Florida Beach Getaways 2008

James Deering of Vizcaya owned part of the Key. At Crandon, nature tourism opportunities are abundant, including native plant tours (look for the native Biscayne prickly ash). Visitors can canoe through the mangroves by beginning their trip at the park’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center. Tours take vistors to dunes, beaches, coastal hammocks and the island’s fossil-rock reefs. Also at the park are the Crandon Park Beach Gardens. The gardens are remnants of the Miami Metrozoo, which moved from Key Biscayne in 1962. A group of volunteers later took over the site and restored the remaining gardens, including lakes and forests. At the park (and also a remnant of the zoo era) is the Crandon Park Beach Amusement Center. It features a splash fountain, playground and historic carousel. The carousel, built in 1949 by the Allen Herschell Company, is decorated with dolphins and pirates, and is fully restored. Concerned about overdevelopment of the island’s southern tip, Bill Baggs, a local newspaper editor, was successful in the 1960s in organizing a grassroots movement to create a park on Key Biscayne. The Bill Baggs State Recreation Area is a rustic park ﬁlled with boardwalks and nature trails where visitors can rent kayaks, sailboats, paddleboats, jet skis and even windsurfers. Eighteen covered pavilions provide shaded picnicking overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. The jewel of the park is the 1825 Cape Florida lighthouse, rebuilt in 1846 after it was burned by Native Americans during the Seminole war. Today, visitors can climb its 109 steps during twice-daily tours for a panoramic view of Miami and Biscayne Bay. The lighthouse isn’t the only thing historic about the park. Cape Florida was a secret meeting place and port for runaway slaves who were escaping the United States. To honor this history, the National Park Service designated Cape Florida as a National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Site. Exploring bike-friendly Key Biscayne What to do on Key Biscayne Catch the sunset and great city views at the Rusty Pelican, a barebones outdoor café with maritime decor. It’s a local favorite, offering a marvelous view of Miami (3201 Rickenbacker Causeway; 305-3613818). Other good eats are at Sundays on the Bay, with open-air dining overlooking a busy marina (5420 Crandon Blvd., 305-361-6777). Locals ﬁnd Cuban food at La Carreta, 12 Crandon Blvd., 305-365-2277. There are two hotels on the island. There is the Ritz–Carlton (455 Grand Bay Drive, 305-365-4500) and the Silver Sands Ocean Front, an oldfashioned cabana-style motel with kitchenettes (301 Ocean Drive, 305361-5441). Find more information at KeyBiscayneChamber.org. Heritage bicycle tours, kayaking and snorkeling are run by Miami-Dade County EcoAdventures. Call 305-3653018, go to www.miamidade.gov/parks to see a video on the offerings, or email ECOAdventures@miamidade.gov. Canoe through the mangroves at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center, offering hands-on marine exploration among dunes, beaches, coastal hammocks, and fossil-rock reefs, Key Biscayne’s own underwater petriﬁed forest (4000 Crandon Blvd., 305-361-6767). Looking to take part in some more traditional Florida sports? Play tennis at the Crandon Park Tennis Center (7300 Crandon Blvd., 305365-2300). Or enjoy a round of golf at Crandon Park. Its sculpted fairways rank it among the top 50 public courses in Florida (6700 Crandon Blvd., 305-361-9129). Nixon Arrives Post World War II development did eventually hit the island. In the early 1950s, Key Biscayne had a building boom, evidence of which can be seen today in the peculiar houses called “Mackles.” Named after the developer who built them, these modest Florida slab houses were uniformly 1,200 square feet and about $10,000. Although many have since been replaced by fancier digs because of property values, the remaining ones can be spotted by visitors because of their low-pitched roofs. Key Biscayne was the site of that famous meeting between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy after Kennedy beat Nixon in the 1960 election. Nixon later bought a simple, concrete, onestory house in the area in 1969. It was the ﬁrst of three waterfront houses that together would become the compound dubbed the Winter White House. In the shadow of busy Miami, Key Biscayne remains a world unto itself. Golf carts cause the only trafﬁc jams. The parks and beaches are stunning (Cape Florida is ranked among America’s top beaches by geologist “Dr. Beach,” Stephen Leatherman). The Key Biscayne Heritage Trail offers views of bicyclists and runners crisscrossing the island, surfers visible offshore and an occasional cruise ship passing in the distance. Photos courtesy of Key Biscayne Chamber of Commerce and Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. Beach Getaways 19 http://KeyBiscayneChamber.org http://www.miamidade.gov/parks

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Florida Beach Getaways 2008 Contents Shorts: Sea Schools, Beach Events Travel File: Boat Tours Books: On the Water Deals: Seasonal Florida List: Lifeguard Stands Water: St. Lucie Inlet Key Biscayne Redington Beach Others: Ad Index Others: Florida Map Looking Back: Casinos

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