The Redlands and Homestead: The Outback of Miami

The Vibe

For a hundred years, the vast Redland - as close to the tropics as mainland Florida gets - has been the outback of cosmopolitan Miami.

The same winters that fill ritzy hotels with wealthy escapists from around the world fill America's market basket with beans, cukes and peppers tended by Mexican farmhands an hour south in the rich, red soil built up over eons by the Everglades.

Now change jostles continuity. In the Redlands and Homestead, the bumpkin and worldly come together. Less a clash, more a dance. Think South Beach meets Yeehaw Junction to a mariachi beat.

The History

Homestead feels like a town best approached in slow mode. Like a century plant, its flowering has been long coming.

Henry Flagler staged his over-Keys railroad here in the early 1900s, then drained the land, which he sold to farmers. A hurricane in 1935 swept the railroad away. It was soon replaced by road.

Construction of the Homestead Air Force Base boomed the WWII economy. Dedication of Everglades National Park in 1947 supplied visitor appeal. Biscayne National Park added to that in 1980. By 1974, the extension of Florida's Turnpike to Homestead had already launched subdivisions that reached north as Miami sprawled south. Then in 1992, Hurricane Andrew tore the place apart. Thousands fled. NAFTA hurt, too, by opening America to cheap food imports, devastating traditional Redland crops.

Through Federal grants, Homestead and adjacent Florida City began re-building. The town's revival gained appeal when other Miamians, bred to the arts, gave up on fast-changing South Beach. They leapfrogged South Dade suburbs for a chance at once more shaping new urban style.

A Pedaling Paradise

The area is ideal for one of South Florida’s quieter pleasures: bicycling through the Redland farming district. The roads wind past groves, nurseries, fruit stands, and old homesteads where the landscape still feels distinctly rural. In winter, cyclists pedal beneath blooming fields and roadside produce markets; in summer, mango season perfumes the air. Flat terrain and broad skies make for easy riding, while the slow pace reveals a side of Miami-Dade County many visitors never see — one shaped more by tractors and tropical fruit than traffic and towers.

If you can, visit by pedaling through the Redland’s century of history, emerging from fields into the town that opens beautifully along Krome Avenue. Unkempt swales give way to flanks of royal palms, and the transition from farmland to small-town streets feels gradual and surprisingly graceful.

Exploring Homestead and the Redlands

Strolling the Historic District

In Homestead’s Historic District, cyclists can lock their bikes to the royal palms that shade antique shops, local restaurants, and the town’s historical museum. The area invites lingering, with old storefronts and shaded sidewalks that recall an earlier South Florida.

Here, the historic Seminole Theatre has been restored as a performing arts center, adding music, theater, and community events to downtown life.

Florida City’s Historic Stops

It’s an easy pedal or quick drive through the overlap between Homestead and Florida City to the Florida City Farmers Market, known for its country-style restaurant and fresh local produce. Nearby, the Florida Pioneer Museum and Village occupies the original 1904 Florida East Coast Railway depot and Station Agent’s House, preserving the area’s railroad and pioneer heritage.

Gateway to the Everglades

Heading toward Everglades National Park, the roadside fills with Mexican markets and family-owned restaurants reflecting the region’s multicultural character. Along the route sits Everglades Hostel, long popular with bicyclists and international travelers, as well as the beloved Robert Is Here fruit stand, a colorful institution packed with tropical fruit, milkshakes, preserves, and roadside charm.

Orchids and Tropical Gardens

In the Redland and Homestead area, non-traditional agriculture has bloomed anew. The region has become an international center for orchid cultivation, with growers such as R.F. Orchids welcoming visitors for tours and events. Meanwhile, the Redland Tropical Gardens and Botanical Foundation is developing specialty gardens devoted to medicinal, jungle, and tropical plants – and it delivers a blockbuster venue for a wedding or special celebration.

More Things to do in the Redlands and Homestead area

Knaus Berry Farm and Bakery is a Redland institution, drawing long lines each winter for its famous sticky buns, cinnamon rolls, fresh strawberries, and milkshakes. Open seasonally, the family-run farm market captures the old-fashioned roadside charm that still defines much of the area.

Schnebly Redland’s Winery promises one of the area’s most distinctive experiences: wine crafted not from grapes, but from tropical fruits grown in South Florida. Set amid waterfalls, tiki huts, and lush landscaping, the winery produces labels made from mangoes, lychees, passion fruit, guava, and avocado. Tastings, live music, and weekend gatherings have helped make it both a tourist destination and a favorite local gathering spot in the Redland.

Fruit & Spice Park celebrates the agricultural richness of South Dade with tropical fruits, rare plants, and shady groves that feel worlds away from Miami’s urban rush.

Coral Castle remains one of Florida’s enduring mysteries: a fantastical sculpture garden carved from massive coral rock by a single man and now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Monkey Jungle flips the usual zoo experience upside down, allowing visitors to walk through habitats while monkeys roam freely overhead.

Everglades Alligator Farm offers a louder, wilder introduction to the Everglades, with airboat rides and close encounters with hundreds of alligators.

Nearby, Homestead-Miami Speedway supplies the roar of NASCAR and IndyCar racing. The Speedway, of course, is for a dose of what’s loud; bicycles are for what’s not.