Cape Florida Park aka Bill Baggs State Park

Key Biscayne, Florida

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Cape Florida Park, also know as Bill Baggs park in honor of the editor of the Miami News who played a large role in saving this precious land from the hands of deveolopers in 1967. Voted one of the Top 10 beaches in the United States, we are thankful to Mr. Baggs. The award winning one mile stretch of beach is rarely too crowded as the park gates close after a certain number of visitors enter so make sure to arrive early in the day. This natural wonder provides wonderfully soft and white sand, but there is often a line of seaweed at the high water mark which may give shelter to flies and mites. There are also beds of turtle grass a short distance from the shore. This slice of authentic Florida is the real thing. A big attraction is the Cape Florida Lighthouse. There are guided tours of the restored 1825 Cape Florida Lighthouse from Thus. to Mon., 10 AM & 1 PM (Tues. and Wed. closed). Situated on the tip of Key Biscayne, the Cape Florida Lighthouse is the oldest structure in Miami-Dade County. Cultural displays depicting early island life may be seen in the lighthouse keeper's cottage. A video presentation is shown in the former cookhouse. Throw in your fishing lines from the seawall along Biscayne Bay for some of the best shoreline fishing in the region, or enjoy other activities such as renting a bike, sailboat, kayak, beach chair, umbrella, paddle boat, to see and enjoy the park both on and off of the water. There are miles of paved roads that are closed to automotive traffic that are great for rollerblading or bike riding.
The park has two restaurants specializing in fresh seafood with a Cuban touch. Enjoy some fresh catch for lunch or wait for dinner and take in a beautiful sunset!

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Cape Florida Park, también conocido como el parque Bill Baggs en honor del editor de Miami News, quien jugó un papel importante en el rescate de esta tierra preciosa de manos de desarrolladores en 1967. Elegida como una de las 10 mejores playas de los Estados Unidos, agradecemos al Sr. Baggs. El galardonado tramo de playa de una milla rara vez está demasiado lleno ya que las puertas del parque se cierran después de que un cierto número de visitantes ingresan, así que asegúrese de llegar temprano en el día. Esta maravilla natural proporciona una arena maravillosamente suave y blanca, pero a menudo hay una línea de algas marinas en la parte alta de las aguas que pueden dar refugio a las moscas y los ácaros. También hay camas de hierba de tortuga a poca distancia de la orilla. Esta rebanada de Florida auténtica es real. Una gran atracción es el faro del cabo Florida. Hay visitas guiadas del faro restaurado de 1825 restaurado del cabo Florida de jueves a lunes, de 10 AM a 1 PM (martes y miércoles cerrado).

Situado en la punta de Key Biscayne, el faro del cabo Florida es la estructura más antigua del Condado de Miami-Dade. En la cabaña del farero se pueden ver exhibiciones culturales que muestran la vida temprana en la isla. En la antigua cocina de campaña se muestra una presentación de video. Lanza tus sedales desde el muelle a lo largo de la Bahía Vizcaína para disfrutar de la mejor pesca costera de la región, o disfruta de otras actividades como alquilar una bicicleta, velero, kayak, silla de playa, sombrilla, bote de remos, para ver y disfrutar del parque tanto dentro como fuera del agua. Hay kilómetros de carreteras pavimentadas que están cerradas al tráfico automotriz que son ideales para patinar o andar en bicicleta.
El parque tiene dos restaurantes especializados en mariscos frescos con un toque cubano. ¡Disfrute de una pesca fresca para el almuerzo o espere la cena y disfrute de una hermosa puesta de sol!

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

Meets water quality standards
Current Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on May 19th, 2022. Miami Waterkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on May 20th, 2022 at 4:30 PM.

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Current Weather

30°C

Cloudy with a few clear breaks

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

Water quality results displayed at this location were collected by the Florida Department of Health’s (DOH) Florida Healthy Beaches (FHB) program. FHB may resample a beach on subsequent days if a water quality issue is detected. The information is updated on Swim Guide by Miami Waterkeeper (www.miamiwaterkeeper.org), a local nonprofit focused on ensuring clean water. Miami Waterkeeper enters Swim Guide data for both Miami-Dade County and Broward County’s DOH.

Samples are collected weekly (typically on Mondays) to test for levels of enterococci, a type of bacteria that indicates that pathogenic bacteria and viruses associated with fecal pollution may be present. These bacteria are known as fecal indicator bacteria (FIB). Analysis of samples takes 24 hours to culture before results are available. All local sampling programs on Swim Guide also use the thresholds for water quality as written in the Florida Administrative Code, based on the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria: Good= 0-35 CFU/MPN enterococci / 100 mL of marine water; Moderate= 36-69 CFU/MPN enterococci / 100 mL of marine water; and Poor= 70 CFU/MPN or greater enterococci / 100 mL of marine water. Clicking the pie chart icon will reveal a summary of the prior yearly or monthly of pass/fail data. A sampling location is marked GREY when no current or reliable monitoring information is available.

Testing sites are resampled by DOH after a failed water quality test until conditions return to safe levels. The DOH will only issue a formal “swim advisory” after two failed tests in a row, but Miami Waterkeeper will mark a beach as “RED” on Swim Guide after a single failed test is reported by any of the sampling organizations, if the data is posted by DOH. These conservative advisories inform vulnerable people (children, elderly, and the immunocompromised) who have elevated health risks due to water quality at the beach.
Miami Waterkeeper will also mark a beach as "Special Status" if information comes from other sources indicating that the water is unsafe, for example, a sewage leak, red tide, or oil spill. If data is more than a week old, sites will show a historical record of water quality data from a given site.

The Department of Health’s Florida Healthy Beaches program is a state-run initiative in partnership with Miami-Dade County and 33 other coastal counties in the state of Florida. The Florida Healthy Beaches program has been collecting and analyzing water samples from beaches and reporting FIB levels since 2000. (http://www.floridahealth.gov/environmental-health/beach-water-quality)

Miami Waterkeeper’s Water Quality Monitoring program is run by full-time investigators and staff that sample common recreation sites on a weekly basis to ensure the water you love is clean and safe. This program aims to sample locations not currently sampled by the Florida Healthy Beaches program or Surfrider Miami in an attempt to fill in gaps in local water quality monitoring. Visit Miami Waterkeeper at www.miamiwaterkeeper.org/water_monitoring or email hello@miamiwaterkeeper.org if you have any additional questions or to view a complete set of monitoring data.

Water Quality Graph