Bill Baggs Cape State Park, Florida
The park is located the southern tip of the island of Key Biscayne, boarding the northern side of Bisicayne National Park. The park has the Cape Florida Light, the oldest standing structure in Great Miami. In 2005, it was ranked as having the 8th best beach in the country.
The park was named in honor of Bill Baggs, editor of The Miami News 1957-1969. He worked to protect the land from development and to preserve some of the key in its natural state. In 2004, it was marked as part of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Trail, as hundreds of Black Seminoles and fugitive slaves escaped from here to freedom in the Bahamas.
The park’s official website:
https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/bill-baggs-cape-florida-state-park
Our Visit
Date: March 4, 2024
We took some photos of the lighthouse in the morning on the cruise tour of Biscayne National Park. After that, we spent some time at South Beach in the afternoon. By the time we arrived at the park entrance, it was already half hour before it closes at sunset. The white sand beach on the east side of the island is beautiful and popular with beach goers in weekends. There were two trails on the island if you have plenty of time: 1.5 mile Mangrove Wetlands Trail, and 4.6 mile Lighthouse Trail (loop). We didn’t have time to hike either, so we just walked pass the No Name Harbor, which is right next to one of the parking lots, and appreciated the sunset, the yachts floating on the ocean, and ever changing clouds.
