The Best of Florida Although

05_588265_ch01.qxd 7/20/05 10:36 PM Page 5 1 The Best of Florida Although it’s the state nickname, describing Florida as the Sunshine State is like call- ing Katie Couric “perky.” Sure, it’s true, but not all the time—and it doesn’t nearly begin to describe the state’s other marketable assets. There’s a lot more to the state than just sunshine—which, by the way, isn’t even a 24/7 given; it does rain here. Weather aside, choosing the best of Florida is by no means simple. While millions of visitors flock here to escape the bleakness of winter and landlocked locations, they don’t all come down for sun, fun, and Mickey Mouse. Granted, the promise of (mostly) clear skies and 800 miles of sparkling, sandy beaches is alluring, as are the animatronics and roller coast- ers in Orlando and Tampa, but there’s much more to the state than that. In fact, in many ways, Florida is like a beautiful, blond beauty queen whom everyone thinks is all fluff until they find out she happens to be a Rhodes scholar. More than meets the eye has made this one of the country’s most popular year-round vacation destinations. Here you can choose from a colorful, often kitschy assortment of accommodations, from deluxe resorts to mom-and-pop motels. You can visit remote little towns like Apalachicola or a multicultural megalopolis like Miami. You can devour fresh seafood, from amberjack to oysters—and then work off those calories in such outdoor pursuits as bicycling, golfing, or kayaking. Despite overdevelopment in many parts of the state, Floridians have maintained thousands of acres of wilderness areas, from the little respite of Clam Pass County Park in downtown Naples to magnificent Everglades National Park, which stretches across the state’s southern tip. Choosing the “best” of all of this is a daunting task, and the selections in this chapter are only highlights. You’ll find numerous other outstanding resorts, hotels, destinations, activities, and attractions described in this book. And with an open mind and a sense of adventure, you’ll come up with bests of your own. 1 The Best Beaches • Virginia Key (Key Biscayne): The before pristine places like this one producers of Survivor could feasibly gave way to avaricious developers and shoot their show on this ultra- pollutants. See p. 132. secluded,COPYRIGHTED picturesque, and deserted • Lummus MATERIAL Park Beach (South Beach): key, where people go purposely not to This beach is world-renowned, not be found. See p. 124. necessarily for its pristine sands, but • Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park for its more common name of South (Key Biscayne): The pot of gold at Beach, on which seeing, being seen the end of the rainbow, Bill Baggs and, at times, the obscene, go hand in 1 radiates serenity with 1 ⁄4 miles of hand with the sunscreen and beach sandy beach, nature trails, and even a towels. The 12th Street section is the historic lighthouse that recalls an era beach of choice for gay residents and 05_588265_ch01.qxd 7/20/05 10:36 PM Page 6 6 CHAPTER 1 . THE BEST OF FLORIDA Florida ALABAMA GEORGIA 85 319 19 29 10 231 r Fort Walton e 10 v Beach CENTRAL i R 10 98 TIME a 98 l Jacksonville Pensacola Panama City o EASTERN Tallahassee Destin c 19 i TIME h c 319 27 Perdido a 98 l a Key Panama City Beach p A 27 98 Apalachicola St.St. GeorgeGeorge IslandIsland Apalachee Bay Gulf of Mexico Tampa St. Petersburg St. Pete Beach A Bradenton Sarasota BIG CYPRESS NATIONAL PRESERVE Miami EVERGLADES THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL PARK FLORIDA 0 50 mi Bahia Honda Key N Big Pine 0 50 km Coppitt Key Key 05_588265_ch01.qxd 7/20/05 10:36 PM Page 7 THE BEST BEACHES 7 r e iv R 95 ee n n 1 a w Amelia Island Su A1A JacksonvilleJacksonville Jacksonville Beach 10 Ponte Vedera Beach S Lake City t . 1 J 295 o h 75 n s St. Augustine R i St. George v St. Augustine Beach e Island r Gainesville 95 OCALA A1A ATLANTIC 24 NATIONAL 1 41 FOREST OCEAN Daytona Beach 19 Ocala 40 98 4 1 Cedar De Land Key Homosassa 75 Orlando NASA-Kennedy Springs Space Center 50 Bee Line Cape Tarpon Springs Expwy. 