Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park Mountain Biking Trails

Ponce de Leon named this area “Cape of Florida” when he led the first Spanish expedition to Florida in 1513.

The Cape Florida lighthouse, the park’s best-known feature, was completed in 1825 but was damaged during the Second Seminole War. The repaired tower, completed in 1846, remains the oldest standing structure in Miami-Dade County. Tours of the 95-foot lighthouse and the keeper’s house museum are available.

The island served as a secret meeting place and port for runaway slaves and Black Seminoles waiting to rendezvous with sea captains or board dugouts for a passage to safety in the British Bahamas. Although the lighthouse was built to save lives and ships, its unflinching light brought an end to this avenue of escape. In September 2004, Cape Florida was designated a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Site.

In 1992, Hurricane Andrew uprooted a forest of non-native Australian-pine trees that
dominated the landscape and left the park nearly treeless. The storm provided land managers the opportunity to restore the park’s native plant communities. Today, a variety of natural habitats, from mangrove forest to maritime hammock, can be seen at Cape Florida.

Depending upon the season, more than 50 butterfly species and 170 bird species may be seen at the park. The peregrine falcon, piping plover and American crocodile regularly take refuge here. Loggerhead sea turtles nest along
the beach each summer. Green sea turtles and Florida manatees often graze in the seagrass beds offshore.