The Wooden Boardwalk, Miami Beach - Ocean Walk from 23rd Street to 47th Street

Wooden Boardwalk, Miami Beach

Miami Beach's wooden boardwalk is a pleasant place to take a stroll by the ocean, but don't wait too long, as there are plans to demolish it.

The Real Wooden Boardwalk
Although other paths by the beach are sometimes called boardwalks, they are paved. The real wooden boardwalk runs from the northern limits of South Beach, by 23rd Street, with the other end near 47th Street.

A Quieter Location for a Hotel
The boardwalk passes gardens and pools behind the hotels and apartment blocks on Collins Avenue. If you're looking for a hotel on the beach but in a quieter location than South Beach, this is an area worth considering.

Lifeguard Huts and Jellyfish
You'll see colourfully painted lifeguard huts at intervals on the beach, with flags indicating whether or not it's safe to swim. Green means yes, but always be aware that there can be undercurrents, red means that there are strong currents or high waves, while purple means that there is some sort of marine life to avoid, usually jellyfish.

Should you decide to go on the beach just for a stroll, watch out for blue jellyfish washed up on the sand, looking like part-deflated balloons, as they can give you a nasty sting.

Pelicans Diving for Fish
Pelicans can sometimes be seen circling over the water then swooping in a nosedive when they see a fish.

Beach Bar on the Boardwalk
Beach bars are a rarity in Miami Beach, but there is one on the boardwalk, Carrabba's, by 39th Street at the rear of the Marriott Courtyard Hotel. It has a limited, middle-of-the road selection of beers, but prices aren't over the top taking into account the ocean view.

Fontainebleau Hotel
The Fontainebleau Hotel, by 44th Street, was rumoured to be the haunt of gangers and mafiosos in the 1950s and 60s, and was frequented by many stars, including Frank Sinatra, who it is said never paid to stay there, but on the other hand never charged to perform.

Alligators in Hotel Lobby
Completed in 1954, it was designed by architect Morris Lapidus in his usual flamboyant style, with a terrarium in the lobby housing live alligators and a “stairway to nowhere” so that guests could take a lift to leave their coats at the top and parade back down. The Fontainebleau has been the setting of films such as Goldfinger and Scarface.

A More Run-of-the-Mill Hotel
The Fontainebleau's most extreme architectural features were gradually removed over the years, and after $1 billion renovation and expansion which was completed in 2008, it is now much more run-of-the-mill, despite room prices starting around $500 and reaching $1,000-plus. The sunloungers by the boardwalk are jammed together in rows like sardines in a can.

A $20 Beer
Nevertheless, should you be tempted to stop off for a drink at the Fontainebleau, a friend who has an apartment in the hotel tells me that a beer can cost you $20.

Bad Publicity
Also, the Fontainebleau has had some bad press, with three guests arrested for raping a woman in the room of one of them, and the mother of Miami Heat basketball player LeBron James accused of assaulting a valet-parking attendant at the hotel.

No Path North of 47th Street
To the north of 47th Street there's no path, just sand. There used to be an unofficial path through the low dunes, but this area has been fenced off to protect wild plants. While you can continue along the beach, it's not easy walking.

Art Deco Buildings and Indian Creek
You could return via Collins Avenue, where there are shops, restaurants and cafés to the south of 41st Street, and take a look at the art deco buildings, but there's quite lot of traffic. A stretch of Collins Avenue close to 47th Street runs alongside Indian Creek, a natural waterway where there are usually boats moored.

Buses to the Boardwalk
It's about a 45-minute walk from one end of the boardwalk to the other. If you don't want to walk in both directions, an L, S or 120 bus takes 15 minutes from 47th Street to 23rd Street, and maybe ten minutes more to Lincoln Road. The 120 bus is a limited-stop service, so make sure you don't miss the stop, particularly going north, as the next stop after 47th Street is at 56th Street.

Plan to Demolish Boardwalk
There are plans to rip down the wooden boardwalk and replace it with a paved bike- and roller blade-friendly path, but this act of municipal vandalism appears to have been put on hold, presumably because of the recession.

Fine for Cycling on Boardwalk
Bikes, rollerblades and skateboards are forbidden on the wooden boardwalk, and as someone who lives right next to it, that's the way I want it to stay. Despite the prohibition, you still run the occasional risk of being run down by cyclists racing along, expecting you to jump out of the way.

There's a fine of $500 for having a bike on the boardwalk, whether riding it on not, but the habitual offenders seem to know when the security guards aren't on patrol.

Miami Beach Council Should Preserve Boardwalk
Boardwalks are tourist attractions in many cities in the USA. Instead of tearing down the one in Miami Beach, the city council should be preserving it and publicizing it.