Matheson Hammock - Miami Waterkeeper

Miami, Florida

This site is sponsored by Bass Pro Shops & Cabela's Outdoor Fund, a proud partner of Miami Waterkeeper. Please click the link at the bottom of the photo above to read more about the programs they have to support local watersheds across the nation.

Matheson Hammock is a Miami-Dade County park located adjacent to Fairchild Botanical Gardens in Coral Gables, Florida. The first public park in Miami-Dade County, Matheson Hammock was created in 1930 after the Matheson family donated 85 acres to Miami-Dade County "to preserve the wild and natural beauty." The park operates a marina, restaurant, boat ramps, and other facilities; swimmers and waders can enjoy a man-made atoll pool connected to Biscayne Bay popular with children and families.

Water Quality
  • Passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time

  • Historical Status
  • This status is based on the latest sample, taken on May 31st, 2023. Miami Waterkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on June 6th, 2023 at 8:48 PM.
For water quality icon legend, click:  
Monitoring Frequency

Matheson Hammock - Miami Waterkeeper is sampled weekly from January 1st to December 31st.

Source Information

Miami Waterkeeper (www.miamiwaterkeeper.org), a local nonprofit focused on ensuring clean water, enters Swim Guide data for Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. Water quality results displayed at this location were collected by Miami Waterkeeper’s weekly Water Quality Monitoring program. Samples are collected on Mondays with results available Tuesdays. Miami Waterkeeper may resample a beach on subsequent days if a water quality issue is detected.

Some sites are also sampled later in the week (typically Thursdays) by Surfrider Foundation Miami Chapter (https://miami.surfrider.org).

Miami Waterkeeper collects weekly recreational water samples to test for levels of enterococci, a type of bacteria that indicates that pathogenic bacteria and viruses associated with fecal pollution may be present. These bacteria are known as fecal indicator bacteria (FIB). Analysis of samples takes 24 hours to culture before results are available. All local sampling programs on Swim Guide also use the thresholds for water quality as written in the Florida Administrative Code, based on the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria: Good= 0-35 CFU/MPN enterococci / 100 mL of marine water; Moderate= 36-69 CFU/MPN enterococci / 100 mL of marine water; and Poor= 70 CFU/MPN or greater enterococci / 100 mL of marine water. Swim Guide uses a color system to quickly indicate water quality; green=Good, yellow=Moderate, and red=Poor. Clicking the pie chart icon will reveal a summary of the prior yearly or monthly pass/fail data. A sampling location is marked GREY when no current or reliable monitoring information is available.

Miami Waterkeeper will mark a beach as “RED” on Swim Guide after a single failed test is reported. These conservative advisories inform vulnerable people (children, elderly, and the immunocompromised) who have elevated health risks due to water quality at the beach.
Miami Waterkeeper will also mark a beach as "Special Status" if information comes from other sources indicating that the water is unsafe, for example, a sewage leak, red tide, or oil spill. If data is more than a week old, sites will show a historical record of water quality data from a given site.

Miami Waterkeeper’s Water Quality Monitoring program is run by full-time investigators and staff that sample common recreation sites on a weekly basis to keep you informed about your local water quality. This program aims to sample locations not currently sampled by the Florida Healthy Beaches (FHB) program in an attempt to fill in gaps in local water quality monitoring. Visit Miami Waterkeeper at www.miamiwaterkeeper.org/water_monitoring or email hello@miamiwaterkeeper.org if you have any additional questions or to view a complete set of monitoring data.

Read more
Water Quality Graph

Matheson Hammock - Miami Waterkeeper

Miami, Florida

Water Quality
  • Passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time
  • Historical Status
  • This status is based on the latest sample, taken on May 31st, 2023. Miami Waterkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on June 6th, 2023 at 8:48 PM.
For water quality icon legend, click:  

This site is sponsored by Bass Pro Shops & Cabela's Outdoor Fund, a proud partner of Miami Waterkeeper. Please click the link at the bottom of the photo above to read more about the programs they have to support local watersheds across the nation.

Matheson Hammock is a Miami-Dade County park located adjacent to Fairchild Botanical Gardens in Coral Gables, Florida. The first public park in Miami-Dade County, Matheson Hammock was created in 1930 after the Matheson family donated 85 acres to Miami-Dade County "to preserve the wild and natural beauty." The park operates a marina, restaurant, boat ramps, and other facilities; swimmers and waders can enjoy a man-made atoll pool connected to Biscayne Bay popular with children and families.

Monitoring Frequency

Matheson Hammock - Miami Waterkeeper is sampled weekly from January 1st to December 31st.

Source Information

Miami Waterkeeper (www.miamiwaterkeeper.org), a local nonprofit focused on ensuring clean water, enters Swim Guide data for Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. Water quality results displayed at this location were collected by Miami Waterkeeper’s weekly Water Quality Monitoring program. Samples are collected on Mondays with results available Tuesdays. Miami Waterkeeper may resample a beach on subsequent days if a water quality issue is detected.

Some sites are also sampled later in the week (typically Thursdays) by Surfrider Foundation Miami Chapter (https://miami.surfrider.org).

Miami Waterkeeper collects weekly recreational water samples to test for levels of enterococci, a type of bacteria that indicates that pathogenic bacteria and viruses associated with fecal pollution may be present. These bacteria are known as fecal indicator bacteria (FIB). Analysis of samples takes 24 hours to culture before results are available. All local sampling programs on Swim Guide also use the thresholds for water quality as written in the Florida Administrative Code, based on the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria: Good= 0-35 CFU/MPN enterococci / 100 mL of marine water; Moderate= 36-69 CFU/MPN enterococci / 100 mL of marine water; and Poor= 70 CFU/MPN or greater enterococci / 100 mL of marine water. Swim Guide uses a color system to quickly indicate water quality; green=Good, yellow=Moderate, and red=Poor. Clicking the pie chart icon will reveal a summary of the prior yearly or monthly pass/fail data. A sampling location is marked GREY when no current or reliable monitoring information is available.

Miami Waterkeeper will mark a beach as “RED” on Swim Guide after a single failed test is reported. These conservative advisories inform vulnerable people (children, elderly, and the immunocompromised) who have elevated health risks due to water quality at the beach.
Miami Waterkeeper will also mark a beach as "Special Status" if information comes from other sources indicating that the water is unsafe, for example, a sewage leak, red tide, or oil spill. If data is more than a week old, sites will show a historical record of water quality data from a given site.

Miami Waterkeeper’s Water Quality Monitoring program is run by full-time investigators and staff that sample common recreation sites on a weekly basis to keep you informed about your local water quality. This program aims to sample locations not currently sampled by the Florida Healthy Beaches (FHB) program in an attempt to fill in gaps in local water quality monitoring. Visit Miami Waterkeeper at www.miamiwaterkeeper.org/water_monitoring or email hello@miamiwaterkeeper.org if you have any additional questions or to view a complete set of monitoring data.

Read more
Water Quality Graph

  Beach Location Water Quality
Key Biscayne, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Key Biscayne, Florida
Swim Guide
is supported by
* The RBC Foundation

Swim Guide shares the best information we have at the moment you ask for it. Always obey signs at the beach or advisories from official government agencies. Stay alert and check for other swimming hazards such as dangerous currents and tides. Please report your pollution concerns so Affiliates can help keep other beach-goers safe.

Swim Guide, "Swim Drink Fish icons," and associated trademarks are owned by SWIM DRINK FISH CANADA. See Legal.

© SWIM DRINK FISH CANADA, 2011 - 2023