Haulover Park

I'll admit, we were very curious to check out this beach. I don't think I have to explain why! Loved this beach! I really thought it would have been slightly awkward, but no, this beach is just like the others. It's clothing optional, but the majority of people were in their bathing suits. I never did feel awkward or felt like anyone was gawking at each other. We didn't spend much time here though because the sun was setting soon.

The beach is kind of hard to find. We were heading north from
south beach and saw a huge sign for Haulover Park on the right and turned in. Turns out it was not the nude beach we were looking for. If you're heading north from South Beach, you have to make a U-turn to go back south and the parking lot will be on your right. Then you walk under the overpass to get to the other side.

I visited March 2023.
Haulover Beach is about a 20 minutes drive from Turnberry Resort in Aventura where I vacationed.
During my visit, there were only a few family beach goers. It is spacious with clean picnic family areas throughout and a large paid parking lot.
Check their website for additional information before your visit.

This is the dog park of this beach. For a dog beach it's fairly clean and not too overcrowded. The waves were strong today and huge. Lots of wind and lots of friendly dogs.

Once you get to the park based off the gps make sure you know that you have to keep driving down to lot 3 and 4 that's the entrance if you want to go to the dog side.

I visited the dog park side of the beach and not the nudist beach. I was there at sunset and didn't see it in its sunshine glory. While in the water, I spotted the head and face of a shark trying to identify if I was dinner. Scary stuff. On my way back to my car, I got attacked by mosquitoes which reminded me how much I love LA beaches. Yes, cold water, but I won't get attacked by mosquitoes and never in my life have I seen a shark face.

Beware of mosquitos and sharks!

This was my wife's and my first time at the world-famous Haulover Beach. I'd been to China Beach in St. Martin, but this took the concept of nude beach to a whole nother level! I'm not going to say whether we participated in the nudeness, but the beach and surf itself was outstanding and the clientele was, shall I say, very interesting. So, if you aren't put off by such things, it is probably an interesting tourist stop.

It is a bit of a hike from South Beach, where we stayed, but you can get there by Uber/Lyft in 30-35min for ~$30, or you can take a couple of trolley busses for free to 88th street and walk a couple of miles if you are up to it (which is what we ended up doing). If you hike, wear comfortable shoes! My wife and I wore water sandals and ended up with some gnarly blisters on our heels that we had to deal with for the rest of the week! We had hoped to find a rental bike rack once we got to 88th, but we never did, unfortunately.

To get oriented, Haulover Park starts right over the bridge to the bay and the south end of the beach starts there as well. That is a family-friendly section of the beach which is clothing required and far enough away from the clothing optional section that your 13-year-old son won't risk an early anatomy lesson!

The clothing optional section starts farther north and is marked by a hurricane fence on the beach. It is easiest, however, to walk the path to the West that follows the beach and the tower access path number was 15.

You could also take the Miami Beach bus from South Beach all the way to Haulover, but my wife didn't have her phone so we couldn't sign up to pay. At the time of this writing though, starting on 11/17/2023 the bus lines were going to be free while they revamped their bus system. If we ever go back, we will probably utilize the bus to keep it simple, whether we have to pay or not!

When I was a kid, one of my relatives would joke that the "haul" meant you'd be swimming under garbage #dadjoke Located on both sides of Collins Avenue, Haulover Beach is one of those magic things that makes Miami a water sports town and famous for its beaches. There's a water sports rental area, a family friendly beach, a doggie beach and a "let it all hang out" beach.

There's also a running track, which is what brought me here Sunday morning. That's right, the morning after Grand Tasting I was leaving my house around 530AM to take part in the 6th Annual Bal Harbour PD 5K race. Sponsored by the municipal department, this race course started on the western side and under the bridge where I was lucky to catch the sunrise. The course itself was along the asphalt patch parallel to the beach for the 3.1 miles. The asphalt was pretty well maintained for fitness enthusiasts. As it were, other folks not taking part in the 5K were also working out there.

I was able to personally hit an under 12 minute mile, not bad for alternating between power walk and sprints. It was one of the few times that it was ok to speed past a cop.

I have been many times to haul over park but that was always by boat. Today I visited the dog park which is very large and has 2 sections for small and large dogs. Lots of parking and they use the app to pay for the parking space.

The best place in Miami to rent bicycles for adults and kids as well as electric bikes. Good people, very friendly.

Haulover Park in Miami was my weekend destination every Saturday and on holidays for five years! My Florida boyfriend was kinky and definitely a nudist. Needless to say five years is my relationship limit. It ended when I moved back where I was born in New York!
During the five years I visited Haulover we spent our time in the clothing optional section. The clothing-optional area features lifeguards and a food and umbrella rental concession. It is the largest public nudist beach in the U.S. and attracts 1.3 million visitors per year.
Having been here many times I can say it is a well cared for beach. There's a clear delineation at the North and the South with signs designating the strip of beach that is clothing optional. Also the signs are located as you enter from the street and parking lot. There's no reason to be surprised by the nudity. There's adequate warning.
There's a nudist community that has formed. If you are frequently a sunbather at this beach you may see the same familiar faces. People walk along the strip back and forth for exercise. Also the swimming is as great here as it is anywhere in South Florida. You will see all ages including elderly and families with children. There's plenty of tourists. Many regulars are seasonal Florida Residents coming from Canada and the Northeast during the Winter.
Nudist or not, you may enjoy visiting this well kept section of Haulover Park.

Haulover Park was introduced to me on YouTube. I very spent many a hour laughing and yelling out from my emotions like... oh nooooo .., what were you thinking now that's a nice boat and Stupid Alert Ahead while watching people fall off boats, boats sinking and the patrol working hard to keep people from drowning while transferring from calm water to a hard current choppy transfer to get to the ocean.
I finally got to go enjoy this action LIVE and could honestly sit for hours watching them go out and in the transfer here.
Haulover is beach front on one side and intracoastal on the other ending at the cut with a park setting in between.
The marina gives you charter boats and yachts and the beach offers optional attire and attire beach choices.
In between it gives a great place for your dogs to run and a nice skateboard park. Places for Picnics and event spaces.
So if you havent seen their entertainment try them on YouTube and definitely stop by when in Miami.

Welcoming and peaceful. One of the best places to go for a relaxing beach day. Nice and quiet, not too far from activities and shopping centers.