146 of 157 places fit
The only public beach in Dubai where dogs are welcome, with bathrooms, changing rooms and showers.
Designated BBQ zones a few steps from five sheltered beaches, so you can swim and grill in one afternoon.
Five sheltered beaches, three pools, BBQ zones and rentable chalets inside one park, with calm lagoon water for small children.
Soft sand and gentle water along the corniche, with showers, toilets, a volleyball court, lifeguards and a 500 m walking track.
Some 60 bird species including flamingos, egrets and herons in Ajman's mangroves.
Ajman's mangrove reserve, about 1 million square metres of mangroves with some 60 bird species including flamingos, egrets and herons.
Designated BBQ spots in a beach park, the legal way to grill by the sea in Dubai.
A flat 7 km track along the beach from the mouth of the Dubai Canal to Burj Al Arab, with rental bikes along the way.
Designated BBQ sites on lawns along Dubai Creek, right in the old city.
A quiet lagoon beach where you can barbecue and have a bonfire while the sun sets over the mangroves.
Shallow, calm lagoon water you can paddle across while still standing, with a sunset over the mangroves and space for a beach BBQ.
Small deserted islands in a calm mangrove lagoon that make good birding, with almost no visitors on weekdays.
Clear, shallow water winding through coastal mangroves and past small islands, with barely anyone there on weekdays.
The beach with the straight view of Burj Al Arab, a surf-only zone and night swimming until midnight.
One of the few beaches in Dubai where you can legally park a caravan or trailer by the sea for up to 30 days.
A quieter city beach with kayak and paddleboard rental and the Dubai skyline across the water.
Barbecue areas under trees in one of Dubai's largest parks, with pools, sports fields and trails for the rest of the day.
Cycling tracks inside a big desert-edge park, with a 1.4 km running track and up to 10 km of trail for a longer ride.
A desert-edge park with a 10 km trail, cycle tracks, a zipline adventure course, pools and BBQ areas all inside one gate.
A city beach with walking, jogging and cycling tracks, play areas and the KOTA skatepark, plus seaside cafes.
Eight viewing decks over a lake and salt flats with 200-plus species recorded, including pink-backed pelicans, flamingos and marbled ducks.
Sharjah's big family park with listed barbecue areas, a duck pond and a mini-zoo.
Dubai Municipality rents fenced desert plots for a whole season, so a family can leave a camp standing and come back every weekend.
A usually quiet stretch of public sand next to Al Hamra Village, good for shell collecting and a picnic.
Desert BBQ on the sand with no booking, 30 to 45 minutes from Downtown.
Desert lakes with eight bird hides and over 360 recorded species, including flocks of several hundred flamingos.
Open desert 30 to 45 minutes from Downtown where a weekend tent needs no permit and you wake up to foxes and birds around the lakes.
An 84 km dedicated cycle track through the desert to the Al Qudra Lakes, with no cars and no junctions.
The closest properly dark desert to Dubai, with dedicated star and sunset observation decks around the lakes.
Camp in traditional Bedouin tents with stargazing and desert views.
A gravel drive past springs, small pools and a restored heritage village with forts and an old falaj, plus a flower farm with a cafe.
The Arabian Wildlife Centre has Arabian leopards, plus an aviary, natural history museum and children's farm in one ticket.
A small waterfall with clear pools a short walk up a stream bed, with frogs, old stone houses and abandoned fields further on.
A managed trail with signage, rest areas and a monitoring system, offering a 2-hour walk to a viewpoint or a 5-hour loop.
Starts at a fort in a mountain village and climbs over old farms and terraces, about 7 km in all.
One of the overnight spots campers use on the Fujairah side of the Hajar, with open ground and no fees.
Ajman's mountain enclave has wadis to walk and picnic in, at higher altitude and with far fewer visitors than Hatta next door.
A gentle wadi walk past a dam to an old hilltop fort, flat enough for small children.
An easy wadi with a dam and an old fort at the end, gentle enough for children.
Ancient petroglyphs on a boulder and circular tombs, with trails to Jebel Raham (7 km) and to Al Hayl castle (9 km return).
A wadi walk past water pools and green vegetation, with a plateau above it where people camp.
A guided one-hour session with telescopes in the Mleiha desert, among the darkest skies within easy reach of Sharjah and Dubai.
A rugged wadi running into the range towards Oman, with a hike that passes a bat cave.
Open dunes a short drive from RAK city where you can spread a blanket under a fairly dark sky.
A 2 km boardwalk floats just above the water through the mangroves, so you see herons and crabs at eye level without getting muddy.
The 2 km boardwalk sits just above the water, so you walk through the mangroves rather than past them.
The boardwalk puts you a few metres from herons fishing in the mangroves, and a ranger-led walk tells you what you are looking at.
