crandon park beach

Crandon Park and Beach is truly a hidden gem in Miami. The locals keep this place to themselves for a reason. Quiet and beautiful place to mediate, sleep or have a picnic with family and friends without worry about the pretentious or rowdy people that are associated with Miami Beach. My only negative experience, the beach is really dirty and could go for a good combing in the morning. The Park and Rec department charges to park your car, they should use the money to clean the sand.

We had an excellent family visit to this beautifulpark.The highlight of our visit was the four wheeled bike with steering and the shade for just for $20 for an hour. If you have young child upto age 10, can easily fit into the basket on the bike.There's beutiful garden and peacock shelter where you cansee many beutiful and friendly peacocks around you and you can ride your four wheeled bike into the garden. The park entry for the whole day is just $5. The quality of water and blue colour is just as good as Bahamas. PLEASE DO NOT MISS THIS IF YOU'RE IN MIAMII.

Pay $5 for all-day parking, spend the morning on the beach under palm trees for shade, lunch time at one of the many, many, picnic tables, and the afternoon walking through the bird sanctuary. At the beach and picnic area there are clean restrooms and outdoor showers to rinse off. In the bird sanctuary we saw peacocks, ducks, geese, ibis, and cranes; all close enough to get great photos.

so many things to do kayak kite surf, canoe, bike ride swim and one of the last natural beaches left worth taking picnick and spent the day

This park is well maintained and a great place to take very small children to play in the sand and water. We went on a week day so the place was empty. There is a roller skating area, an old zoo that is a little spooky because it is so empty, but has lots of nice birds. We didn't eat at the concession stand, but it's nice to know it's there.

Based on all of the recommendations for this beach we visited it. It was gross, littered with trash and butts. We also saw the police questioning people and it made us a little nervous. It seems like maybe in the 90s this was a nice park .Now it has been let go. It cost us a few dollars to cross the bridge to get into key bisycayne and seven dollars to get in the park. I would not go back or recommend it to anyone else.

Water was so frightening and smelled. This video is closest I've come to what I experienced June 2014. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW4ZdF0W8vI

Loved it here, stumbled upon it. Lovely beach with loungers and parasols, BBQ areas and sports facilities. Huge car park and only 5$ entry for the car. Really enjoyed my day.

I visited Miami in January, 2015, and spent a day walking Crandon State Park and Virginia Key to see a little Miami nature and take sunset pics. Here are my thoughts:PROs: -Close to downtown Miami - 20 minutes or so by car (with minimal traffic).- Easy to access by car or public transportation. I took the metro people mover from downtown to Brickel, then the Key Biscayne bus B to Key Biscayne and exited at Crandon. *Be aware that the wait for the bus was 50 minutes; it is a limited, long bus route and the wait can be quite long. - I'm not sure if there is an entrance fee to Crandon State Park. The point at which I entered (from the golf course across the highway), it was free public access. I liked Crandon better than Virginia Key. Crandon had more variety of scenery, hiking trails, and better beaches. - There is a natural reserve (free) inside the Crandon Park and it is worth visiting for several reasons:-friendly visitor center- There are a few short hiking trails which allow visitors to see birds and indigenous plants and trees. These trails are fairly well-marked and contain informative signs-There appeared to be a bike trail, though it seemed that half the loop had eroded and was closed- the scenery is pretty and varied- within the reserve, is the jewel of all of Key Biscayne -the beach with the sandbar. The visitor's center staff will explain how to find it - it's just inside the reserve to the right. - This is a raised "shelf" of ocean floor which visitors can swim out to and walk along at thigh depth (in high tide). - At low tide, one may walk out on the sandbar directly from the beach. -The water is very shallow on both sides until it drops off quite abruptly to dark blue ocean. It's very beautiful and wonderful swimming water for all ages. -Miami beaches tend to contain a lot of seaweed, cruiseship oil, and manatee stank, so this natural preserve water was refreshing. -The beaches just outside the preserve were also very clean and conducive to swimming, kayaking, etc. -Lifeguard stations were frequent and manned-A kiteboarding/ water sport lesson/rental facility can be found just inside the park -In January, on a Wednesday, it was quiet and tranquil, as there were very few peopleCONS:- For those who like an active beach and plenty of sunbathers, this would disappoint. This is a quiet beach for families and those who wish to get away from the party scene. -I did not see any open snack bars or restaurants in the area, so it would be best to pack a lunch or head further south to the heart of Key Biscayne (in "town"). In sum, if you're looking to get away from the loud, busy Miami Beach area to swim in clearer water and commune with nature, this would be a good choice. Hope that helps! Happy travels!

The beach was OK, but the working attitude of the staff members need a big improvement. We went there during Christmas. We paid our admission and got in (otherwise, how can we got in?), but never got the parking stick. When I went to the office to explain the situation, a guy with uniform said it was not his fault. Of course, he did not take our money, but the gate woman did. He also said he did not believe my story and he did not have any interest to hear it. Although I was the only client in the office, he said he was very busy and had no time for me. What a rude dude!!

Visited several years ago, and at the time, we were one of 5 cars in the lot. This time, the lot and the beach was much more crowded. Having said that, we still had a great time. Beach had loads of space to enjoy, and water to play in. This is an added plus of being a photographers paradise with the coastline, and the life guard stands, along with the palm trees on the beach making for great backgrounds. A great place to visit and spend some time.

Crandon Park Beach is on Key Biscayne, a very nice beach and a picnic ground for those that favor family beaches instead of the "loud beachgoers" on cramped South Beach. The beach itself is just as good, the water is cleaner and the parking is a whole lot cheaper, $5 flat rate on weekdays instead of up $10/h at the parking sharks along Ocean drive/Collins/Washington. One more thing, there is a lot less noise from planes taking off from MIA.

A wonderful place to spend the day with family to make a barbecue has tables and kiosks have more than one table, then it is appropriate to party, and very comfortable but has no food to buy you will have to take, it is worth know the beach is beautiful and the sea and quiet! is a wonderful perfect place !!!

Not that the trees have grown back in (Hurricane Andrew wiped it clean) it's once again shaded and just plain lovely.The new(ish) restaurant is a nice addition. Great Lighthouse views.

Beautiful place to relax. Great beach and warm water. A solid fit for anyone who comes here. A great spot so close to the downtown area, but feels like you are very far away. I felt like I could spend all day here, however, there is too much to see and do. I would return here.