlie KnightLevel 3K, MiamiDiogo DuarteLevel 4Q, MiamiGabriel ContiLevel 3N, Coral GablesGiraldo Juan PabloLevel 4Y, MiamiJuan Mario MejiaLevel 4V, MiamiKwanchanok SchuetzLevel 3K, MiamiMoises SolisLevel 3N, MiamiNick FernandezLevel 4T, MiamiPatrick FarrellLevel 4W, MiamiRicardo ParisLevel 3L, MiamiRoss BergerLevel 4P, MiamiSebastián Ramirez MejiaLevel 3M, MiamiShai DowLevel 2I, MiamiSophie HausherrLevel 3K, Miamiandreas hase HaseLevel 3K, MiamiFrancisco Ugalde RivasLevel 3K, MiamiGianfranco CarozzoLevel 3L, miamiGuillermo Paris GuillermoLevel 3K, Coral GablesDiego alejandro EstepaLevel 3N, MiamiMarcos Adissi MichaLevel 4Q, MiamiClay JohnsonLevel 3K, MiamiLuis TabaresLevel 3L, MiamiRodrigo ViannaLevel 4Q, Miamijorge riveraInstructor Level 1, MiamiFrancesco PenaInstructor Level 1, MiamiMartin LustgartenInstructor Level 1, MiamiCharl WesselsInstructor Level 1, MiamiAlexis MelgraniInstructor Level 1, Coral gablesAlvise MagatonInstructor Level 1, MiamiRicardo AveledoLevel 3N, MiamiNico CappellutiLevel 3N, Miamisnezana radnovicLevel 4T, MiamiAnnika VierretherLevel 3L, MiamiCelia Roca AguilarLevel 3N, MiamiAlexander FortmuellerLevel 3K, MiamiBlu GennaiLevel 4Y, MiamiDaniel MatamLevel 3N, MiamiJasper TilmannLevel 3N, MiamiAna PlataLevel 3L, MiamiAntoine TraversatLevel 4T, coral gablesCharlie KnightLevel 3K, MiamiDiogo DuarteLevel 4Q, MiamiGabriel ContiLevel 3N, Coral GablesGiraldo Juan PabloLevel 4Y, MiamiJuan Mario MejiaLevel 4V, MiamiKwanchanok SchuetzLevel 3K, MiamiMoises SolisLevel 3N, MiamiNick FernandezLevel 4T, MiamiPatrick FarrellLevel 4W, MiamiRicardo ParisLevel 3L, MiamiRoss BergerLevel 4P, MiamiSebastián Ramirez MejiaLevel 3M, MiamiShai DowLevel 2I, MiamiSophie HausherrLevel 3K, Miamiandreas hase HaseLevel 3K, MiamiFrancisco Ugalde RivasLevel 3K, MiamiGianfranco CarozzoLevel 3L, miamiGuillermo Paris GuillermoLevel 3K, Coral GablesDiego alejandro EstepaLevel 3N, MiamiMarcos Adissi MichaLevel 4Q, MiamiClay JohnsonLevel 3K, MiamiLuis TabaresLevel 3L, MiamiRodrigo ViannaLevel 4Q, Miami
iSportsKiteiWind spotMatheson Hammock ParkiLocal authorityMatheson Hammock Park, Miami-Dade County ParksiKnow thisCoral Gables. Flat bay water north of the tide-flushed atoll pool.iKnow thisAn organised rider voice with the county; stewardship and certification behind it.iKnow thisPuts the chapter within a short drive of most of Miami.iSportsKiteiWind spotMatheson Hammock ParkiLocal authorityMatheson Hammock Park, Miami-Dade County ParksiKnow thisCoral Gables. Flat bay water north of the tide-flushed atoll pool.iKnow thisAn organised rider voice with the county; stewardship and certification behind it.iKnow thisPuts the chapter within a short drive of most of Miami.

Live conditions

Wind right now at Matheson Hammock

Full forecast

Fund the chapter holding access at Matheson Hammock, Coral Gables. You can too.

Your gift keeps the chapter running and the beach cared for: cleanup supplies, signage, certification weekends and the costs of being the group the park can call.

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