Underwater LED lights on the kayak show the fish and roots beneath you as you paddle the channels after dark.
A 9.4 km east-coast corniche with shaded seating, green spaces and tracks for walking and cycling beside the Gulf of Oman.
White sand with a promenade and family seating, plus a separate ladies beach with its own adjoining park.
A Gulf of Oman beach with clear, calm water when the sea is flat, and a small sand cove past Black Rock you can paddle to.
The protected heart of the Khor Kalba mangroves, home to the rare Arabian collared kingfisher and nesting hawksbill and green turtles.
The only easy place to see the Arabian collared kingfisher, in old mangroves on the east coast.
Camp on a long golden sand beach with calm waters for swimming and kayaking.
Dark sand and cooler, clear Gulf of Oman water, with the best snorkelling on the coast around Snoopy Island.
The sunrise departure at 5am puts you in the mangroves behind Reem's towers before the heat and the jet skis.
A guide leads you on routes you would not find alone, including the 8.5 km Hidden Oasis hike.
A popular overnight spot in the mountains near Shawka Dam with flat gravel ground and hiking trails from your tent.
Hike a 19-kilometer loop with panoramic views and a 1,800-meter elevation gain.
A rocky 10 km out-and-back between Shawka Dam and the pools that works for beginners and still gives experienced riders something to do.
Short marked loops around Shawka Dam lead to rock pools that hold water most of the year, about 1 km from the car.
A Hajar valley where the surrounding hills block light from nearby towns, with camping and picnic spots by the dam.
The first pool is deep enough to swim across, and a narrow passage leads about 3 km on to a green oasis at the end.
Viewing platforms along the 3.5 km shaded path look straight over the Mangrove National Park mudflats, where waders feed at low tide.
A fully shaded 3.5 km path, closed to cars, runs along the mangroves and links the island to the mainland.
A shaded 3.5 km promenade with viewing platforms runs right along the edge of Mangrove National Park, free and open around the clock.
Camp overnight on a beach with less salty water, cool temperatures, and views of surrounding mountains.
Hike an 8 km loop trail to summit viewpoints.
A lake in the desert with a 1.4 km running path, a 1.2 km cycle loop, seven playgrounds and lake-view picnic and camping pitches.
Thirteen free, municipality-run pitches with lake or desert views, RVs allowed, and playgrounds and food trucks close by.
Beach glamping 15 minutes from downtown, from basic canvas tents to camper vans and pool villas, so you can camp on a work night.
Dedicated barbecue spots in RAK's biggest park, next to a lake with pedal boats.
RAK's biggest public park, 47 hectares with a lake and pedal boats, a skatepark, a miniature train and dedicated BBQ spots.
RAK's main free public beach, marked by two flamingo statues, with shallow water, volleyball and free parking.
The flat paths along the warm spring channels give you mountain views on a gentle walk, and you can soak your feet afterwards.
Designated barbecue spaces sit on lawns under Jebel Hafit, and you can stay overnight in the camping areas.
Rolling lawns at the foot of Jebel Hafit, fed by natural warm springs you can dip your feet in, with free entry.
An 11.6 km loop with steep climbs and rock scrambling, the hardest marked day hike on Jebel Jais.
An 8.6 km return walk on the upper mountain that ends with views from near the UAE's highest point.
One of the island's long-standing designated barbecue parks, with zones 4 and 5 set aside for grilling.
A designated barbecue park right by the mangroves and the shaded Al Gurm Corniche path, with a playground for the kids.
A long green promenade along the creek where RAK families picnic, jog and cycle at weekends.
Mountain valleys that block city light, about 90 minutes from Dubai, with campsites if you want to stay out late.
A mainland barbecue park near Khalifa City and Al Raha, so residents there skip the drive onto the island.
It is the only real mountain hike in the emirate: about 8.4 km of rock and scree from Green Mubazzarah up to the summit, with Al Ain spread out below.
As the emirate's only mountain it holds rock and cliff birds you will not see on the coast, and the summit road gives you easy viewpoints at every bend.
32.6 km of signposted routes graded green to black, all starting from one car park at Hatta Wadi Hub.
A recreation area built into a mountain village wadi, with a partly shaded trail through the old terraces.
A recreation area in a mountain wadi village, with a partly shaded trail through the village and Al Rafisah Dam's palm-lined walkway nearby.
A managed desert park at the foot of Jebel Hafeet where you can pitch your own tent or take a Bedouin-style or air-conditioned bubble tent, with trails at the door.
The park spreads along 9 km of the mountain's base and its trails pass 5,000-year-old Hafit beehive tombs, so a hike here doubles as a history lesson.
