Beach
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A mile and a half of county beach north of Bal Harbour, with a legal clothing-optional section at the northern end.
Photo: Desert SkyCC0
Haulover is a long, unglamorous, genuinely good county beach on the barrier island north of Bal Harbour, and it is best known for one thing, so let us state it plainly. The northern portion of Haulover Beach is a clothing-optional beach, designated as such by Miami-Dade County. It is legal, it is lifeguarded like the rest of the park, it has its own concession and its own parking lot, and it is signposted. Roughly the northern third of the sand, between the lifeguard towers at that end, is where clothing is optional; south of it, it is an ordinary family beach. Nudity outside the designated section is not permitted.
That is the whole of the controversy, and it has been operating this way for decades. Volunteers at the north end brief newcomers on etiquette — no photography, no staring, sit on a towel — and the atmosphere is far more mundane than the reputation suggests.
The rest of the park is the part visitors overlook. It runs about a mile and a half along Collins Avenue with wide, well-maintained sand, a proper dune line, lifeguard towers along its length, picnic groves under Australian pines, a kite shop that has made this the best kite-flying beach in the county, and a marina on the Intracoastal side. There is a golf course across the road and a dog-friendly area within the park.
It also carries a piece of history that the city has been slow to mark. In May 1945, Black Miamians staged a planned wade-in here, at a beach where they were not permitted, with legal representation standing by. The county's response was not to desegregate but to designate a separate beach on Virginia Key, which opened that August. Haulover is where that began.
To the north is Sunny Isles Beach and its wall of towers. To the south, Bal Harbour. Haulover is the gap between them, and it is the last large undeveloped stretch on this island.
Haulover sits on Collins Avenue (A1A) north of Bal Harbour and south of Sunny Isles Beach, on the barrier island. From South Beach, drive north on Collins for about 25 to 35 minutes depending on traffic — it is a slow road with a lot of lights through Mid-Beach and Surfside.
From mainland Miami, the faster route is I-95 north to the Broad Causeway or the William Lehman Causeway, then Collins Avenue. Allow 35 to 45 minutes from downtown.
Parking lots run the length of the park on both sides of Collins Avenue, charged per vehicle. Use the northern lots for the clothing-optional section and the southern lots for the family beach.
Miami-Dade bus routes along Collins Avenue, including the 120 Beach MAX and local services, stop at the park and are a genuinely practical option from Miami Beach — the beach is a short walk from the stop and you avoid the parking charge entirely.
Where. The northern end of the beach, broadly the northern third of the park's sand, running between the lifeguard towers at that end. It is signposted from the boardwalk and from the northern parking lots. The transition is not gradual — there is a marked point where the designated area begins.
Its legal status. Miami-Dade County designates this section as clothing-optional. It is the only public beach in the county where that applies. Outside the designated section, ordinary state and county nudity laws apply.
What it is actually like. Considerably more ordinary than the reputation. It is family-oriented in the literal sense — you will see couples, older regulars, groups of friends, and a volunteer presence that hands out etiquette cards. There are chair and umbrella rentals, a food concession and lifeguards, the same as the rest of the park.
Etiquette that is enforced socially and sometimes formally. No photography or filming of any kind. No staring, following or approaching people. Sit on a towel. Clothing is optional, not prohibited — you will not be pressured either way. Single men are asked to be particularly conscious of the first two rules.
If you do not want to be there, park in the southern lots and walk south. It is easy to avoid and easy to find, and confusion generally happens only when someone parks at the north end without reading the signs.
The park is a county park, which means it is functional rather than styled. That is part of why it is calm.
Parking. Several lots run the length of the park off Collins Avenue, with a per-vehicle charge that is higher at weekends than on weekdays and typically sits in the high single digits to low teens. Rates and surcharges differ between lots and have changed more than once, so check the sign at the entrance. The northernmost lots serve the clothing-optional section; if that is not what you want, use the southern lots.
On a fine winter Sunday the lots fill from late morning. Weekdays are easy year-round.
Conditions. This is an open Atlantic beach with no protecting sandbar, so there is real surf and, on some days, rip currents. Lifeguards fly warning flags — read them. Portuguese man o' war arrive on strong easterlies, mostly between late autumn and spring, and the guards post warnings.
Sargassum lands here in quantity in some summers. The county grooms the main beach but not every stretch every day.
Turtles. Loggerheads and green turtles nest on this coast from spring into autumn. Lighting rules apply to the buildings behind the beach, gear must come off the sand overnight, and holes dug in the sand must be filled in.
Operators run these trips past Haulover, or stop there as part of a longer route. We list what the booking data supports — not everything that mentions the name.
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At the northern end of the park, broadly the northern third of the sand, between the lifeguard towers at that end. It is designated by Miami-Dade County, it is signposted from the boardwalk and the northern parking lots, and it is lifeguarded with its own concession. South of the marked point it is an ordinary family beach. If you would rather not be there, park in the southern lots and walk south.
Within the designated section, yes. Miami-Dade County designates the northern portion of Haulover as clothing-optional, and it is the only public beach in the county where that applies. Outside that section, ordinary nudity laws apply. The designated area has an established etiquette: no photography or filming of any kind, no staring or approaching people, and sit on a towel. Volunteers at the north end brief newcomers.
There is a per-vehicle charge at the lots along Collins Avenue, higher at weekends and holidays than on weekdays, typically in the high single digits to low teens. Rates differ slightly between lots and have been revised more than once, so read the posted sign. Buses along Collins Avenue stop at the park and the beach is a short walk from the stop, which avoids the charge entirely.
Yes, on the southern two-thirds, which is an ordinary well-run county beach with lifeguards, showers, picnic groves and considerably fewer people than the Miami Beach strip. It is also the best kite-flying beach in the county. Two caveats: it is open Atlantic with real surf and occasional rip currents, so read the flags, and the clothing-optional section at the far north end is clearly marked and easy to avoid.
In May 1945 a group of Black Miamians staged a planned wade-in at Haulover, which was then whites-only, with legal representation standing by in the expectation of arrests that would test the law. Rather than desegregate the beaches, Dade County designated a separate stretch on Virginia Key for Black residents, which opened that August. Historic Virginia Key Beach Park exists because of what happened on this sand.