Key Biscayne and Bill Baggs
An 1825 lighthouse, pines, and a beach with no towers behind it.
Duration
3 hrs – 5 hrs
Best time
In the morning
Open
Every day
Entry price
To confirm
The island is linked to Miami by a toll causeway, and Bill Baggs park occupies its southern tip. The Cape Florida lighthouse, built in 1825, is the oldest standing building in the county; it was burned in 1836 during the Second Seminole War.
The beach faces the Atlantic with no buildings behind it — which is what sets it apart from everything else in Miami. The Australian pines that lined the park were flattened by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, and the replanted vegetation is native.
Getting there
Rickenbacker Causeway from Miami, tolled, then the road to the southern tip. Bus 102 from Brickell metro station.
What the price covers
state park entry per vehicle, rate to confirm
Rules on site
Park entry is charged per vehicle and the car park fills early at weekends. The lighthouse is climbed only with a guide, at set times and in dry weather.
Other places in Miami
- South Beach and Ocean DrivePastel art deco fronts facing the Atlantic, with the sand right behind.
- Wynwood Walls and its districtA former warehouse district covered in monumental murals.
- Little Havana and Calle OchoCuban coffee at the counter, the domino games of Máximo Gómez Park and the cigar rollers.
- Everglades National ParkA million and a half hectares of wetland, with alligators a boardwalk away.