Camping at the foot of the mountain lets you watch the stars with Jebel Hafit blocking Al Ain's glow, and the park sells an easy pitch-your-own-tent spot.
A short climb to the big HATTA letters on the hillside with a view over the dam and the town.
You ride the actual Formula 1 track under floodlights, free, with no cars and a smooth surface the whole way round.
A palm-lined walkway with benches and picnic areas beside a mountain reservoir.
A reservoir ringed by Hajar mountains with a palm-lined walkway, benches and picnic areas.
Free barbecue areas beside a Gulf of Oman beach, open around the clock.
A family beach on the corniche with cafes, food trucks, padel courts, volleyball, playgrounds and a jogging track in one place.
A 3 km crescent of sand under the Hajar mountains with courts, jogging and cycling tracks, picnic gardens and an open-air sea-view theatre behind it.
A marked path from a restored watchtower over two summits, with the Gulf of Oman on one side and the Hajar ridges on the other.
Saadiyat's soft white sand and clear water with loungers and a beach restaurant, and dolphins and turtles sometimes pass offshore.
A trail through 300-year-old mangroves with turtles, crustaceans and birds, and the Bird of Prey Centre next door.
Each booked pitch comes with its own private BBQ area, fire pit and table in the Hatta mountains.
You pitch your own tent on a marked 11 x 9 m plot with its own fire pit, BBQ area and table, with 24-hour security and food trucks a short walk away.
Dubai Municipality's network of 21 mountain bike routes totalling 53 km, colour-graded from beginner to expert and starting at Hatta Wadi Hub.
Mountain bike trails through desert and rock at the foot of Jebel Hafeet, with camping in the same park.
Desert and mountain trails at the foot of Jebel Hafeet with archaeological sites, horse and camel rides and camping.
One of the city's largest parks, with big lawns, a lake and playgrounds a short drive from downtown.
More than 60 species turn up along the mangrove edge, including greater flamingos and western reef herons, 15 minutes from downtown.
The 11.7 km road climb averages about 7 percent over 60 bends and is the summit finish of the UAE Tour, the hardest paved climb in the emirate.
The protected park holds most of the emirate's mangrove forest, and from the promenade you can watch herons and flamingos 15 minutes from downtown for free.
A large central park on the official barbecue list, with space to spread out between grill sessions.
Viewing decks at about 1,250 m, above the coastal haze, with free monthly community stargazing evenings that bring telescopes and guides.
A guide takes you deep into the channels of the national park that you cannot see from the promenade, with a stop for photos.
More than 147,000 date palms over 1,200 hectares, part of Al Ain's UNESCO World Heritage listing, with shady lanes between the plantations.
The palm canopy and running falaj water draw garden birds that never visit the desert outside, and the shade lets you birdwatch in comfort.
Shaded lanes run for kilometres between 147,000 date palms and 3,000-year-old falaj channels, which makes it the one walk in Al Ain you can do in the warmer months.
It is on the municipality's 2026 barbecue list and sits on the Qurm waterfront, so you grill with a sea view.
The old Mushrif Park now has a shade house with 40 plant species, a botanic garden, an animal barn and an 18,000 sq m lawn, and stays open until midnight.
Family Park has two designated barbecue zones (A and B) on the island, so it is the easiest legal grill without leaving the city.
A Bedouin-style village in the dunes with real beds, a pool and fat biking, quad biking and camel treks, for desert nights without pitching a tent.
Two kilometres of lifeguarded city beach with three zones: the free Al Sahil section at Gate 4 and two quieter fenced family sections.
An 8 km dedicated lane runs the length of the Corniche between the sea and the skyline, with Careem Bike docks along it if you do not own a bike.
Five short graded trails (Farfar 0.7 km up to Samar 6 km) let you hike at altitude where it runs several degrees cooler than the coast.
An 800 m Blue Flag beach with calm, shallow water facing Hudayriyat, plus a water sports hut for kayaks and paddleboards.
Twenty-five lakeside picnic sites each come with their own barbecue area, so you are not fighting over one shared grill zone.
A lit 30 km loop through open desert with 8, 16, 20 and 22 km cut-offs, so beginners and racers can share it.
Marsana East stays open for swimming until midnight at weekends, so you can swim after dark when the sand has cooled.
A mountain where Egyptian vultures live, reached by a road that climbs to the top in 20 to 30 minutes.
Free beach camping on Al Dhafra's quiet coast, with a town five minutes away for supplies.
Al Dhafra's only developed beach is free and almost never crowded, with clear turquoise water.
A tagged spot in the Razeen desert near the Empty Quarter with essentially no light pollution, reachable without a 4x4.
A long open shoreline in the far west where you can pitch a tent or park an RV by the sea with nobody around.