Photo courtesy of the Barnacle Society
Barnacle Historic State Park 3485 Main Hwy., Coconut Grove 305-442-6866 Only steps from CocoWalk and the bustling restaurants and shops of Coconut Grove’s entertainment district, Barnacle Historic State Park is the location of the oldest home still in its original location to be built in Miami-Dade. It also happens to be one of the more secluded, quieter parks to discover on one’s own, as the winding, canopied entryway leads to a grassy lawn with a head-on view of Biscayne Bay. Built by Ralph Middleton Munroe, a 20th-century settler of the area who fought off developers seeking to build artificial islands offshore and engineers who wished to pipe raw sewage into the bay, the passion project of a man who loved yachts and boats and, most of all, his Grove home, continues to be enjoyed by visitors today.