Parks

Bayfront Park

Downtown, Bayfront Park (301 N. Biscayne Blvd.) is probably best known for its two concert spaces, the Bayfront Park Amphitheater and the Tina Hills Pavilion, but the 32-acre park is also an excellent urban park space, redesigned in the early 1980s by Isamu Noguchi to incorporate historical monuments, sculptures, fountains, and scenic walking trails. Nearby Bicentennial Park (1075 N. Biscayne Blvd.) is also quite spacious and frequently hosts large-scale events.

Kennedy Park

Near Coconut Grove, the lush scenery and kid-friendly playgrounds at Kennedy Park (2600 S. Bayshore Dr.) make it a popular destination for families on the weekends; dogs are also welcome in a delineated off-leash area. The views out onto Biscayne Bay are fantastic, and there are often food and drink vendors set up nearby to give you the opportunity for a great picnic day.

Biscayne National Park

Biscayne National Park (9700 SW 328 St., Homestead) is actually a 200-square-mile park, most of which is in the waters of Biscayne Bay and thickets of shorefront mangrove. The coral reefs just off shore are ideal for snorkeling and scuba-diving. Boat charters (from $40 per person) and canoe (from $12 per person per hour) and kayak (from $16 per person per hour) rentals are available inside the park.

Spas

Miami Beach

The best spas in Miami Beach are all located in hotels. The Setai (2001 Collins Ave., 305/520-6000) has a spa that offers a modern take on South Pacific atmosphere, while the spa at The Standard (40 Island Ave., 305/673-1717) is more focused on holistic treatments, with yoga and meditation classes as well as a “Center for Integral Living.”

Miami

The cream of the crop of Miami spas is the five-star spa at the Mandarin Oriental (500 Brickell Key Dr., 305/913-8288). Spread out over 15,000 square feet, the spa is as decadent as it is meditative, with 17 different treatment rooms and offerings that range from massages and manicures to Pilates and belly-dancing classes.

Down in Coconut Grove, the Spa Terre at the Grove Isle Hotel & Spa (4 Grove Isle Dr., Coconut Grove, 305/858-8300) is quite a bit smaller, but it has a solid array of services that include massages, body masks, facials, and herbal therapies.

Golf

There are dozens of excellent golf courses in the Miami area, so duffers should have no problem finding a place to tee off. The Blue Monster course at Doral Golf Resort & Spa (4400 NW 87th Ave., 800/713-6725, $105–250) hosts one of the three annual World Golf Championships, but there are four other championship courses on the property.

Located near Miami International airport, Doral isn’t that convenient if you are staying downtown or at the beach; for those folks, the Biltmore Golf Course (1210 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables, 305/460-5364, $192) is a good option. Although it doesn’t provide nearly the level of difficulty as Doral, the scenery is beautiful, the play reasonably challenging, and winding down in one of the Biltmore Hotel’s luxurious lounges is enough of an experience to make even a middling day of golf seem like an excellent one.

Even more convenient is Miami Beach Golf Club (2301 Alton Rd., Miami Beach, 305/532-3350, $100–200), which is still quite scenic even though it isn’t on the beach.

Tennis

At the northern end of Miami Beach, the North Shore Park Tennis Center (501 72nd St., Miami Beach, 305/604-4080, 8 a.m.–9 p.m. Mon.–Fri., 8 a.m.–8 p.m. Sat.–Sun., $8 per hour, $1.50 light fee) has 10 clay courts and two hard courts, all of which are lit at night; the Bollettieri Tennis Training Academy holds daily classes here.

Also in the area is the Penny Sugarman Tennis Center at Sans Souci (1795 Sans Souci Blvd., North Miami, 305/893-7130, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Mon.–Fri., $4 per person). It has 13 lit courts, one of which is clay and the others Laykold-surfaced.

Spectator Sports

Professional Sports

Miami has teams in almost every national professional league. The two-time Super Bowl–winning Miami Dolphins play football August–January at Dolphin Stadium (2269 Dan Marino Blvd., Miami Gardens, 954/452-7000), which has also hosted five Super Bowls, two World Series, and three BCS championships.

The NBA’s Miami Heat play basketball November–April at the American Airlines Arena (601 N. Biscayne Blvd., 786/777-1135), and two-time baseball World Series winners the Florida Marlins (800/279-4444) play their games March–October at Dolphin Stadium.

Miami has struggled to keep a professional soccer franchise in town, and although at the time of writing Miami FC was still a going concern, troubles with attendance and management have threatened the team’s livelihood in the Miami market; they currently play March–November at Tropical Park Stadium (7900 SW 40th St., 305/728-2606).

College Sports

The Atlantic Coast Conference’s University of Miami Hurricanes play football at Dolphin Stadium, while the basketball team has their home games at the Bank United Center (1245 Dauer Dr., Coral Gables). The Florida International University’s Golden Panthers play their Sun Belt conference football games in their own FIU Stadium (11200 SW 8th St.); basketball games are also played on campus at the 6,000-seat U.S. Century Bank Arena.

© Jason Ferguson from Moon Florida, 1st Edition