Janine Rice chose a state park just north of Dania Beach to say goodbye to her father.
In July 2021, the now 58-year-old children’s rights attorney hosted Donald Rice’s celebration of life at the coastal Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula State Park after discovering the spot shortly after his passing. Ever since, she’s been a regular of its beach and trails, sometimes visiting every morning — with a cup of coffee in hand, she starts her day among peaceful tides and memories.
Originally from Maryland, Rice would come to Florida with her family as a young child, visiting the coast from Fort Lauderdale to the Keys. Her father was once a competitive swimmer, so a connection to water was always a part of their lives.
Janine Rice, a former scuba instructor, bought a state park pass for its salty breeze and sea grape-lined paths. But when her city of Dania Beach floods, the park gets a bulk of the hit. The standing water blocks cars from entering, and the beach is out of her reach.
“It’s tragic,” said Rice. “I’m not frustrated in a selfish, kind of personal, ‘Darn it, I didn’t get to go to my happy place today.’ It’s more like, if this keeps up, no one’s going to be able to enjoy this beauty.”
Rice said the flooding in her area has been getting worse in recent years, recounting how this year she had seen a sign for the first time informing residents that king tides are flooding out the roads.
Whether from heavy rainfall or the rise of tides, Florida is more likely to flood than any other state due to its flat landscape. In 2024, the state received an average of 56.82 inches of precipitation, which was 3.17 inches above the historical average. Tidal flooding has also been a growing issue, increasing by 352% across Florida since 2000.
While flooding is extensively covered in the media and discussed by public officials, the issue in local parks often gets less attention, despite the inconvenience to residents and the ecological damage.
Officials at Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula State Park declined to comment.
James H. Goodlet Park in Hialeah is home to various courts, fields, and tracks, and the 28-acre recreational facility is a reliable spot for physically active residents nearby.
German Mata, a 19-year-old Florida International University student and local visitor to the city park for the past eight years, goes to play sports with friends. Mata says that two of the four basketball courts almost completely flood in heavy rain, and that the park’s two artificial turf soccer fields are even worse off.
“It’s frustrating when I want to play soccer and the water has still not gone into the ground to make it possible for me to play,” he said, adding, “It’s kind of hard to play basketball on water.”
For urban parks like Goodlet, Ali Ebrahimian, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Florida International University, finds fault in the consistent use of pavement for the spaces’ flooding.
Flood water can easily be absorbed into the earth with enough time, getting taken in by roots and dirt. However, when heavy rain falls onto a concrete basketball court or sidewalks, for example, it puddles for far longer, with not much hope beyond evaporation to clear the water over time.
“Just compare bare soil, or some green space in your backyard, versus pavement in the street, asphalt,” he explained. “[With] the runoff and rainfall that happens, water can penetrate into the soil and soak into the soil and go down… But if rain falls on the street, on an impermeable surface… it runs off the surface, and it becomes a flood.”
Officials at the City of Hialeah Department of Parks & Community Engagement did not respond to requests for comment on Goodlet park.
Alexander Garrido, 18-year-old student at Florida International University, joined the community of Key Biscayne when his friends started inviting him to their local spot, Crandon Park, one of Miami-Dade’s seven heritage parks — places designated to preserve their historical and cultural value. Now, whenever he has friends coming in from out of town, the county park is his go-to place to take them to.
It’s not always available, though.
“When flooding happens…there’s been times where we flat out just haven’t been able to go, and our entire plans for the entire day was going to the park,” Garrido says.
He added that, when there are higher tides, he can’t even enjoy the park’s beach. Ryan Brewton, Stewardship Area Manager of Crandon Park, shared the same sentiment, stating, “You won’t see any sand left” in a king tide.
“We don’t want to just use parks as a barrier, we want to also have it accessible for everyone to be able to enjoy,” Brewton said. “Parks are, I think, one of the biggest benefits to residents and everyone in terms of health, fitness, placemaking. These are all kind of our strategic objectives for the facility. Also, being good stewards and making sure that we’re providing this space — not only for the residents, but also for the local ecosystems.”
At Crandon Park, Brewton knows the daily walkers, bikers, and long-time visitors from back when the park held a zoo from 1948 to 1980. He’s heard from visitors about both tidal and heavy rain flooding.
“Residents, most of the ones that have been here, are kind of aware,” Brewton added. “They will ask questions on, ‘When do you expect these king tides to go or some of this flooding?’… But most of the time it’s just more of questions like, ‘Hey, what’s going on?’”
When flooding seems unpredictable to visitors, some just don’t risk coming.
“I usually try to time it on a day that it’s like a zero percent chance of rain,” Garrido said. “Anything higher than like 20 percent, I just won’t even plan a day at all.”
Sonia Infante of the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Department, said the department is studying flooding and sea level rise to help analyze the impacts on their county parks.
“We recognize and appreciate that the community relies on County Parks, greenways, and open spaces daily for recreational opportunities,” she said in an email. “We also understand that flooding in local parks can be a concern for residents, especially as it can impact recreational activities… We anticipate implementing key sea level rise improvements and flood mitigation strategies that address flooding at County Park sites, including Crandon, as funding becomes available.”
Miami-Dade isn’t the only county trying to deal with the issue.
“We have to recognize that there is not a strategy where everything’s dry all the time,” said the Chief Resilience Officer of Broward County, Jennifer J. Juradot. “You’ll never design a system that can deal with that volume of water, so there will always be areas and conditions under which, with the right circumstances, there is the potential for flooding.”
“Success is the preservation of our parks, the continued use as a community asset,” Jurado added.
For coastal spots, she referenced a developing project in the department for new seawall installations to preserve shorelines. For urban parks, they’ve moved to integrate more stormwater management to preserve recreational assets.
“Florida’s state parks are designed and managed with resilience in mind, especially in coastal areas where flooding can affect both visitor access and natural resources,” said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Communications Director, Alexandra Kuchta.
She described some choices the department makes to combat flooding — such as raising roads and structures, as well as rebuilding others. “Florida’s state parks experience flooding differently depending on the local landscape, so DEP’s responses are tailored rather than one-size-fits-all,” she said. “In some areas, periodic flooding is part of the natural system. Elsewhere, targeted design changes help reduce impacts on visitors and amenities…These approaches help shorten recovery time and reduce repair costs after storms or flooding.”
