Miami Living Magazine features the best Miami has to offer. Click on any magazine below and enjoy. You can download our free app on iTunes. Ideal for iPad and iPhone users.
Issue link: https://digital.miamilivingmagazine.com/i/11585
ML SELECTS Beaches & Water Millions of people flock to South Florida beaches a year. Our beautiful towering palm trees, sunny year-round beach weather, and azure waters, make it hard to resist jumping into your swimsuit and sliding on your D&G shades to hang out alfresco. And living on a peninsula we have a lot of water to offer, check out these out sizzling spots to stay cool or get wet and wild. BEACH 3RD STREET BEACH 3rd St. and Ocean Drive | Miami Beach miamibeachfl.gov 12TH STREET BEACH 12th St. and Ocean Dr. | Miami Beach miamibeachfl.gov BILL BAGGS CAPE FLORIDA 1200 S. Crandon Park Blvd. | Key Biscayne | (305) 361-5811 floridastateparks.org BISCAYNE NATIONAL PARK 9700 SW 328 St. | E. Homestead (305) 230-7275 | nps.gov/bisc BOARDWALK BEACH Collins Ave. from 21st St. to 46th St. | Miami Beach CRANDON PARK 4000 Crandon Blvd. | Key Biscayne (305) 361-5421 HAULOVER PARK BEACH 10800 Collins Ave. and A1A | North Miami Beach (305) 947-3525 HOBIE BEACH South Side of Rickenbacker Causeway before Virginia Key | Miami (305) 361-2833 HOLLYWOOD BEACH A1A and Hollywood Blvd. | Hollywood JIMBO’S PLACE Duck Lake Rd. | Virginia Key Florida (305) 361-7026 | jimbosplace.com JOHN U. LLOYD BEACH STATE PARK 6503 N. Ocean Dr. | Dania Beach (954) 923-2833 | floridastateparks.org HOURS | PARKING Opens at 5am officially closes at 12 am. Metered Parking as well as some public and private pay lots in the area. Open 5am-12am. There is metered parking as well as plenty of pay lots in the area (both public and private). 8am to sunset. Fee: $8 for cars of up to eight people, $4 for single occupant vehicles, and $1 by bicycle or foot. Visitor’s Center: 9am to 5pm. Park closes at 5:30pm. Free parking. 5am-12am. Metered Parking. FACILITIES | ACTIVITIES Lifeguards, showers, paved walkways. SBF FACTOR It’s been called the Brazilian Beach or “Local’s Beach”, and is the best place to get a true look at South Beach. Unfortunately some people may have forgotten part of their swimsuit. Although some may be pleasing to the eye-- this beach is not for the faint of heart. Lifeguards & showers--volleyball courts nearby. This area is officially known as, “Gay Beach” and is typically frequented by men who are into other men. There’s always a game going on at the volleyball courts played by the serious competitors to those looking to just have some fun in the sun. Over one mile of beach is overseen by lifeguards here. The area is equipped with picnic tables, grills, pavilions, playgrounds, canoe and kayak rentals, fishing, lighthouse tours, trails, restrooms and showers. The park offers: boating, fishing, hiking, snorkeling, SCUBA, kayaking, windsurfing, picnic areas, a Visitor’s Center, bookstore, gift shop, and is the host of special events. Featuring a wooden boardwalk and showers— lifeguards are sporadically on duty at this beach. Built in 1825, the lighthouse is the oldest building in Miami-Dade County. On the southeast side, you can get a view of Biscayne Bay’s remaining stilt houses that were built out there in the 1930’s. Most of the park is covered by water, so the best way to see it is by boat. The ranger guide’s glass bottom boast tours provide a great look at both sides of the park. Take the wooden boardwalk along this quiet stretch of beach from Collins Park up to the historic Fontainebleau Hotel, where Frank Sinatra once worked. 8am to Sunset. Fee: $5 vehicle entrance fee. On this two-mile stretch of beach, overseen by lifeguards, you’ll find Visitor Centers, nature tours by foot or tram, trails, kayak rentals, concessions, picnic tables, grills, cabana rentals, and shower and restrooms. Sunrise to sunset. Cars and motorcycles: $4, RV’s and buses: $6 Boat ramp: $8 Sunrise to sunset. Free parking in lots along causeway. Spread out on this 1.5 mile beach are picnic tables, barbeque grills, a marina, concessions, nine-hole golf course, beach shop, kite shop, tennis courts, restrooms and showers. Life guards on duty. Windsurfing, sail boating, and kite-boarding rentals and lessons are offered. Concessions, showers and restrooms are also on-site. Metered Parking and some pay lots. This beach features a 1,600 ft long boardwalk, picnic areas, volleyball, shops, restaurants, bike rentals (as well as bike racks), exercise stations, showers and restrooms—and there are lifeguards on duty. Closes when they feel like quittin’. There is plenty of parking in an adjacent lot or along the road. 8am to sunset. $5 for vehicles with two or more people. $3 for single occupant vehicles. There’s a bit of a marina and beach along with a few picnic tables. The main features are the bocce ball courts, their smoked fish, and cold beer. The park features a boat ramp, fishing, diving, canoeing, nature trails, picnic facilities, as well as restrooms and showers. Formerly a coconut plantation, this beach is revered as one of the best in the world. The beach features a seaside antique carousel, and all types of ecosystems to explore. This is the best of the few remaining public, clothing optional, beaches in the country. They’ve got all kinds of nude fun with activities, like volleyball and soccer. If this is not your scene—the adjoining park is great for kite flying. Known as the “Windsurfer Beach” because of its constant shallow waters and steady winds, you can learn how to windsurf, kite board, and sail here. The eastern end of this area is for dogs, it’s the only beach in town where dogs are allowed. The beachfront boardwalk is comparable to one you might find at Venice Beach or Myrtle Beach—a fun atmosphere with joggers, walkers, cyclists, skaters and various characters amongst typical beach shops and assorted restaurants. You may recognize this place from the movie, “2 Fast 2 Furious” or the Baha Men video for “Who Let the Dogs Out?” Be sure to stop by this colorful collection of waterside shacks, where you can enjoy some of Jimbo’s smoked fish. The 241 acres between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic include Lloyd Beach, a popular nesting area for sea turtles that produce around 10,000 hatchlings a year. Don’t miss the trail through the sub-tropical hammock. MIAMI LIVING 105