HM69 Nike Missile Base Tour

Wee-​Hoo! As tours go, this one is as good as it gets! The guided tour is 90 minutes long and the tour director I had, Scott, was the best, most friendly fact filled tour guide I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Scott, a veteran of the U. S. Marine Corp, turned what might have otherwise been a boring look at an abandoned missile base into the most informative educational and eye opening of tours I’ve ever been on. Until you go on this narrated tour of HM69 Nike Missile Base Tour, you’ll have no idea of how the Cold War (the most financially expensive war in human history) leaders of the United States and Soviet Union began to lose all control over an escalating crises situation, how horrifyingly close we came to the point of mutually assured self-​destruction, our own annihilation, and for that matter the possible extinction of the entire human race. For example, can you believe that our own nuclear launch control wasn’t actually within the hands of our then President Kennedy but in fact at this site delegated to a low ranking inexperienced army officer with then primitive crap for radar, communications and other equipment? And if that fact isn’t horrifying enough, there are plenty more to hear and learn that are.
«It is insane that two men, sitting on opposite sides of the world, should be able to decide to bring an end to civilization.» — President John F. Kennedy, Oct. 27, 1962.

The Missile Base is a true relic of the Cold War, preserved and frozen in time since the base’s use was terminated in 1979. You probably can’t be faulted for not knowing that here in Miami-​Dade County, nestled in a national park is a missile base, as most locals are unaware of its existence. Considering it’s hidden off a side road (Long Pine Key Road) within Everglades National Park, even if you’ve driven through the Everglades looking for gators, you probably still would not have encountered it. Since you would have to drive a couple miles before seeing any type of building, many people would probably think there’s nothing to see and turn back around.
The Nike missile base was built in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis of October, 1962. It was completed in 1964, built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, and located only 160 miles from the Cuban coast. There are a total of four Nike Hercules Missile sites: B Battery in north Key Largo, which was torn down, C battery in Miramar, which is being torn down to make way for new structures, D Battery, which is now the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Krome Detention Center, and A battery, which is this one, the HM69 Nike Missile Base, and remains largely intact.
HM69 was built above-​ground, due to the high water table and risk of the silos flooding (something they found out the hard way after tents were flooded!). It was the last fixed air defense missile system to remain in operation in the United States. It was also significant because of the technologies it used, integrated with HAWK missile sites. Approximately 140 crew operated the above-​ground missile barns and guarded against attacks. They could perform their duties in record time and received recognition for this achievement. South Florida’s proximity to Cuba meant that the troops would receive almost no warning of enemy attack, so they had to be on a high state of alert at all times. The flight time from Cuba to Miami via supersonic jet bomber was very short!
The site consists of three above-​ground launch units, each with four missiles. You can see a Nike Hercules Missile in one of the barns — it’s a five-​ton, 40-​foot white and green missile, and very impressive. You will get to tour the inside of that particular barn and see all the propaganda and technologies employed in preparing for attack. Our tour guide, Scott, was very thorough in explaining everything, and ready to answer questions. Once everyone is done looking at the barn, the missile, the relics, and taking pictures, he closes it back up and gives everyone a chance to tour the property at their own leisure, though you’re also free to leave at this point, if you’d like. There is a risk of rattlesnakes, as he mentioned, so if you choose to do this, you must keep your eyes open at all times and watch where you are stepping. You are given free rein to 3 fallout shelters (rattlesnakes could be in here, so make sure you look before stepping in), and can spend as much time as you’d like photographing everything. The dark, still, dank fallout shelters gave an aura of spookiness and mystery. The peeling paint gave it a feel of sadness and abandonment. What took place in those shelters, you wonder.
The fire control site is now the Daniel Beard Research Center, a pink building, which is where you meet the tour guide (only guided tours are allowed, due to vandalism and the need to protect such a historically important place). Tours are only available December to April, and usually take place at 2 p.m. You park on the grass, listen to a few facts about the Cold War, and then follow the tour guide in your car as he gets in his car and opens the gates ahead of everyone. It’s a free guided tour, so you might as well take advantage of it. It’s definitely worth seeing in person, considering Miami doesn’t have much history. There were people of all ages there, so feel free to bring your teens. Go check out the gators and birds in the Everglades while you’re at the park, and make it a day.

The Nike Hercules HM-​69 Missile Base is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s located off of Long Pine Key Road in Everglades National Park. From December to April, tours are offered. I was on a bike ride in Everglades National Park and we decided to check out the tour. We met the tour guide in front of the Daniel Beard Center. He was a member of the U.S. Army’s 2^nd Missile Battalion that manned the base. Our guide gave us a history lesson of South Florida’s role in our Nation’s missile defense system in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962. Then we drove in our cars/​bikes about a mile to one of the Missile Silos on the Base. The Silos contained some of the artifacts from this part of American History including a photo of the President John F. Kennedy’s November 26, 1962 visit to Homestead AFB to personally award the men of the U.S. Army’s 2^nd Missile Battalion A for their actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis. There are even some photos of the missiles.
The Missile Base was closed in 1979 and opened for tours 2009.
The Tour Times are listed at the Visitor Center in Everglades National Park. You should also call (305) 242‑7015 for more information.