Oleta River State Park
From Freepedia
Image:Night Heron.jpg Image:Beach at Oleta River State Park.jpg The Oleta River State Park is the largest urban park in the Florida State Park system. The park is located on 1043 acres (4.2 km²) - 993 acres (4.0 km²) of land and 50 acres (0.2 km²) of inland water - on Biscayne Bay, in the northeastern end of the city of North Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida, and adjoins the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University. In some documents, the park is designated as the Oleta River State Recreation Area.
The central feature of this park is the mouth of the Oleta River, for which it is named. The river has drawn human inhabitants to the area since about 500 BCE, when its shores served as a campground for Tequesta Indians. It was used by U.S. troops (who called it Big Snake Creek) in 1841 during the Second Seminole War, and further explored in 1881 by Captain William Hawkins Fulford, whose ventured inland to what is now the city of North Miami Beach. The area became more heavily settled in the 1890s and in 1922, developers changed the name from Big Snake Creek to the Oleta River.
The river itself no longer flows to the Everglades, as it once did, but remains a popular area for canoeing. The park also boasts some of the best wilderness bike trails in the country, and is a frequent host for triathlons and other extreme sports events.
There is a beach on Biscayne Bay, kayak rentals, and primitive cabins.
