Bill Baggs Cape Florida Recreation Area

Description:

• Minutes from the massive urban area of Miami, Florida, Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area offers visitors a little bit of quiet and solitude at the southern end of Key Biscayne. The best time to visit is in the early morning before the masses arrive. Visitors flock here to windsurf, swim, sunbathe, fish, picnic, snorkel, dine and much more. If you come to see wildlife, plan on hitting the multi-use trails that remove you from the highest visitation paths to the slightly remote areas of the 567-acre park.

  Since the 1992 destruction from Hurricane Andrew, there has been an impressive replanting effort including five plant communities. Once serving as a migration stop along the Atlantic Flyway, birds have now once again started using the point as a rest stop before or after their transGulf flight.

  Fall is the best time for viewing raptors including peregrine falcons and sharp-shinned hawks. Other migrating birds include yellow-throated warblers, yellow-rumped warblers, winter wrens, and hermit thrush. The monarch butterfly also makes their path over the island during the fall on their way to South America and Mexico. Visitors will not be disappointed because there are always a number of egrets, herons and other wading birds probing the shallows for tidbits. Look closely at the tiny soil imprints from raccoon, opossums and marsh rabbits. Also, be sure to keep an eye out over the ocean for dolphins. There is nothing quite as thrilling as catching a trio jump in unison. Directions: From U.S. Highway 1 take the Rickenbacker Causeway over to Key Biscayne and follow south to the end.