About Miami-Dade Parks

• Mission: We create outstanding Recreational, Natural and Cultural experiences to enrich you and enhance the quality of life for our community for this and future generations.
• Vision: Connecting people and parks for life.

Values
Outstanding Customer Service
Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces provides outstanding customer service exemplified by a professional, effective, efficient, considerate and friendly attitude towards our community, visitors and co-workers.

Enthusiastic Attitude and Teamwork
Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces works as a team based on respect for our co-workers, our community and our environment. Teamwork embodies loyalty to the Department's mission, vision, core values and goals in order to deliver outstanding parks and programs.

Accountability and Integrity
Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces is responsive to the community we serve by building public trust and confidence. We provide dependable, consistent and quality facilities and programs.

Creativity and Innovation
Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces fosters and supports innovative, dynamic and creative solutions, programs and projects placing the Department as a leader in our profession.

Stewardship
Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces is a responsible and committed steward of the community's physical, natural and cultural resources creating a legacy for this and future generations.

Inclusiveness and Accessibility
Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces provides parks, facilities and programs that are inclusive of the diverse residents of our community and are accessible to those with disabilities.

Leadership and Professional Development
Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces fosters and supports life long professional development, training and mentorship by providing education and professional development opportunities which demonstrate best management, technical and leadership practices.

Excellence
Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces fosters and supports excellence and professionalism in carrying out our mission, vision, and goals for the delivery of outstanding parks, programs and facilities.

Miami-Dade County Parks is supported by The Parks Foundation of Miami-Dade a non-profit 501(c)3 organization supporting the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department's efforts to further develop Miami-Dade County's world-class parks system for residents and visitors.

Its mission is to create a healthier, more livable and sustainable Miami community by ensuring the implementation of the Parks Open Space Master Plan and the development of year-round park and recreation programs for local children, adults and people with disabilities

In 2008, three of Miami-Dade County's largest public parks-Tropical, Tamiami and Goulds began providing free wireless service to residents and visitors as part of a pilot program. Since then, over 100,000 users have logged on. Due to the success of this pilot program, wireless service will be included in select future parks and in some parks being upgraded.

The success of the pilot program has reinforced the goal of Wireless Miami-Dade - to create an environment that is technologically appealing to residents, visitors and businesses; to establish and maintain a sense of community safety; and to reach out to underserved residents. So far, we've concentrated on providing municipal Wi-Fi to residents to shrink the economic obstacles associated with access and deployment. But, more importantly, we want to improve residents' experiences when utilizing County services. So, we began to ask ourselves: what else makes sense today?

Based on our successful pilot program, we decided to expand our pilot to Metrorail and Metrobus. Since the pilot launch, wireless access has improved the transit experience for commuters, transit workers and has been an added convenience for the residents of Miami-Dade County. Wireless routers have been installed on four coaches serving a total of 20 trains throughout the entire rail network and in two 95 Express Buses.

Today, riders can hop on a train or bus, and check e-mails, read the newspaper online, or just surf the web on laptops, hand held devices, Kindles and iPads - for free - before they even arrive at the office. It's all about convenience and making the Miami-Dade transit experience better.

We're moving forward… embracing new technology and improving service for our residents.

Miami-Dade Parks began as a Division of the County Road and Bridge Department in 1929, planting trees along our community's highways. A.D. Barnes, a leader in the National Parks, Recreation and Open Space movement, persuaded Commodore Matheson to donate 80 acres of land for, the first county park, Matheson Hammock Park.

Miami-Dade Parks now manages more than 13,500 acres and has more than 280 parks, recreational facilities and greenways. It continues to provide outstanding recreational facilities and programming to more than 2.5 million residents and visitors, making it one of the nation’s largest and busiest leisure service agencies.

A three-time national Gold medal winner for excellence in Parks administration, it is the only municipal park system of its size to be awarded National Accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation and Open Space Agencies.

Heritage Parks
Parks are significant assets of a community's heritage. They are places of social and cultural gatherings, places of nature's beauty and places where we simply play.

In Miami-Dade, we have 75 years of parks that have enriched our lives and environment. Miami-Dade Parks is proud to preserve that heritage. We have designated seven parks that have played a vital role in this community's history, environment and recreational and cultural experiences.