Sawyer Park is a small, charming neighborhood park in Miramar on Venetian Street and Island Drive…read more The park was named in honor of Reverend Robert E. Sawyer who along with his wife Katherine founded the Pembroke Road Baptist Church and the Pembroke Christian Academy of Miramar. In 2021 the city of Miramar embarked on a $1 million recreation expansion program that gave Miramar two new parks and refurbished eight others. $600,000 was raised from donations, grants, and fees from developers. Sawyer Park was one of the eight parks to receive new play equipment and landscaping. Sawyer Park is completely fenced in which is great for safety. Outside the fence are a few parking spaces. Inside the park the playground equipment is ADA accessible and trees provide welcome shade. There is also an open grassy area for unstructured play. This is a great recreational amenity for the people in the neighborhood to take their kids to play.

Tiny neighborhood park with a good playground, shelter and benches but it was closed. I believe…read morethey are doing some upgrades which is nice for the community of Miramar. This park is one block across from Perry Air port on Venetian Street. Call to see when they will open 954-602-4357

Riverland Preserve is a 5 acre park in the Riverland neighborhood which is located in a SW corner…read moreof Fort Lauderdale off Davie Boulevard. The neighborhood is in a beautiful area that has an Old Florida feel with 200 year old oak trees. Many of the homes here were built in the 50's for the returning veterans of WWII who flocked to Florida. Like all Ft. Lauderdale parks Riverland is open every day from 6 AM until 9 PM. The city purchased the land for the park from the Black family in 2017. This land was their private home. Part of the funding to purchase the park came from $750,000 that was put aside by the county when Riverland was annexed into the City of Fort Lauderdale in 2002. When the property was first set for sale it was slated to be divided into subplots for housing development. The neighborhood was concerned about keeping the areas character intact and saving the 400 tropical trees on the property. They petitioned the city to keep the land in its natural state and they agreed to purchase the property and turn it into a park. Riverland is a passive park that still looks like someone's house in the neighborhood. The first time I looked for this park I actually drive by it. The original house still sits on the property along with several outbuildings. Behind the house is the preserve has ancient oak trees, sandal palms, laurel oaks, native wild orchids, slash pine trees, shrubs, banana trees, pink pineapple plants and other native plants. I saw ibis and the trees in this neighborhood are known for being a home to owls. There are no trails but there are benches. This preserve was one of my more interesting Ft. Lauderdale park finds. I love how the neighborhood rallied together to save the ecologically important piece of land. During my visit most of the preserve was flooded due to the heavy rains we recently experienced but I was intrigued by the plants I saw, especially the pink pineapples! and I will be back to explore further next time I am in the area.

Yesterday was a busy day as I had the pleasure of attending two parties at this park!…read more At first glance, you'd think that what you see from University Drive is all the park has to offer. This is not the case at all! In the front of the park, there are 3 pavilions, a playground and splash pad. One of my parties was in this area. And it was great. You can enjoy the party while watching your kids play on the playground or the splash pad as everything is in close proximity. There is one pavilion that is a little further away but not too far away. The second party was in the nature center that is technically connected to the office. There is a closed in area and back patio. The back patio is where the second party was as it was a picnic theme. In addition to that the park offers a walking trail and someone mentioned that there is an area to see animals. I am not sure of the extent to that.

Another Saturday, another run in a new park!…read more Well, new to me. My friend and I have a pact to run every Saturday this month while exploring parks around Broward and this first Saturday of September we ventured to Miramar Pineland Park. I was not looking forward to this run since the first photos I saw were a trail with no shade but luckily, 3/4 of the trail were covered by shady trees! This park has the standar $1.50 per person entrance fee for weekends and holidays. Once you enter, the first part has a few pavilions for parties and a big playground with a splash pad (currently not in service.) If you keep driving, it leads you to the new Nature Center (I think) that isn't open yet and the beginning of one of their trails. This is the one we chose to take. It was very hot at 10am but we welcome the covered trail. Along the trail, there's a pathway that leads to a gazebo which overlooks nothing at the moment. If you run around the trail twice, it covers one mile. The nature center looks really nice and looks like it could be used for a wedding party or larger gatherings. The only thing is parking seems limited so I'm interested to see if they add any later. Driving out of the park, we noticed that there is also a "Wetland Trail" so you bet this is going to be one of our future runs. Hopefully we remember to bring sunblock as it looks like this one doesn't have any shade.

