Alice C. Wainwright Park

How have I never been here before last week?!
This park is laid back and completely amazing. It faces the water*, offers benches for sitting in front of the water, has a small section with trendy outdoor gym equipment, and has a large villa with barbecue stands for parties and get-​togethers. It’s an amazing park!
My friend and I came here during New Year’s Day, and it was a good area for reflection and quiet time.
I would highly recommend anyone coming here if they are looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of Miami.
The only negative I would say this park is that parking seemed to be limited. There is parking in front of the park, but not those many parking spaces compared to other parks in Miami. I, personally, didn’t have any trouble finding parking, but if there is a large group here, you may have trouble.
*Note: just because this place faces this water doesn’t mean you can get in it (I am sure you can if you wanted to), but I am just saying that this place doesn’t offer beach front amenities.

This park is awesome! Beautiful view of the bay, lots of places to relax, and so on. This is one of my favorite stops when cycling in the area.
My only real complaint is a lack of parking. There’s PLENTY of room to create more parking for the park north of the current parking, but parking isn’t allowed along that street. The lack of parking during the day effectively means that you can only come here as a pedestrian or cyclist.
Why not use this additional free space for street parking? :)

Beautiful park, it’s a hidden gem in the heart of the city. Favorite spot to relax and take in the beauty of mother earth!

Probably my favorite park. It’s almost never full and has a beautiful key biscayne backdrop. The tikis by the water are perfect for lunch on a nice afternoon. There is also plenty of room for outdoor activities. The parking is not that great though. And you really don’t want to be there after sun down. All in all a very nice park. I sometimes even go there on my lunch break on work days :)

This park is truly a hidden gem. I stumbled upon it while cycling around the neighborhood and I’m so glad I did. The views alone had me sold! It’s a great place to make a stop, relax and admire the water views of our amazing city. Anytime I’m feeling a bit on the down side… i visit this park and it sure brings my spirits up. Let’s just keep this park between u and me.

The view of this park alone deserves 5 stars. I love bringing my son here when I’m in the area.
The playground has baby and regular swings and two sets of slides/​climbing centers. It has a basketball court and some workout stations.
But that view. Love that view!!!
I suggest going at sunset. Beautiful :)

It’s a city of Miami park located right on the water between Vizcaya Museum and the Rickerbacker causeway. It’s tucked away in a nice residential neighborhood that is constantly being patrolled by cops. The park has two levels a higher level near the entrance to the park that has a basketball court, a playground, and two cabanas for parties. The lower level is next to the water and has many benches, cabanas and a work out station with machines. The park is nice because of its view of the water, Virginia key, and key Biscayne.
The only downfall of this park is the lack of parking and the resident homeless populations. The homeless have found shelter in one of the cabanas. A few other roam inside and around the park. THey can be a little obnoxious and loud. I would definitely be careful not to leave anything valuable in the car.

Great park to spend a nice day! Park has 2 levels. Upper level has a playground and basket ball court and a lot of grass to play. Down level (ocean level) has machines to do exercise and a smaller playground and a lot of open grass to play. Lots of shade and breeze. Parking is difficult but free.

Nice quiet park. Best part is the view! I could lay under the palms for hours. Also great for kids! Only issue is the parking. I got one on my 2^nd drive by. Go early!

I love this park. It’s right on the water. You can take your kids there to play an afternoon, take lunch and take in the ocean view.
The only thing I don’t like is parking can run out fast, and the last few times I’ve been there I have seen some homeless people in the park hanging out for long periods of time. And as a single mom it makes me a little cautious. When I go to a park it’s to relax and unwind no can’t do that when there are people walking around asking for money and food. I am not discriminating but I did not feel safe.

Nice, quaint in-​the-​cut hidden park in Miami. Clean and quiet, good for kids and families with cookout spaces right next to the Bay. The bathroom and water fountains could use a major upgrade ASAP though.

Very nice park on the Bay …
It’s hidden but very close to the Vizcaya entrance. The view of the bay is great, although the park could use a little sprucing up. The gate was only half open… not a very weloming sign plus the gate should be removed all together… definitely very trashy. Restrooms and the building up front could be replaced too. Also, those cheap benches that line the bay that say Miami… totally taking the focus away from the bay view… very tacky. I’m also doubt the basketball court is best for the neighborhood of high end homes.
But, the newly renovated kids play area is great… and the view is great. Hopefully they’ll continue to keep making improvements.

