A great escape in our own back yard

By Matt Bokor

You don’t have to go far for a quick, therapeutic dose of sun and sea.

Looking recently at my list of things to do and then at the temperature (75), I decided it was too nice an afternoon to take a suit at the tailor, my watch to the jeweler and car to the shop. And forget getting a jump on taxes. (“It’s only February!” I told my annoying inner child.)

What to do? Where to go for an hour or two on this wonderful afternoon?

The beach, of course. South Beach? No, parking is a headache. Key Biscayne? Maybe. Key Largo? Not enough time. Then I remembered Matheson Hammock, barely six miles from my North Gables front door.

Equipped with beach towel, water bottle and the latest New Yorker magazine, I trundled down Old Cutler Road to this 630-acre expanse of mangroves, nature trails, jagged shore, swaying palms and man-made atoll pool.

Greeted by a panoramic view of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline, I found families enjoying picnics; kids shrieking with the thrill of discovery as they scooped up sea critters in small nets; couples, young and old, smiling in the company of their significant other; and bicycles and baby strollers leisurely circling the pool on the asphalt path.

Proud parents snapped photos of their handsome progeny under the coconut palms; young fishermen tried their luck off the jagged rocks. A ray trolled for food in shallow water just offshore as pelicans and seagulls nose-dived to snag their prey farther out.

Watching this theater unfold, I never got around to opening my magazine -- and that’s not a complaint. Quiet and close-by, Matheson Hammock was just what the doctor ordered.

Matheson Hammock Park, part of the Miami-Dade County park system, is at 9610 Old Cutler Rd. in Coral Gables. Admission is $5 per car ($6 on holidays). Open sunrise to sunset. Call 305-665-5475.