Canoeing & Kayaking in Miami

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Canoeing & Kayaking

Looking at Miami's skyscrapers, it's hard to remember the outback is so close. Canoe-friendly canals crisscross the city, leading from urban areas to parks or to Biscayne Bay.

Paddling Spots

To get away from it all, take a canoe or kayak to Black Point Park. The put-in spot is past the picnic pavilion. Within 100 yards you'll come to a lagoon. Immediately to the east is Biscayne Bay; to the north is a waterway filled with mangrove hammocks to explore. An open-air restaurant with live music has varying hours. 24775 S.W. 87th Ave., Cutler Ridge, Miami. 305/258-4092. Free.

Glide through the backcountry of Florida Bay or explore the Nine-Mile Pond Canoe Trail in Everglades National Park. Canoe rentals are available via the Homestead park entrance at Flamingo Marina. Rates are $8 to $10 per hour, $22 to $30 for a half day, and $40 to $50 for 24 hours. General admission is good for seven consecutive days at all entrances. 1 Flamingo Lodge Hwy. 239/695-2945. www.nps.gov/ever. $10 per vehicle.

Matheson Hammock Park provides easy access to Biscayne Bay via its wading beach or boat ramp but no rentals. 9610 Old Cutler Rd., Coral Gables. 305/665-5475. $4 per car.

Canoes and kayaks are perfect for Oleta River State Park, an unexpected natural water source in the middle of a bustling commercial district, near Intercoastal Mall. Rentals come with a map showing the various mangrove channels splitting off the Intracoastal Waterway. Allow about an hour to paddle the canals, where you'll spot wading herons, crabs scuttling among the hairy mangrove roots, and maybe a lumbering manatee. Kayaks cost $12 per hour for a single, $17 for a tandem; rates are $25 and $40 for three hours. Canoes go for $20 per hour, $45 for three hours. 3400 N.E. 163rd St., North Miami Beach. 305/919-1846 park; 305/947-0302 boat rentals. $1 on foot or bike; $4 per vehicle with up to 8 people, $1 each additional. Daily 8-sunset.

My What Big Teeth You Have

Alligators get all the press, but Everglades National Park is also home to the endangered American crocodile. Unlike an alligator's trademark overbite, the teeth of both jaws are visible when a crocodile closes its mouth. So if you see some teeth (yikes!), you'll know the difference.

Rentals

On Key Biscayne -- Windsurfer Beach, to be exact -- Sailboards Miami (Site E1 Rickenbacker Causeway, 1/3 mi past toll plaza, Key Biscayne. 305/361-7245) rents kayaks for $15 per hour for a single, $20 for a double. Right on the bay, Shake-A-Leg (2620 S. Bayshore Dr., Coconut Grove, Miami. 305/858-5550), a nonprofit organization for the physically and mentally disabled and for youth at risk, also rents kayaks to the general public. Singles cost $10 for an hour, $30 for four hours; doubles are $15 per hour, $45 for four hours.