Best Ways to Play in Miami

This is a city closely bound up with the sea it sits besides, and no doubt it’s also those waters and miles of sand beaches that draw many to it. You can get out on the water in a variety of ways in proximity to the city shores, whether it be jet skiing in Biscayne Bay or sailing Miami Harbor. On practically every beach you visit, you will find concessions operating water skiing; the leading beachfront hotels along Collins Avenue offer parasailing lessons, and many have Jet Ski, windsurfing and other sport. If you are staying at a beachfront property, check ahead with your hotel concierge about available activities on their stretch of beach, or nearby operators that you can contact to reserve equipment or sessions from.

Different locations in and around Miami produce some very different conditions for water sport.

Windsurfing, for instance: Biscayne Bay off Rickenbacker Causeway has winds that usually blow side-onshore, and the water stays fairly shallow, allowing even a beginner to walk his way back to shore if necessary. If you want to go further a field, however, continue toward Key Biscayne and spots like Hobie Beach, where operators can provide you a two-hour lesson if you are new to the sport for about $70. After that, you can rent your own board by the hour. The drive down toward Key Biscayne is itself an experience as you gain a fantastic view of Miami’s skyline and closer by beneath you, the water’s surfaces alive with sailboats of all kinds, jet skiers, or just people fishing from the boats. The biggest collections of rental outlets for jet skis are to be found at Virginia Key on the way to Key Biscayne.

Getting you on your way to either dive, surf, or windsurf adventure are plenty of well-equipped private operators around the city and its outer areas. South Beach Divers, for instance, is a renowned PADI Five Star facility located in the heart of South Beach and within walking distance to most hotels; this small but full-service shop provides diving gear and instruction from which you can easily receive your certification over the course of a weekend. They’ve also begun to cater extensively to the surfing crowd, with a full range of all the top surfboards and accessories; they offer surf lessons as well and there’s even a 24 hour surf report that is updated daily. If you already a die hard surfer able to take off on your own, you will find that while this coastal area of south Florida does not have the powerful waves and cross-currents to match those along the Pacific coast, there are still some respectable surfing conditions out there. Head just north of Miami Beach, where the swells at Haulover Beach and South Pointe Beach are the largest and most popular. A little closer to the city, some windy days can see five to seven foot waves roll in off the beach between First and Third Streets in the South Beach area.

 
Not all outdoor activity on water has to be done right out in the neighboring Atlantic, of course—this is a city with its own urban and suburban waterways and canals to paddle through: Miami-Dade Parks also has canoe trips that explores some of the more interesting wildlife aspects of these: for instance, with a trip into the historic Oleta River which forms the eastern boundary of Greynolds Park. The trip includes a stop at a tropical hardwood hammock and Tequesta Indian midden in East Greynolds Park. Another canoe outing takes you through the Coral Gables Waterway--the same historic canals that gondoliers once used to ferry guests from the Biltmore Hotel to the bay for a day at the beach. Relive this experience where you may see a surprising amount of wildlife. If you have the time to go further a field, then you might look into the canoeing available on a day trip to the Everglades or Loxahatchee River preserves which are just about an hour’s drive from the city. Flamingo, deep in Everglades National Park is another great spot for naturalist-led adventures as well as world-class fishing on Florida Bay. The eight-mile stretch of Loxahatchee River that begins in Riverbend Park meanders through cypress trees, while otters, turtles, and alligators are all resident in the waters here. More than a third of Everglades National Park is made up of marine areas and shallow estuaries, and that means thousands of acres of shallow water flats, channels, and mangrove keys in which to fish for the plentiful snapper, sea trout, redfish, bass and bluegill.