Virginia Key

I sneak in here to get away from the crowd of the south. Its best to come here early in the morning to enjoy the serene and natural beauty of the beach and wait for the sunrise to come. Mountain biking is recommendable here, the course can be very challenging and reaching the top of the hill is very rewarding.

One of the best experiences, we have ever had in our lives!
Fractal Beach at Virginia Key beach park, music, yoga, art and movement;’)!!
Yoga and music concert at the beach, from sunrise to sunset, that is the experience, I enjoyed, strengthening your body through tons of yoga and movement classes. Having fun and connecting with Mother nature, wonderful human beings around me in a beautiful location it’s definitely, the best feeling in the world!
Listen to Ott he is a legend in the electronic world and one of the best music producer from London, all types of positive music with positive energy around, the idea was to mix yoga, music and amazing arts.
With healthy food like the higher taste café, with a vegan recipes healthy and delicious.
We met many new wonderful friends, they work for amazing causes to help the world and many children’s around the world, thank you for your rainbow soul, pure and full of great energy.
We have the opportunity to meet in person at Hill Schroder-​Author of Blue ~ A Mindfulness Tale, Hill shares his magical book and read it to us on the beach at Sunrise, this book is about the journey of self-​love!
We camped for 3 days located on the beach, we enjoyed sunrise, sunsets, healthy living and spiritual development, live painting by amazing visionary artist. We are planning already for our next experience with some friends and we can’t wait for this next wonderful event! Thank you !

If you don’t mind the overhead jets taking off from Miami international airport every three minutes, or the beach patrol ATVs buzzing up and down the beach at the rate of 10/​hr. You should go here

Horrible! We paid 8 $ to enter, then couldnt find any nice beach. There were no people, but there was a reason for that. During our search for a hidden beautiful beach, each of us got bit by mosquitos like 30 times. After 40 minutes of walking we found nothing. Terrible smelly water, dirty sand and thousands of mosquitos. We gave up and left not caring about those 8 $. That experience was the worst. Never go there, ever!

This was by far the best beach I visited while in south miami. It was a 40 min drive. But it was sooooo worth it. Especially if you have little kids

Love the views, but sand was really dirty, like lots of cigarettes, bottle caps, plastic utensils, etc. everywhere. We had to be very careful where we were stepping. Plus, there was lots of seaweed, which I kind of hate, personally. Still, the whole reason I came here was because I really just wanted to stay away from South Beach and the party atmosphere, since I was with my family, so from that perspective, it was a really nice, quiet spot. Not too many people, at all.

A great little hidden beach for those who want to get away from the crowded ones or who just want some peace and quiet. This could also be due to it being a Monday. I came out today to get some good photos and relax. And it didn’t disappoint. The water isn’t deep and pets are allowed. It has a great trail for running, biking, and walking. If you want to get in a few water activities there are a few kiosks that rent catamarans, paddle boards, etc. The only downfall was the trash scattered here and there. As many trash bins as the city had out, it seemed in certain areas it would be full of trash. But overall it was a great couple of hours.

I was severely disappointed after coming here. I had seen some really nice pictures of the area and thought it would be a great place to check out, but it wasn’t worth the drive. There is a lot of trash on the beach here and the facilities were not well taken care of. In addition, the guard at the gate was very rude as well. If you’re looking for a nice beach to go to, skip out on this place. You would be better off checking out any other beach in the area.

Nice beach! The best time to come is early in the morning– in my opinion. Great place to spend an active day! In the morning lots of bikers and runners are all over the surrounding area and park.
It might be a turn off to many people that this a ‘natural’ beach. Which means there is a lot of seaweed and some rocks. But it’s a great beach to hang out and have a peaceful time. Or to pack a picnic and a big blanket and enjoy the day.

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Virginia key has the potential to be a great park. It has a hidden beach that you would never knew existed unless you accidentally stumbled upon it, at least thats how found. On the weekends make sure you come early because it gets packed… I MEAN PACKED!
Now I personally dont go to this park for its beach. I go here for the true hidden gem, which is it’s amazing mountain bike trails. These trails are handmade by the local legend who goes by the nickname «Frenchie». He along with other locals that are prevalent in the biking scene created this fantastic course which holds trails for bikers of all ages.
The park is pretty clean for the most part and its a pretty cool place to take the kids, especially with the Museum of Science and the Miami Seaquarium located so close by.
Pros:
Plenty of parking available
mountain biking
restrooms
bbq areas
beach
it’s location
Cons:
disgusting bathrooms which never have toilet paper
parking though plentiful tends to be harder to come by especially during holiday weekends
It’s located right next to an industrial plant which I believe creates compost so there may be some questionable health risks.