528 Canaveral 98 27 Clearwater Kissimmee Cocoa Beach F Beach lo r ida Clearwater TampaTampa ’ Melbourne Lakeland s 95 T 4 Winter Haven u A1A r 19 n St.St. p 1 60 ik PetersburgPetersburg e Sebastion 60 K St.St. PetePete iss im Vero Beach BeachBeach m e Anna Maria 17 e North Hutchinson Island Island 64 Ri BradentonBradenton v Fort Pierce e 17 r SarasotaSarasota 98 70 Port St. Lucie 70 72 Jensen Beach Stuart 41 75 27 Hobe Sound Lake Jupiter Gasparilla 31 Okeechobee Riviera Beach Island ver West Palm Beach Boca Grande hee Ri osahatc Palm Beach Useppa Calo 80 27 441 Island 1 Fort Myers Captiva Island 95 Delray Beach 27 Boca Raton Sanibel Island Fort Myers BIG CYPRESS Beach SWAMP Everglade Pkwy. Pompano Beach (Alligator Alley) Naples 75 84 Fort Lauderdale 29 BBIGIG CCYPRESSYPRESS Dania Beach NNATIONALATIONAL PPRESERVERESERVE595 Hollywood Everglades City Hallandale Miami Beach Marco 41 (South Beach Island Ten MiamiMiami and Sunny Isles) Thousand EEVERGLADESVERGLADES Islands NNATIONALATIONAL Homestead 195 PARKPARK 1 Flamingo BISCAYNE NATIONAL PARK Florida Bay Key Largo s Plantation Key rida BahiaBahia HondaHonda Flo KeyKey BigBig PinePine Long Key Key West 1 CoppittCoppitt KeyKey Marathon Key Dry Tortugas KeyKey 05_588265_ch01.qxd 7/20/05 10:36 PM Page 8 8 CHAPTER 1 . THE BEST OF FLORIDA travelers who come to show off just • Naples Beach (Naples): Many Florida how much time they’ve spent in the cities and towns have beaches, but few gym and, of course, catch up on the are as lovely as the gorgeous strip that latest gossip and upcoming must- fronts Naples’s famous Millionaires’ attend parties and events. Often- Row. You don’t have to be rich to wan- times, this beach is the venue for der its length, peer at the mansions, or some of the liveliest parties South stroll on historic Naples Pier to catch Beach has ever seen. See p. 124. a sunset over the Gulf. See p. 363. • Haulover Beach (Miami Beach): • Caladesi Island State Park (Clearwa- 1 Nestled between the Intracoastal ter Beach): Even though 3 ⁄2-mile-long Waterway and the ocean, especially at Caladesi Island is in the heavily devel- the north end, is the place to be for oped Tampa Bay area, it has a lovely, that all-over tan: Haulover is the city’s relatively secluded beach with soft only clothing-optional (aka nude) sand edged in sea grass and palmettos. beach. See p. 139. Dolphins cavort in offshore waters. • Bahia Honda State Park (Bahia In the park itself, there’s a nature trail Honda Key): This is one of the nicest where you might see one of the rat- and most peaceful beaches in Florida. tlesnakes, black racers, raccoons, It’s located amidst 635 acres of nature armadillos, or rabbits that live here. trails and a portion of Henry Flagler’s The park is accessible only by ferry railroad. See p. 185. from Honeymoon Island State Recre- • John U. Lloyd Beach State Park ation Area, off Dunedin. See p. 420. (Dania Beach): Unfettered by high- • Fort DeSoto Park (St. Petersburg): rise condominiums, T-shirt shops, Where else can you get a good tan and hotels, this wonderful beach and a history lesson? At Fort DeSoto boasts an untouched shoreline sur- Park, you not only have 1,136 acres rounded by a canopy of Australian of five interconnected islands and 3 pine to ensure complete seclusion. miles of unfettered beaches, but also a See p. 241. fort, for which the park was named, • Lover’s Key State Park (Fort Myers that’s listed on the National Register Beach): You’ll have to walk or take a of Historic Places. There are also tram through a bird-filled forest of nature trails, fishing piers, a 2.25-mile mangroves to this gorgeous, unspoiled canoe trail, and spectacular views of beach just a few miles south of busy Tampa Bay and the Gulf. See p. 422. Fort Myers Beach. Although Sanibel • Canaveral National Seashore (Cape Island gets the accolades, the shelling Canaveral): Midway between the here is just as good, if not better. See crowded attractions at Daytona p. 329. Beach and Kennedy Space Center is a • Cayo Costa State Park (off Captiva protected stretch of coastline 24 miles Island): These days, deserted tropical long, backed by cabbage palms, sea islands with great beaches are scarce grapes, and palmettos. See p. 519. in Florida, but this 2,132-acre barrier • Gulf Islands National Seashore strip of sand, pine forest, mangrove (Pensacola): You could argue that all swamp, oak hammock, and grassland of Northwest Florida’s Gulf shore is provides a genuine get-away-from-it- one of America’s great beaches—an all experience. Access is only by boat almost-uninterrupted stretch of pure from nearby Gasparilla, Pine, and white sand that runs the entire Captiva islands. See p. 356. length of the Panhandle, from Perdido 05_588265_ch01.qxd 7/20/05 10:36 PM Page 9 THE BEST FISHING 9 Key to St. George Island. The Gulf • St. Andrews State Park (Panama Islands National Seashore preserves City Beach): With more than 1,000 much of this natural wonder in its acres of dazzling white sand and undeveloped state.

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