Top 10 beaches in South Florida

From Miami to Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach, these top beaches offer more than just sun and sand.

BY BRIAN J. O'CONNOR | Sun-Sentinel

On board: Surfers race to hit the waves at Crandon Park Beach. (Photo by A. Enrique Valentin/ Sun-Sentinel / May 27, 1999)

Just heading east until you hit the ocean highway will take any visitor to one of South Florida's famous beaches, but for a little more than just sand and surf try these spots.

1. Crandon Park Beach
4000 Crandon Boulevard, Key Biscayne; 305-361-5421. Take the Rickenbacker Causeway to Key Biscayne).

Crandon Beach Park, a former coconut plantation on Key Biscayne, is consistently named among the Top 10 beaches in the nation. There are more than two miles of "lagoon-style" beach, with calm water protected by a constantly shifting offshore sandbar.

2. Lake Worth Municipal Beach
10 Ocean Boulevard, Lake Worth, 561-533-7367; same number for beach conditions. Pier information: 561-582-9002. From Federal Highway, take Lake Avenue east over the Intracoastal Waterway.

Lake Worth Municipal Beach has more than 1,200 feet of sandy beach, plus a ballroom and a 900-foot pier housing stores offering ice cream, jewelry, places to eat and more.

3. John D. MacArthur Beach State Park
10900 State Road 703 (A1A), North Palm Beach, 2.8 miles south of U.S. 1 and PGA Boulevard; 561-624-6950.

MacArthur State Park is on a barrier island and encompasses a 317-acre coastal hammock as well as a 120-acre mangrove swamp on Lake Worth Cove, and offers unguarded swimming on the two-mile, very private beach. This is a prime turtle nesting area, and organized walks are led by rangers in June and July. Offshore reefs are easily accessible for snorkelers and divers.

4. Bal Harbour Beach
9701 Collins Avenue, Bal Harbour; 305-866-4633. Public access to the beach at 96th Street and Collins Avenue, and at 102nd Street and Collins, next to the Haulover Inlet.

You kind of have to sneak in, but Bal Harbour Beach stretches behind nearly a mile of resort hotels for a glimpse of how the beautiful people hit the sand. This wide, clean beach with dunes extends almost south from Haulover Inlet. The beach is mostly private except for the two public access points, and offers a scenic walking path and a jetty for fishing and sightseeing. The area near the jetty is a favorite of surfers.

5. Red Reef Park
1400 N. Ocean Boulevard (A1A), Boca Raton. Beach conditions: (561) 393-7989 or www.ci.boca-raton.fl.us/oceanrescue/ocean.htm. Take Palmetto Park Road east from I-95 or Federal Highway, then head north on Ocean Boulevard about 1 mile.

Red Reef Park in Boca Raton offers easy access to snorkeling for even the most timid beginner, with plenty of fish to spot. There is a mile of beachfront in this 39-acre park, which includes the 15-acre Gumbo Limbo Nature Center on the Intracoastal side. One of the few beaches open after dark (until 10 p.m.), Red Reef offers swimming, sunbathing, surf casting, and strolling over the dunes along a boardwalk. There's a designated surfing area on south end. The natural reef is about 10 feet off shore, where even beginning snorkelers can catch sight of tropical fish, turtles, eels and stingrays, as well as the man-made reef about 100 feet offshore.

6. Haulover Park Beach
10800 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach; 305-947-3525. Call 305-944-3040 for the beach safety patrol and beach conditions. Take I-95 to exit 13, then head east for six miles to Collins Avenue. Turn left on Collins and go over the bridge to the park.

Haulover Park Beach in Miami Beach "draws people for all walks of life... and a variety of other countries," according to the park Web site. Why? Probably because the north end is the only legal nude beach in Miami-Dade County, and maybe even South Florida. The beach itself encompases a mile-and-a-half of white sand, nestled between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean with dunes, shade and picnic facilities.

7. Matheson Hammocks Park Beach