PINECREST

 

 

Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay are bustling, family-orientated villages with lots of green space to the southwest of Miami. The communities first grew in the 1930s when Pinecrest’s Parrot Jungle and Gardens became one of the Miami area’s earliest tourist attractions. Parrot Jungle has since evolved into Pinecrest Gardens, a beautiful park with many exotic plants and amenities. Palmetto Bay is nestled between Pinecrest and Biscayne Bay and is adjacent to numerous large waterfront parks and recreation areas.

 

The villages grew in popularity throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, with many ranch-style properties on acre lots being constructed. The real estate mix today includes lavish private residences with grand gardens and pools ensconced in lush tropical vegetation.

 

Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay are home to many prominent individuals, including stars from Miami’s sports teams. These communities are right next to some of the best attractions along the Biscayne Bay waterfront, where there is plenty of shopping and dining. More premier restaurants and retailers are a short distance away in Downtown Miami.

 

Pinecrest Farmers’ Market is held each Sunday in the lush environs of Pinecrest Gardens. The market features vendors selling organic local produce and other gourmet foodstuffs. The Cuban-American Pinecrest Bakery stays open 24 hours a day and serves tempting specialties including delicious Cubano sandwiches, freshly baked cakes and pastries, café con leche, and other hot drinks. Pasion del Cielo Coffee draws on Cuban and other Latin American influences for its wide variety of coffee blends utilizing beans from over a dozen countries. The Original Crab House has been a Pinecrest favorite since the 1980s. This family-run seafood spot offers mouthwatering blue crab and an abundance of other fresh seafood dishes and platters. Just outside Palmetto Bay in neighboring Doral, Pisco y Nazca is a chic Peruvian gastro bar serving flavorful ceviche, pulled pork tostones, and other authentic exotic eats.

 

Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay are close to many other outstanding restaurants in Downtown Miami, South Miami, and Miami Beach. Prime 112 is a premier Miami Beach foodie destination with exceptional dry-aged steaks and specialties such as truffled lobster mac and cheese and Kobe beef sliders. Casa Tua offers exquisite Northern Italian cuisine and wine in a gorgeous dining space housed within a classic Italian villa.

 

The Falls is adjacent to both Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay. This upscale open-air shopping center has over 100 businesses, including Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department stores, numerous fashion brands and boutiques, and a Regal UA movie theater.

 

Pinecrest Gardens features more than 1,000 varieties of flowers, plants, and trees across 20 acres of diverse habitat areas. This beautifully landscaped park occupies the former site of the historic Parrot Jungle eco-adventure attraction. Pinecrest Gardens also has a petting zoo, swan lake, butterfly exhibit, and a children’s playground and a water splash area. Other public parks in Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay offer amenities such as sports and athletics fields, tennis and basketball courts, and scenic lakes.

 

To Palmetto Bay’s immediate east, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and R. Hardy Matheson Preserve provide relaxing greenspace on the Biscayne Bay waterfront. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden covers 83 acres with gorgeous exotic gardens and facilities, including a butterfly house, museum, and learning center. Matheson Preserve stretches over 813 acres with a diversity of rare native ecosystems. Further east of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Matheson Hammock Park offers 630 acres of beautiful bayfront scenery with nature trails, mangrove forests, swamps, and a sandy beach cove with a boat launch.

 

Palmetto Golf Course has 18 challenging holes in a striking setting flanked by trees and canals. A short distance west of Palmetto Bay, Zoo Miami is the United States’ only tropical zoo and the largest zoo in Florida. The zoo is home to 3,000 animals, including elephants, orangutans, giraffes, and white Bengal tigers.

 

Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay have many excellent private and public school options. Its public schools are zoned to the Miami-Dade Public School District. Highlights include: