Biscayne Nature Center

Location: 6767 Crandon Boulevard, Key Biscayne

Hours: 9a.m. to 5p.m.

Admission:  Varies

Overview

The Crandon Park Visitors' and Nature Center is located on Key Biscayne, a sedimentary barrier island with the Atlantic Ocean on the east side and Biscayne Bay to the west. Here you can explore the various ecosystems of the Key including the dunes, mangroves, coastal hammock and seagrass bed community. The island is filled with rare and beautiful plants like the beach peanut, Biscayne prickly ash and the coontie. There are herons, ospreys and many brilliantly colored butterflies.

The beautiful sandy beach is also an important nesting ground for sea turtles. The seagrass beds provide a home for mangrove snapper, parrot fish, crabs, shrimp, sea stars and puffer fish. Once, the Tequesta Indians inhabited an unspoiled Key. Today the Bear Cut Preserve is a window back to the wilderness that once was south Florida.

A Vision and a Mission
The newly constructed complex houses environmental programs offered by Miami-Dade Parks, Miami-Dade County Public Schools and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center. The programs provide opportunities to discover Key Biscayne’s ecosystem, including the Bear Cut Nature Preserve, which has been designated as a Natural Environmental Study Area.

Naturalist Programs for school children and the general public.
Join our naturalists in the Bear Cut Preserve, in Crandon Park, on the breathtaking barrier island of Key Biscayne. Explore the hammock, ocean and beach communities and see the amazing animals and plants that inhabit south Florida. Popular nature programs, include:

Seagrass Adventure: Catch and release sea horses, various species of fish, sponges, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers in the seagrass beds. Learn how and why these creatures are important to this unique environment.

Beach Walk :Go beachcombing with our naturalist who will identify seashells, sea beans, sea hares and the other interesting oddities discovered on our beach.

Fossil Reef Walk: A two mile walk takes you to this fossilized mangrove reef -thousands of years old. This reef is home to some special animals. Along the way learn about the coastal dune ecosystems.

Hammock Walk: Explore this south Florida coastal forest. Learn about our native plants and animals and the Tequesta, the ancient inhabitants of Key Biscayne.

Curious Naturalist: Tour the site of the old Dade County Zoo, now a lovely garden and home to many birds and reptiles that you may never have seen in the wild before. Learn how to explore nature on your own - bird watching and animal tracking.

Hammock Restoration: Join a naturalist in removing invasive exotic plants and planting native species in their place. Program schedules vary.

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