Miramar Pineland Park is one of Broward County Park & Recreation's newest additions, opening in March 1, 2013. Prior to the "change in management", this piece of land was relatively undeveloped, but not unchanged from it's original state. Most recently, it was used by local dirt bike/ATV off-roaders for it's soft sand trailsI(It was one of the only open places that anyone with an ATV can go dog it out!) Before that, it was owned by a cattle rancher, who bought it from one of Big Sugar's zillion of plotted parcels.
Aerial view from 1940 showing a much different place. This cool pic is located along the park's walking trail with all sorts of other interesting tidbits about the history and nature of the area.
This land practically came to be once the draining campaign was in full force in the mid-40s. According to the official county site, Snake Creek, frequently traveled by the pre-drainage Seminoles, ran right through this land and out to the east coast. After being drained by canals, one of which rerouted the original creek about a mile south(runs right next to SunLife Stadium aka Joe Robbie Stadium) and appropriately named Snake Creek Canal, this piece of land became a mix of habitats in a pretty small area. It was mainly a prairie marsh and wetlands, but became rather high & dry and able to support slash pine trees & other hardwoods, like Live Oak and Maple, on it's sandy ridges. These sandy ridges are pretty much the same all across Central & South Florida. With it came a nice little grove of slash pines(see 1st photo) that date back about 80 years. An aerial view of the area shows what a thin slice these trees actually occupy in the park, but you wouldn't realize it when standing amongst them. Few places in South Florida have this many mature pines in one place that are also this old & undisturbed.
Most Slash Pine(Pinus Elliott)down here are rarely this old because of over-development of the area they would grow which usually meant drier land.
This park was a pleasant surprise since I didn't expect too much because of the relatively small size and access to nature it's boundaries present. However, this was laid to rest as soon as I arrived with my family to a company get together and saw how well designed the playground is(has a huge tarp covering the whole area for the kiddies!) There's also a very cool waterpark right next to the playground. The rentable Shelters are new and well maintained. The only thing I really can't comment on is their bathrooms. I don't remember noticing where they were, but know they had some since my kids had to go..and did.
Looking east from the arching-over-the-water walkway. In the distance is where the shelters and playgrounds are located.
According to the park's website, and from I can tell, there will be more trails added to access some of the deeper wooded areas on the northwestern end. If you can't wait though, you can walk on the off-road path that runs along the northern edge of the wetlands/lake(south). It'll take you past native vegetation that was purposely left behind, while invasive species were removed.
Cocoplum plants, in the foreground, produce an edible fruit that in a bind can make you look like a survivor expert!
While walking on the arched walkway, we saw some Florida Softshell Turtles(see below). Unfortunately, the middle of the afternoon is not the best time to see wildlife, though signs of them were everywhere - footprints on the dirt paths and the occasional scat droppings which I couldn't identify, but guessing raccoons or opossums.
For more information about this park, click on the link http://www.broward.org/parks/miramarpineland/pages/default.aspx
and be directed to their website for relevant info & contacts.
Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did remembering it while I wrote this. I plan to go more often to run a few miles in there for the change of scenery I always enjoy.
Feel free to comment or send me questions.
Here's To Your South Florida Adventure!!
Juan Cortina
South Trail Rider