This is the real «Bayfront Park» of Miami. It’s a bit of an old Miami locals’ secret in that I think that the entire city doesn’t know about it. Even if more people were in the know, however, there’s only so much parking available that doesn’t require a lengthy walk — this effectively puts an unpublished limit on the number of people who can use this park on any given day.
What’s the five-​star appeal of this park? Pretty simple — it’s open space right on the bay, with plenty of sun if you want it, and plenty of shade too. Shelters are first-​come, first-​served, and again, most of them are about a free-​throw away from the bay. Some of the adjacent grills are in questionable condition, and need to be replaced by the city of Miami — but even so, for small to mid-​size gatherings, these shelters are about as good as it gets.
It appears to me that this park also features one of the area’s best basketball courts, which of course means it’s almost always in use.
The park is also right on the popular South Miami-​to-​Key Biscayne cycling route. With reasonably clean restrooms, it’s also a major pit stop for cyclists.
It’s not perfect, but waterfront parks like it are all too rare in South Florida. It’s one of the few little slices of bayfront *not* occupied by multimillion dollar homes. For that alone, it would deserve 5 stars.

I go to this park often, well used to go more often. It was a nice park, but the upkeep has not been very good lately. The grass is becoming bare toward the water. Bathrooms are not clean and toilet paper is missing. There is a group of homeless individuals that have set up camp in the middle side if the park, the covered shaded area. Not nice, visually, but I get it. Too bad, it was a nice spot.
update: the park is much much better kept now.

All the reviews are right, it’s a great place. We have been taking guests here in the mornings to give them an overview of the coastal system surrounding Miami. The Miami Oolite is also well exposed at this location. Great park to get a view of the Bay, to have fun with your kids (our kids love it), and to relax. But, the b-​ball court is always busy, so it’s hard to get some court time.
The only downer is parking, lot’s of people park here to run/​cycle across the causeway, so parking for the park is always tight.

This park is truly a hidden gem. I usually have access to the park when i run the keybiscayne bridge but this time i went through brickel and got to it. Besides the relaxing view, this place has great taverns for picnicking. If you are into basketball it has two courts facing the ocean!!! neat right. Its just perfect all together, not too crowded and they even have a small personal gym at your disposition. Enjoy the spring, have a picnic.

I have always parked here as a launching point for some of my runs. The parking is free, and the people in the parking area are almost all here to walk, run, or bike, and I have had countless conversations about distances, sports drinks, professional sports, where to go post work out for food, and a multitude of other random topics.
Several other months ago I started to come to the actual park after my runs to just sit, relax, and enjoy the views. I find it calming and and restful. Perfect for a recovery, and peace of mind.
It may be small, but do not pass this park up.
Note, there are bathrooms that are open at least during daylight hours.

Alice Wainwright park is a small park that’s fairly well hidden. You can either come here by car by turning off US1 near Vizcaya and driving back through a quiet little neighborhood (with some very nice homes), or if you’re biking or on foot, there’s also an access between the parking area for this park and the sidewalk that leads to the Rickenbacker Causeway.
As some others mentioned, many of the parking spaces are full most times, especially early on the weekends as several groups of cyclists meet here before riding over to nearby Key Biscayne (come here nearly any time on the weekends and you’re likely to see more than a few vehicles with empty bike racks on them). They have a fairly utilitarian set of restrooms and a water fountain near the main entrance to this park, a basketball court, a playground, lots of open space and several picnic benches, shelters and shaded grassy areas for picnicking or just relaxing, reading a book or taking in the beautiful scenery. As other reviewers have mentioned, the park itself and most shelters are right on the water (there is a retaining wall between the shelters and the bay, and a small drop between the retaining wall and the water, so you cannot swim here) and would be a great place to come with some friends or family to hang out, barbecue and toss a ball around for a while. Also, the last few times I’ve been here on the weekends, there were always some more quiet places to go if you’re looking for a romantic spot to come for a picnic or to spend an afternoon.
Nearly every time I’ve passed this place, there has been a marked police car with an officer near the entrance, so security is not a concern. Also, if you’ve not been here in a while, it should be noted that they’ve made some recent upgrades to the basketball court, the playground area (including the installation of rubber ground padding in case of falls), and an exercise and fitness area as well. — See the photos I’ve posted for this listing.
Wainwright Park is another one of those hidden gems in our city. This one seems to be even lesser known than some others, as nearly every time I’ve been here, even on the weekends, it’s never been overrun with people or had all the shelters filled.

I’ve loved coming to this park for many years. The view of the bay is beautiful, especially considering that this park is FREE. You know what they say, you can’t beat F-​R-​E-​E!!!
This park has been my refuge when feeling sad and confused, it’s been the place I come to when in need of photographic inspiration and recently it has been where I come with my someone special when we need some time away from the hustle and bustle of the day to day.
Recently they updated their playground and added an adult workout area. Miami could benefit from more parks like this one around town.

A great little park just North of Viscaya that not to many have heard about. It has a bball court that gets pretty crowded during happy hour with brickell-​ites The park has a great view due to it being right on the water. The have a bunch of benches and little huts for parties or picnics — they have one really big shelter that is great for big parties — I actually had a bday party here a couple years ago and it was awesome. The sand bottom playground is a kid favorite.
My favorite aspect of this park is as a launch site for a bike ride on the Rickenbacker Causeway. The loss of a star is due to lack of parking, if you do not get there early you will be SOL