Next to Hot Dog Heaven and Northside Elementary School is Warfield Park,…read more a 3.6 acre park located in the South Middle River neighborhood of Ft. Lauderdale off of Sunrise Boulevard. It has the historic distinction of being the oldest park in Ft. Lauderdale. The park was created in February of 1911 by the Florida Fruit Co. one month before the city was chartered. The park is named in honor of S. Davies Warfield, an American railroad executive and banker primarily remembered for extending the Seaboard Air Line Railway into South Florida in the 1920s and for connecting the east and west coasts of Florida by rail. Amtrak trains still travel from Central Florida to South Florida on the route he built. He was also the uncle of Wallis Warfield Simpson who married King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom after he abdicated the throne to be with her. Today you can visit Warfield Park behind the Warfield Community Center. Park amenities include an athletic field, basketball court, playground, recreation center, and restroom. The gate is locked near the parking lot but if you walk down the sidewalk there is an opening to the park. While I appreciate this history of the park I wasn't as thrilled with the many homeless hanging about. While they weren't on the playground where the children were playing they were all around the community center which you had to walk around to reach the park. It didn't feel safe.

Peaceful park, great for shorter dog walks. You can walk on the water and there's some shade and a…read morefew benches. There's a playground area and bathroom as well. Free parking.

Im on another quest, and this time to find the most tranquil park in Broward County. Weston does…read morehave many and the Yelpers reviews seem to indicate that the smaller parks maintained by the city are much more relaxing than the larger parks maintained by the county. Several parking spaces and a short walk down the sidewalk, across a wooden walkway to the amazing water view. Plenty of grassy areas to play fetch with your dog, toss a frisbee, take a jog or just read a good book under the sprawling trees.

Oreste Blake (O.B.) Johnson was former teacher who volunteered as a recreation leader in the City…read moreof Hallandale Beach. He was instrumental in convincing the city to build Dixie Park with a pool at Pembroke Road between NW 8th Avenue and NW 7th. He was the city's first parks director, a position that grew out of his concern and interest for the northwest community he lived in. Johnson organized basketball, swimming, baseball and softball games for the neighborhood children and turned them into state champions. He also started the Hallandale Scholarship Society. Mr. Johnson retired in 1978. In recognition of Mr. Johnson's dedication to the children and residents of the community, the City changed the name of Dixie Park to OB Johnson Park shortly after his death in 1995 at the age of 80. The gymnasium at O.B. Johnson Park was dedicated to another man who was recognized for his connection to the children in Hallandale Beach. On June 5th, 2001, City Commissioners voted unanimously to designate the gymnasium at O.B. Johnson Park as the Nelson "Butch" Brown Activity Center. Nelson "Butch" Brown was a popular city worker who took care of the children and parks in the community for the 35 years he worked for the City of Hallandale Beach. This park has a lot of history in this community and has been an important social and recreational gathering place. When James Brown used to perform in the area he could be found at this park playing basketball with the local kids. Boxing champ Floyd Patterson was another icon who also visited the park and signed autographs and shook hands with 4,000 fans. Today the pool is located in BF James Park but OB Johnson Park still has plenty of great amenities. Upgrades to the park were made in 2016. OB Johnson Park offers a Teen Zone program, senior programs and it has a new computer lab, and fitness gym along with the Nelson Butch Brown Gymnasium. You can play basketball, soccer, and tennis here and there is a shade covered playground. The city has put a lot of thought and money to creating a park that offers as much as possible to the community. It is just the way Mr. Johnson would have wanted it.

In the 1950s, Melrose Park was one of Fort Lauderdale's fastest growing subdivisions. At the time…read moreit did not have a park and this one wasn't created until the mid-1990s. People from the north lined up to purchase brand new houses that sold between $13,000 and $15,000 when new. Construction continued in the neighborhood until the mid-1970s. The city of Fort Lauderdale annexed Melrose Park in 2002. At the time this park was built, it was named the Melrose Park after the neighborhood. County commissioners agreed to rename Melrose Park in honor of Shirley Small after her death in April 2009. Small was a community leader, and neighborhood activist. She served as the president of the Melrose Neighborhood Association for 10 years. The almost 9 acre park has a fitness trail basketball courts open field for play picnic pavilion and playground. Shirley Small loved to come to the park. Since it is from the 90's the park is looking a little dated. For instance most children's playgrounds have shade covers while this one is in full sun. Still the large size of the park make it a great recreational resource to the community. Melrose Park residence still have much to enjoy.

Great park to take your kids if you are in the Dania beach location. This park is always…read moreproviding fun eventful activities for everyone to enjoy on special occasions.

This is a beautiful park and is regularly hosting great events! There is parking along all of the…read moresides of the park but it's also very walkable from surrounding neighborhoods. The park is well maintained, from the foliage and landscaping to the baseball field and the skate park! This lovely city park also houses one of my absolute favorite trees (does everyone not have a favorite tree?). If you're looking for a nice place for a picnic there are plenty of covered picnic areas as well! Some of my favorite events that take place here are the Dania Beach Arts & Seafood Festival in April, the regular Dania Beach Flea Market, and the Dania Beach Vintage Motorcycle Show! I would highly recommend this park if your looking for a wonderful afternoon outdoors!