After changing clothes in our hotel, we hustled to the beach. We were anxious, as South Beach’s beaches are famous for their pristine sands, emerald waters, and strutting model wannabees.
One of the first things you’ll notice about many of South Beach’s beaches is the fabulous, dramatic entryways they offer. For example, this curving courtyard takes you from the major, car-filled thoroughfare of Ocean Drive to the quiet beach in about 60 seconds. You can literally hear the sounds of the city fading away, being replaced by the sounds of the waves. It’s like a real-life Corona commercial.
Once on the beach, I skedaddled straight to the water to look and feel it. It was so clear… but a bit cool.
I turned and saw how crowded the beach was.
Into the horizon, there were people everywhere.
I referred to this sign-less, nameless stretch of beach as “Lincoln Road Beach.” Just north of flashier and trendier Lummus Park Beach, and just south of smaller, quieter Collins Beach, Lincoln Road Beach is family-friendly and tourist-intensive.
Some people had encouraged us to go to Haulover Beach — several miles north — for some beach time. However, Lincoln Road Beach was close to the hotel, which was very appealing. Moreover, the north part (and only the north part) of Haulover is an officially-recognized naturist beach. In other words, it’s clothing-optional. My previous clothing optional-beach experience had been icky — lots of men cruising past, sizing me up — so we decided to avoid that.
In any event, this beach was nice, and the sun felt good on my face and back. Though there were a number of college-aged girls sunning themselves, there were no topless Saline Machines wandering around, like CSI: Miami would have you believe. As soon as I laid down, I fell asleep; if you want to see more of what the local beaches look like, check out Miami Photo Meetup or Miami Travel Photo.
If you don’t want to head to Lummus park, Lincoln Road, or Collins Park, there are a number of beaches in greater Miami. At the end of the weekend, our favorite turned out to be Key Biscayne’s Crandon Park Beach. But more on that later.
Previously: Weekend In Miami: The Greenview Hotel