Best Place To Go Fly A Kite 1999 | Crandon Park Beach on Sunday afternoons | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Miami | Miami New Times
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Best Place To Go Fly A Kite

Crandon Park Beach on Sunday afternoons

You would think Miami's ample public space near the shoreline and constant easterly breeze would make kite flying as popular as Rollerblading on South Beach. Well, maybe not. But some think it's hip to sail the winds with cloth and string. A few of these aviators/eccentrics can be found showing off their kaleidoscopic flights-of-fancy Sundays on the beach at Crandon; some are employees and customers of Sky Dancers, a kite shop in Coconut Grove. Besides sending aloft their rainbow-color wonders, which come in shapes ranging from a parrot to a cube, they are also willing to share a trade secret or two with novices. Some day soon this could become Miami's next big fad, as cool as Rollerblading on South Beach. Okay, maybe not.

Best Sailboat Rental

Sailboats of Key Biscayne

Its location is a study in contrasts. The hut that serves as the office neighbors the Crandon Marina boat ramp. Clean sailboats, ranging from 22 to 25 feet, are dwarfed by humongous powerboats that slide from their trailers into the water. As the wind-driven craft languish, high-pitched outboards burn fossil fuel and make waves on their way to Biscayne Bay. But to seasoned sailors, the differences serve as a noisy reminder of the therapeutic qualities of their avocation. And there's a bonus: The location allows sailors to reach the shadow of the Miami skyline in less than fifteen minutes. Rates start at $27 per hour; daylong cruises go for $129 and up. Weekend packages are also offered. Basic sailing knowledge is, of course, required. And that means more than identifying port and starboard. If you don't know more, lessons are available beginning at $35 per hour.

Best Driving Range

Doral Golf Resort and Spa

For four bucks you can tee off at one of the swankiest clubs in South Florida. Of course for that price you have to confine your backswing to the driving range. Or you can get really fancy and splurge for a big bucket of balls, which costs seven dollars. If that's a little steep for your working-stiff budget, check out the charge for parking: free if you avoid the valet service. Then again, considering the fortune you're saving by not joining Doral, why not hire a fellow working stiff to park your car? As you head to the range, swagger like the elite. In fact swagger more than the elite. They pay $200 ($250 in winter) a pop to play eighteen holes on the Blue Monster, the most prestigious of Doral's four courses.

Best Hole At A Golf Course

Fourth hole

After a $3.9 million renovation, International Links has easily become one of South Florida's premier public golf courses. Reopened in October 1997, it is becoming incredibly popular, thanks in no small part to the redesign of several holes, most notably number four. A monstrous par five (608 yards from the black tees, 585 from the gold, 574 from the blue, and 536 from the white), the fourth hole features a split fairway. Golfers can opt for the left fork, which runs safe but long. Or they can drive down the right side, which gets them to the hole more quickly -- only if they stay away from the six fairway bunkers that protect the hole like a father chaperoning his daughter on prom night. Then there's the green: 41 yards long and 24 yards wide, which makes for a lot of long putting and sometimes an even longer afternoon.

Best Miniature Golf

Malibu Grand Prix

The mini-golf at Malibu is good. If you choose the path that leads to the castle, it's particularly fun. Then there are the batting cages, go-carts, video games, and greasy pizza. Taken as a full-day adventure, it all adds up to a rollicking good time. Want to try another location? Forget about it! Malibu doesn't really have any competition south of Grand Prix Race-O-Rama in Broward. Its only peers in Miami-Dade are, to be honest, pretty darn sad. Memo to the powers that be: More mini-golf, pleeze!

Best Snorkeling Spot

Biscayne National Park

As you set out across the glassy shallows of Biscayne Bay toward the mangrove-covered humps dotting the horizon, you'll know why we continue to choose this spot for superlative snorkeling. Because the place is a national park, boat traffic and commercial activity are limited. The reefs have flourished. Tangerine-color clown fish, spectral triggerfish, and barracuda, are abundant. The snorkeling boat, run by a Hollywood company called Divers Unlimited, leaves once per day at 1:30 p.m. (For scuba divers another departs weekdays at 9:00 a.m. and weekends at 8:30 a.m.) The snorkeling trips return about 4:30 p.m. The cost of $27.95 includes rental of all equipment: mask, snorkel, safety vest, and fins.

Best Place To Hike

Pineland Trails

This trail system lies in the park's Long Pine Key area, which is not a key at all. It's a wooded swath of land about two miles west of the park entrance near Homestead. The terrain here is among the most varied in the Everglades. The pines are vestiges of the woods that covered South Florida long ago. There are also hardwood hammocks, saw grass prairie, restored agricultural lands, and three small lakes. The main axis of the 43-mile network of hiking paths is the Long Pine Key Trail, where bikes are also allowed. If solitude is what you seek, take one of the offshoots. Trailheads are located at the Royal Palm Visitor Center, the Long Pine Key picnic area (about six miles from the main entrance), and at four points along the main park road.

Best Beach

North Shore State Recreation Area

The tall, menacing black fence stretches a long eight blocks, protecting one of this area's loveliest and best-maintained stretches of beach. At the 85th Street entrance, pay a dollar entry fee (this is a state park after all), traipse through the gate, and behold the leafy sea-grape trees, which provide refreshing shelter from the sweltering South Florida sun. Walk a few feet up the path and fire up one of the many barbecue grills. Continue a few more feet and devour your carcinogenic grub under a roofed picnic pavilion. If you refuse to walk, then run. Take a brisk jog on the Vita course. After you've cooked, eaten, or perspired, hop on the creaky boardwalk and follow the crashing sound of the waves to the inviting ocean. Behold the clean white beach, the refreshing sea, and a minimum of preening naked people.

Best Place To Rollerblade

FIU University Park Campus

Most Florida International University students leave campus from Friday to Sunday, which makes the place perfect for strapping on a pair of blades. Concrete was king back in the late Sixties and early Seventies when FIU was built, so there are long walkways and spacious courtyards that provide plenty of room to gain momentum. Marathoners can circle the sprawling property, which covers twenty city blocks. It's not as trendy as the Beach, but parking is easy, space is abundant, and there is no gawking audience to witness your spectacular tumbles.

Best Surf Spot

First Street Beach

Surfing in Miami? Yes, occasionally we are blessed with a rideable swell here in the land of flat seas. While our Californian, Hawaiian, and Australian counterparts search for that ever-elusive perfect wave, we spend our winters hoping and praying for a set, any rideable set. Please God, let there be a cold front! Let there be a hurricane! Let there be any sort of natural phenomenon that brings us waves! It doesn't matter how disastrous to the city, state, or continent, please! When Miami surfers' prayers are answered, the beach at First Street by Penrod's is the place to go. A few days out of the year a clean, crisp five-to-seven-foot swell that rivals a good day at San Diego's Pacific Beach pier hits First Street. Although waves occasionally break off the jetty by Harbor House on 97th and Collins, they are usually smaller and sloppier. If you are a die-hard surfer with transportation and an open schedule, head north to the Delray pier, Spanish River Beach in Boca Raton, or the Lake Worth pier. Or make a weekend trip up to Sebastian Inlet, Florida's most notorious surf spot and home to several world-class pros, including ex-Baywatch heartthrob Kelly Slater.

Best Of Miami®

Best Of Miami®

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