Crandon Park Beach

Located in the northern part of Key Biscayne in metropolitan Miami, Crandon Park Beach – also known as Crandon Beach – is a popular two-mile long white-sand beach.  This beach is a part of an 800-acre recreational park named Crandon Park.  The southern part of this beach is wider than its northern part.  This beach was listed as one of the “The 15 Best Beaches to Hit Up on Your Miami Vacation” by Cosmopolitan magazine.  It was also listed as one of the “The best beaches in Miami to visit right now” by Time Out magazine, and is a favorite of Randall Kaplan, the world’s foremost beach expert who is known as Mr. Beach.  

Crandon Park Beach is usually open between sunrise and sunset.

Crandon Park Beach and the area around it have many amenities including lifeguards, restrooms, barbecue sites, showers, a Crandon Park golf course, a marina named Crandon Park Marina, picnic areas, walking paths, biking paths, a skating area, volleyball courts, a Crandon Park tennis center, and rental facilities for beach chairs, cabanas, bikes, and water-sporting equipment.

Crandon Park Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, picnicking, swimming, surfing, kitesurfing, windsurfing, bodysurfing, boogie boarding, skimboarding, paddleboarding, parasailing, jet-skiing, wakeboarding, water-skiing, scuba diving, snorkeling, kayaking, canoeing, surf-skiing, and wildlife watching.  

The northern part of this beach is popular with bodysurfers, surfers, and skimboarders because the water here offers fun surfing waves.  The southern part of the beach has calmer water, making it ideal for families and children.  Scuba divers and snorkelers also visit the beach to explore its vibrant marine biodiversity and underwater landscape.  If you are planning to swim, surf, snorkel, or boogie board here, we recommend being careful as it is known to have unpredictable rip currents.  It is also important to note that the water here has varying depth – while the water here can be shallow in some portions, in other parts it can be significantly deep.  The water here is also known to have high levels of microbial contamination.  If you are planning to kayak, canoe, or paddleboard here, please note that visitors are only permitted to launch kayaks, canoes, and paddleboards from the nearby Crandon Marina. 

If you like hiking, the area near this beach has a vibrant landscape consisting of many habitats including mangroves, sand-dune fields, and coastal hammock forests – you can explore the park’s landscape through nearby hiking trails.  If you like picnicking, there are many picnic sites near the beach that offer a fun picnicking experience and one of the picnicking areas here is unofficially named Crandon Park Mahogany Grove Group Picnic Area.  In addition, Crandon Park also has a nature center, a preserve named Bear Cut Preserve, and an amusement center named Crandon Park Amusement Center.

If you like taking Crandon Park photos with amazing views, Crandon Park Beach offers amazing Instagram-worthy views of the Atlantic Ocean, especially during sunsets.  The northern part of the beach is ideal for visitors looking for a quieter beach experience because this beach sees fewer visitors as compared to other nearby Miami beaches. 

The beach offers a wheelchair-friendly path to the beach.  In addition, it also offers four beach wheelchairs for visitors with disabilities.  If you want to use a beach wheelchair, you can contact the lifeguards stationed here for more information.  In addition, you can also call the local park authorities at (786) 336-6982 for booking a beach wheelchair – two of the four beach wheelchairs at Crandon Park Beach can be also used in the water.

Getting to Crandon Park Beach is easy – this beach is located near 6747 Crandon Boulevard and it is easily accessible from United States Highway 1 through the Rickenbacker Causeway.  A large paid parking lot is also available near the beach.  This parking lot charges $5 on weekdays and $7 on weekends – once you park at the parking lot, you need to walk on a slightly long dirt track to reach the beach.

We recommend visiting this beach early during summer weekends because this beach can get crowded – the southern portion of this beach can get particularly crowded during this time.

Crandon Park Beach and Crandon Park are named after a local businessman and public official Charles H. Crandon.  In addition, portions of the popular Vin Diesel film 2 Fast 2 Furious and the music video for Elton John’s 1983 song “I’m still Standing” were also shot on the beach.  Crandon Park Beach also hosts many fun events including fashion-related events.

There are many attractions near Crandon Park Beach within a 25-minute-drive and you can check the Crandon Park map to explore the amazing nearby attractions.  Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is a local historic landmark that was formerly part of renowned businessman James Deering’s palatial estate – the estate’s main villa and gardens have Mediterranean-inspired architectural influence, along with a variety of artworks, exhibitions, and antiques.  In addition, the estate also has wetlands and hammock forests and an early 20th-century village-compound.  Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park has coastal mangroves and tropical vegetation and it also offers many fun activities including swimming, kayaking, canoeing, hiking, jogging, rollerblading, skateboarding, biking, boat-camping, and beachcombing.  This state park also has a historic lighthouse named Cape Florida Lighthouse, a beach named Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park Beach, and a harbor named No Name Harbor.  

Little Havana is the center of Miami’s Cuban diaspora – this also has interesting Latin-inspired restaurants, art galleries, cigar shops, rum bars, and fruit stands.  This neighborhood is home to a recreational park named Maximo Gómez Park and it also has interesting murals and public artworks – it also hosts the annual Calle Ocho Music Festival, which is organized in March.  If you are looking for another attraction near the beach, Peacock Park is a waterfront recreational park that offers many amenities including a basketball court, a tennis court, ping pong tables, a boardwalk, a soccer field, an aviary, a playground, a baseball field, and a skate park – this park also hosts an annual festival named Coconut Grove Arts Festival.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Crandon Park Beach.  Openseas Cafe offers a variety of amazing Mexican-style dishes including chilaquiles, tacos, quesadillas, flautas, and tortas – it also offers a variety of refreshing alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.  The Rusty Pelican serves excellent gourmet dishes for breakfast, lunch, and brunch including seafood, steaks, and sushis.  Lighthouse Cafe is a popular restaurant that serves excellent seafood, pastas, soups, salads, sandwiches, poultry, and steaks.  Milanezza Kitchen Bar Market offers amazing Argentinian-style and Italian-inspired dishes including pastas, ceviche, empanadas, eggs, steak, and seafood.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, La Estacion Cafe serves amazing Colombian dishes for breakfast and lunch including bandeja paisa and bistec a caballo.

If you are looking for a hotel near Crandon Park Beach, there are many great nearby options.  The 5-Star Mandarin Oriental, Miami offers many amenities including a hot tub, an infinity pool, a spa, a private beach area, a fitness center, a salon, multiple cocktail lounges, and multiple restaurants.  Another upscale hotel is the 4-Star SLS Brickell Miami that offers many amenities including a pool, a restaurant, a gym, a lounge, a bar, and a spa.  As another upscale option, the 4-Star JW Marriott Miami offers many amenities including a bar, a pool, a spa, multiple restaurants, and a fitness room.  A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Aloft Miami – Brickell that offers many amenities including a bar, a pantry, a fitness center, a gift shop, a pool, and a convenience store.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel, the 3-Star Hilton Garden Inn Miami Brickell South offers many amenities including a pool, a fitness center, a patio, and a restaurant.