Directions: Haulover Beach is located right off State Route A1A, between Sunny Isles and Bal Harbor, northeast of downtown Miami.(SR-A1A is Florida's famous coastal road and is also known as Collins Avenue in this area.) Haulover is about 10 miles north of Miami Beach. From Miami, take any one of the causeways over Biscayne Bay, then bear north on SR-AlA. Note your mileage when you intersect SR-922 (NE 96th Street) in Bal Harbour. From this point, it is 2.3 miles farther north on SR-AlA to parking for the nude area of Haulover Beach. All parking lots are located on the left (west) side of the road, and the daily fee is $4 (2003). Park in the North Beach lot if possible. This is the northern most parking lot for Haulover. If this lot is full, turn around and head south a short distance to other large parking lots. There are a number of pedestrian tunnels under SR AlA that access the beach. The tunnel from the North Beach parking lot leads directly to the nude beach. Just north of the North Beach tunnel (to the left when facing the water) is the far northern portion of the officially designated nude area, and this is the predominantly gay area of the beach.
Alternate Route: If you are approaching the Miami area from the north, take Interstate 95 south about 8 miles past the junction with 1-595. Take the Ives Dairy Road exit and go east 1.2 miles on Ives Dairy Road. Turn right (south) onto US Highway I and proceed 0.6 mile. Turn left (east) onto SR-856 and take this causeway 1.6 miles. Turn right (south) onto SR-AlA. In 1.6 miles you'll reach the junction with SR-826 (Sunny Isles Boulevard). From this point, proceed south another 0.8 mile on SR-AlA to the parking lot on the right
Notes: Although Florida should be a nude beach paradise, Haulover is the only legally nude beach in the state its clothing-optional status sanctioned by Dade County in 1991. The nude beach is part of Haulover County Park, and the officially designated nude area extends about half a mile. (The entire county park is not clothing optional.) This sandy beach is one of the very best nude beaches in the country. Unlike the overwhelming majority of nude beaches in North America, Haulover is not hidden away in some remote corner. You have good view of nearby highrise buildings from the beach. The walk from the parking lot is short, and there are lifeguards, rest rooms, trash cans, food concessions, and signs informing visitors of nude use. You'll even find nude volleyball here. The beach is very popular, with crowds often numbering in the thousands. On weekend especially, you won't have a lot of room to spread out. The nude area is populated mostly by men, and the far northern section of the beach is almost exclusively gay. While nudity is perfectly legal, the beach is patrolled. Loitering on the walkovers to the beach is prohibited, which helps reduce but does not eliminate gawkers. When you are trying to locate Haulover Beach, here's an important fact to keep in mind: A multitude of state highway' run east and intersect Florida's coastal road (AlA). These state highway numbers are very similar (922, 826, 856, 858, 822 and many others), so it's easy to get confused. Haulover Beach parking is located NORTH of SR922 but SOUTH of SR-826. SR-922 and SR-826 are just 3 miles apart. Haulover Beach is a short drive from two very popular gay vacation destinations. The nude beach is about 11 miles north of South Beach (the gay popular south end of Miami Beach) and about 20 miles south of Fort Lauderdale.
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From "Naked Places", Fourth Edition, 2002, Edited by Michael Boyd; pages 97,98.
If you are into gay nude beaches, you should really buy this book. The cover alone is almost worth the purchase price. Unfortunately it appears to be out of print. Best bet is to try a gay/lesbian bookstore.
| Created: 20051022, ls | Updated: 20051022, la |