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Where
else could you go in the continental US and find a
tropical island loaded with miles of white sand beaches
lined with real, honest to goodness coconut palms,
that lies 2 miles offshore of one of the nations largest
cities?
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| Looking
west toward Coconut Grove |
The answer is nowhere,
for Key Biscayne is unique in all the US as being
the one and only of its kind. Made famous by Richard
Nixon for his "Key Biscayne White House,"
the island is three miles long by a mile wide, of
which over 50% of which is taken up by Crandon Park
that contains the largest stand of coconut palms in
the continental US.
For the cruising yachtsman
heading south for the winter, Key Biscayne offers
a bit of paradise in the shadow of the city in a state
that's now become known for its overcrowding, traffic
jams and seemingly endless sprawl of shopping malls
and tourist traps. A great place to spend a day or
two imaging that you're traveled long and far to some
remote Caribbean island where about the only thing
that will damage your illusion is when you turn to
face west where the skyline of the city of Miami can't
be missed.
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| Rounding
the bend, the city soon disappears from sight
and you are greeted by scenes like this. |
Key
Biscayne is actually the third island in the chain
that makes up the Florida keys. Just to the south
is the Biscayne Flats and Stiltsville, a small community
of houses built on pilings seeming out in the ocean.
A tad east and south of the Flats, Biscayne National
Park begins, the only tropical underwater park in
the US, and the home of some marvelous coral gardens.
The island can be explored
either on a day trip, or on an overnighter as there
are two good public marinas that are close to Crandon
Park which is on the north end, while the Village
of Key Biscayne occupies the south end. Plus there
are plenty of protected anchorages. From the marina,
you can bicycle or dinghy to any of the beaches or
the park.
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| The
sail boat mooring at Crandon Marina. |
The park is nothing
short of beautiful. It once had an almost incredible
stand of stately coconut palms that was wiped out
by a disease in the early 80's. These were replanted
with a disease resistant type and the palms have made
a remarkable comeback. The park represents a good
balance between the natural and the man-made as hidden
within is a golf course and tennis courts, and
of course, numerous public beaches that I rate as
the best to be found in Florida.
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| Eastern
shoreline just off the beach. The natural vegetation
hasn't been bulldozed and covered in concrete
as in most other Florida locations. |
The waters off the
beaches slope gently and are shallow and quite warm,
with water temperatures like bathtub water in summer,
the mid 70's in winter. Not just wide expanses of
sand, the park jungle comes down close to the water's
edge, giving you the sense that you have just stepped
out of the jungle and onto the beach, or vice versa.
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| Mangrove
areas on the West side. |
Tropical jungle is
what Crandon Park is all about. The west shore consists
of mangrove marshes while the east shore has the high
ground. Numerous pathways and open areas are sculpted
out of the jungle that allows for some interesting
nature walks. But beware, the mosquitoes can be fierce,
and so is the tropical sun. The recommended clothing
for a day on the island is not kaki shorts and a polo
shirt. Long sleeved tropical whites offer protection
from both the sun and the bugs.
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| Monsoon
rains create a temporary lake. |
The
best time to visit the island is on weekdays, for
being so close to the city it is a popular weekend
retreat for locals. On Saturday mornings, the line
up at the causeway toll both gets to be a half mile
long and six lanes wide. If you have crowd phobia,
weekdays are the time to go when the beaches will
be almost deserted. Off season weekdays (July-November)
is like having the place all to yourself.
The village itself doesn't
offer much to do or see, but if you've got bicycles
aboard, it's about a 20 minute pedal from Crandon Marina
into the village where you'll find a decidedly Cuban
influence and several Cuban cafeterias that are worth
trying out. Though you'll hear Spanish mostly spoken,
most residents are bilingual. If you dare to hit the
place on weekends, be prepared to feel like you're in
Cuba.
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| An
open air Cuban restaurant creates
a Latin ambiance. |
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| Entering
the village |
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One
of the more fun things to do is to take a dinghy excursion
around the island where you can explore the mangroves
around the back side, or the shallow waters on the
Atlantic side. While it appears that you're out in
the open Atlantic on the east side, actually this
area is like a lagoon, protected by the offshore reef.
Heading out to Biscayne
National Park offers some very worthwhile scuba diving
and snorkeling. This area is dotted with shallows
and coral heads and should only be approached with
calm waters and someone aboard who can read the water.
Navigation among the reefs is strictly visual.
Key
Biscayne Area Chart
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