Sure, this place was pretty quiet, but that’s all it had going for it. It was hard to decide where to park the car to get out and go to the beach because some places looked packed and others looked deserted.
Once we finally got out, walked to the sand and rented an umbrella, we were sorely disappointed. The entire beach was all shallow and full of debris. Weird pieces of tree branches, TONS of seaweed and other crap just floating around. And the water was only like 6″ deep unless you wanted to swim out annoyingly far.
I would definitely not come back to Virginia Key again. Maybe this place is better for hiking, biking and boozing at the one restaurant down the way, but it definitely wasn’t a good place to relax on the beach or swim.

RIP Jimbo’s… But here’s to hoping that the Marine Stadium Restoration brings back some of the Glory Days of Virginia Key.
For now, there’s the beaches. You’ve got the pinelands, through which a «Mountain Bike» trail has been lain and is used and loved quite well.
There’s the white-​sand beaches, shaded by those Casaurinas (Australian Pines) and blessed by Atlantic Breezes. Quiet, compared to many other Key Biscayne beaches, with miles of sand-​walking and exploring around the south bend of the island.
And if you’re a history buff (I kinda-​sorta am…) Virginia Key was once the «Coloreds Only» beach, and has some wicked cool history in that alone. Then there’s all the movies and TV shows filmed here (Miami Vice. Flipper. Burn Notice. The full list is ridiculous. Those are just my favorites and the classic.) There’s the Miami Marine Stadium, once a grand, concrete grandstand overlooking powerboat races and floating concerts, now a graffiti-​laden work of art (as far as I am concerned) «wasting» away in splendid, decaying grandeur. (I do hope the «Restoration» project does it right.)
Virginia Key has always been one of my favorite escapes from the city. I mourn the loss of Jimbos, have hope for the future, love the extensive historic value of this land, and hope the pristine state of the beaches can be preserved.

Awesome beach to get away from the crowds.

Came out here for the mountain biking trails and a little hiking around. Found a beautiful little get away with views of the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay and the sounds of the ocean and wildlife all around.
I have not been here since, well lets just say, man has this place grown up. Beautiful park areas leading to nice beach areas. Plenty of areas to explore and some private little beach spots if your adventurous enough to hunt for them. The MTB trails are very well maintained and well suited for beginners and intermediate riders. They also offer a great cardio workout for those that feel they are more advanced. Nothing on these trails was intimidating and I never felt out of control or even overly challenged. They are a lot of fun though, a lot of hills and banked turns laid out so speed can be maintained.
The only negative here is the odor from the waste water treatment plant and that’s only when you are down wind from it. If it wasn’t for that this would have gotten a 5 star rating.
I will return and soon. A lot more riding and hiking to do. Possibly some kayaking and might even bring the boat down this way for a picnic. Meet me here for a beer, I’m buying. Cheers.

Normally, you’d find me out at Bill Baggs right next to the lighthouse, but we decided to head on over to Virginia Key Beach because we wanted to bbq right by the water (something you can’t do at Bill Baggs)… and we stayed from 8:30am until 6:30pm!
This beach is great if you’re looking for sand and shade (provided by the large seagrape trees at the north end of the park) and you enjoy being close to the water simultaneously. This is fairly important if you have kids — this way, you can keep an eye out while you bbq!
The water is shallow and fairly clean though if you want to venture out a bit more, you’ll encounter lots of seagrass! There are lifeguards and the ranger does a round every 15 minutes so be sure to take only ‘plastic’ or aluminum containers with you, as you will be asked to leave immediately if you’re found to have any glass containers!
There’s a playground area for kids and there are bathrooms, though the bathrooms are DISGUSTING! Take toilet paper or wipes with you since there never seems to be any in the one stall that is not missing a door.
I have to say, the staff was super friendly! My husband needed help bringing the gargantuan boat cooler to our spot and the staff loaded it on the golf cart and hauled it over to where we were! We tipped them and nearly had to stick the money in their pockets because they didn’t want to take it!
There’s a $ 5 entrance fee to the park (cheaper than the $ 8 charged at Bill Baggs Park) and there is plenty of parking, however, you’re best bet is to arrive early in order to secure a good spot on the North beach side and a parking spot close to it because at about 10am, you’ll be hard-​pressed to find either!

