Historic Virginia Key Beach Park

Specialties

Historic Virginia Key Beach Park, located off the Rickenbacker Causeway, is just minutes away from Key Biscayne, the Miami’s downtown financial centers, top tourist destinations, sport facilities, retail, dining and renowned educational institutions.

Enjoy the only replenished, mile-​long shoreline within the City of Miami. Ride on the closest antique carousel to sparkling blue seas. Take a mini-​wetland excursion on the famous ‘Biscayne Virginia Rickenbacker Central’. Revel in stunning, um-​obstructed views of the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. Picnic and mingle under one of our many shaded pavilions. Explore our nature boardwalk and our coastal hammock trails.

All venues at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park are available to rent for private and corporate events such as weddings, children’s parties, reunions, and organization picnics. Amenities include; a 35-​acre event meadow, the Historic Dance Floor, the large, open-​sided South Pavilion and two equally proportioned awning-​covered shelters in the northern section of the property. Other designated facilities include the Carousel Building, housing an antique Allan Herschell reproduction, the Concession Stand, the South and North Bath Houses, interpretative nature/​historical trails and the ‘Biscayne Virginia Rickenbacker Central’ miniature railroad.

History

Established in 1945.

Virginia Key Beach, once accessible only by boat, was established in 1945, as the only public beach for the «exclusive use of Negroes» in Dade County. In 1982 the City of Miami closed the park and it remained shuttered until the Grand Re-​Opening in 2008 when local citizens formed the Virginia Key Beach Park Task Force in response to plans for private development of the property. In 2002, Historic Virginia Key Beach Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Come visit our beautifully renovated venues which celebrate the distinct cultural, recreational and ecological past of this tropical paradise.