I am rating the park for it’s mountain biking trails. I tried them out yesterday and I have to admit this is a location that I’ll frequent.
Pros:
Ideal area. It’s isolated, natural, and surrounded by water. Summer is here and being able to cool myself off in the ocean after killing myself in a trail, is such a perk. And if you’re an explorer like myself, you’ll come across really neat spots to hang out.
Cons:
The trails didn’t seem to be well defined. I’m that person in a cartoon that makes the wrong turn and goes off a cliff. I’m sure with more traffic and time, this will be taken care of.
All in all, I’m pretty happy Virginia Key created an area for this sport where mountains aren’t available.

Five Solid stars !!! Virginia Key is one of the parks in Miami with the most history. This place has everything, from quiet secluded beaches to kids parks, to natural areas and the newly added Virginia Key trails, make this one of the public spaces in Miami that offer the most to visitors.
A visit to Virginia key is a cultural experience within itself, multiple cultures represented in family gatherings, bbq or just a lazy day on the beach.
You can also launch a windsurfer out of here and enjoy the open ocean side of Key Biscayne… a bit more challenging, windy and deeper waters, so be careful out there.

I’d never done too much exploration of Virginia Key, but the opening of the mountain bike trails on the north end of the key gave me the perfect excuse to do so.
Having been neglected for years, this island was mostly known for 1) being a former «colored beach» during the segregation years, and 2) being the home of a large county wastewater treatment plant. Now, as part of the City of Miami’s rejuvenation and beautification efforts, Virginia Key has become a viable alternative to a day out on South Beach. The beach itself has a more natural feel to it, I’d say… and if you tire of being out in the sun, you can explore the natural hammock («restoration in progress» per the signs) and wetlands. Jimbo’s, I don’t need to mention. I’ve never actually been there, but I’ll get there soon enough.
To the mountain bike trails! To get there, take the road until it runs out at the wastewater treatment plant. If you’ve biked in, this will add a couple miles to your total. To the right of the plant, you’ll see a couple little dirt paths. That’s the start of the trail. Now, the trail itself… if I was rating the trail alone, I’d have to give it 2 stars *right now*, because it simply doesn’t compare to other area trails like Oleta, Markham, and Amelia. Still, the opening of any new mountain bike trail in the tri-​county area is big news.
There needs to be *more* trail. Of the current 4 miles, 2 are rated as novice trails, and I’m definitely inclined to agree with that — gentle fire roads and mostly flat singletrack. Great for beginners? Sure — and if this helps introduce more people to the great sport of mountain biking, all the better… but as it stands, that only leaves 2 miles of more «interesting» trail for more experienced riders. These intermediate and expert trails have some fun sections, but as of now they are just small bites and don’t really have a great deal of «flow.» The trails are also very sandy. Of course, whether you are riding in South, Central or North Florida, sand is «part of the game,» so you’d better learn how to ride it. Still, some of the sections get excessively sandy. Sand, in conjunction with technical sections and drops, is not always a lot of fun to ride. The trails are still pretty green, so this may work itself out as they get ridden more, and some rain falls.
So, this is still a work in progress. Worth trying, though… and if you ride out there on fat knobby tires all the way from South Miami like I did, a hell of a workout too.

I know most people know about Jimbo’s. Well Jimbo’s is located on Virginia Key which is a part of U.S. National Register of Historic Places. This little strip of land has some interesting stories to tell and I suggest to all to look them up. This place was at one point was the public beach for blacks. Interesting huh! Well, there is a lot more but I let you all have the fun of looking it up
The park has since been renovated some and has been open to the public for a couple years. A bike ride into Virgina Key, someexploring of the area and then a stop at Jimbo’shttp://www.yelp.com/biz/jimbos-place-key-biscayne#hrid:VeJDUMWxVZD5xwDrC4bZtQ/query:Jimbo’s is a great way to spend a day