State Road A1A, Segment 2: Miami to Dania Beach

Miami

I took a drive on the second segment of A1A on a chilly Martin Luther King Day, bringing with me a four-legged friend.

I brought Lucky, my terrier mix, to find out what activities there are for you and your dog. Unfortunately, it turned out to be an exhibition of how little you can do with your dog.

This segment of A1A begins in the heart of downtown Miami as the MacArthur Causeway, starting as a continuation of I-395 at the interchange with US 1. The main bridge of the Causeway takes you over Biscayne Bay, giving you an excellent view of downtown, the bay and the Port of Miami.


Cross the bridge and you end up on Watson Island. This is a popular destination with the Jungle Island theme park and the Miami Children's Museum.

Fun fact:

• Watson Island is artificial and was originally known as Causeway Island. It also served as a base for the Goodyear Blimp.
  

Miami Beach

Now, Miami Beach is a girl's favorite destination. With its sun, sand, bodybuilders and overpriced cosmetic surgeons - not to mention guys in buttoned-down shirts buying drinks for them at the clubs - the city has held this reputation for decades.

Now if I was the type that attached human tendencies to my pets, I would say that Lucky was excited about being a girl about town. In reality, she was just excited at the prospect of new things to sniff.

From Miami, A1A continues to the east, running on a narrow island with a few turnoffs toward expensive residential islands on one side and the Port of Miami across the water to the other. If you are a fan of Miami-based shows such as CSI: Miami or Dexter, this stretch of road is a popular stock footage scene.

You cross one more bridge onto the main barrier island that makes up most of the city and A1A becomes 5th Street. You find yourself suddenly immersed in the sights that people picture when they think of Miami Beach.

After about half a mile, A1A turns left onto Collins Ave and begins its trek as a parallel to the beach. However, it is not on the beach at this point; rather it is a few blocks inland.

This is Miami Beach's historical Art Deco district. The four-lane road (which often loses a lane when a delivery truck or cab stops) features some of the unique hotels and condos that were built from the 1920s to the 1940s.


You also see the Miami Beach attitude. Even though there are many crosswalks and an ordinance requiring cars to stop for people in them, pedestrians routinely cross with impunity at any given point. A couple other people I saw, but unfortunately did not capture with my camera: a woman standing in the middle of the street to hail the next taxi and another jogging in designer jeans.

Only in Miami Beach.

A1A continues northward and the old hotels give way to newer beachside high-rises, casting a shadow over the road. When you get to 26th Street, the road splits in two, with the northbound side continuing as Collins Ave. and the southbound side is Indian Creek Drive.

The Collins Ave. side is pretty much the same as it was before, with high rises lining the street, broken up with a beach access at 36th Street Park.

Sorry, Lucky. No pets allowed on the beach.

At the Fountainview Hotel, the road curves to the left, and then turns to the right as A1A becomes a two-way street again.

Heading south on Indian Creek Dr., you get a different view. Yes, there are high rises, but to your right you see the waterfront of Indian Creek. This is a popular jogging area, as you don't have to cross a street at every block.

The reunited sides of A1A continue north as Collins Ave. Now A1A has both aspects, the high rises and Indian Creek. Along this stretch, because of the nature of the traffic there, U-turns from northbound to southbound can be confusing. Instead of a left turn lane, you have to go into the frontage lane at the right. Then you wait at the next light for a green arrow, turning across the northbound lanes to get to the southbound lanes. In other words, instead of making a U-turn from the left lane, you do it from the right.

Along this stretch you get another city beach access, 53rd Street Park. At these beach parks, there is typically a boardwalk that runs on top of the dunes. This is another popular jogging destination. And no, pets are not allowed on the beach there, either.

At about the 6000 block, A1A splits up again, with the same street names: Collins Ave. northbound and Indian Creek Dr. southbound. On the Collins side, you get beach access at 64th Street Park, which has volleyball courts (and again, dogs are not permitted). On the Indian Creek side (which appropriately still fronts Indian Creek), you see Brittany Bay Park, with a bit of greenspace on the waterfront.

From around the 6800 block, the southbound side of A1A is Abbott Avenue, which runs through a residential area of single-family homes. These residences are a little older and sit on smaller plots of land, likely a result of the early real estate booms that sought to sell property to as many people as possible. There's been a lot of that in this state's history.

Between 72nd and 73rd Streets, both sides of A1A go through North Shore Park, which has tennis courts, ballfields and beach access to two-legged creatures only. Also, on the Collins side, it has the North Shore Bandshell, a small amphitheater.

North of 73rd St., southbound A1A is Harding Ave. It also goes through a lower-density residential area.



On the Collins side, you soon come across North Shore Open Space Park. This is another park with beach access, as well as a bike path and a high pile of earth that is used as a walking path. You can actually get a pretty good view from up there.

If you are squeamish about dirty restrooms, don't use the one there. It smelled and was out of soap and paper towels. Even Lucky did not want to go in there.

As it turns out there are no dog-friendly public beaches in Miami Beach. After the drive, I visited their website and saw that there are dog parks in town, but none of them are on the beach. Apprently in Miami Beach, dogs are for carrying in purses, not for chasing frisbees into the surf.

Fun facts:

• Miami Beach's Art Deco district is a trip back in time to the Roaring Twenties. The architecture is a uniquely Florida style, as well as a seed of the Great Depression.
• A1A does not go to South Beach. Sorry.

Surfside

Traveling north on A1A, watch out for the town of Surfside's defenses! At the side of the street, right after the welcome sign lies an artillery piece, pointed at the road. If you make it past that, you drive past more high rises.

Southbound A1A, which is Harding Ave. here as well, goes through Surfside's shopping district, with its small storefronts.

Bal Harbour
Collins Avenue and Harding Avenue are reunited as soon as you enter Bal Harbour, and A1A continues as Collins. The village is yet another run of condos, but there is also the Bal Harbour Shops, a mall in the southern part of town.

At the northern end of Bal Harbor, A1A crosses a channel into an unincorporated area that is dominated by Haulover Beach Park, a Dade County facility that has a beach, marina, golf course and other attractions.

Sunny Isles Beach
A1A continues into the village of Sunny Isles beach as Collins Avenue. The sights here are not much different from the previous towns. However, one landmark of note is the interchange with Sunny Isles Boulevard (State Road 826), which involves an overpass ramp that seems to snake between the buildings. A similar interchange starts Northeast 192nd Street (SR 856).

Golden Beach
When you enter Golden Beach, you may not realize that you are there. On the median, there is what looks like there is an entranceway that is either being built or torn down. There is also an entranceway at the left side of the road that is half covered by shrubs.

In this town, A1A is now called Ocean Boulevard and the high rises give way to smaller single-family homes. There is really nothing of note to stop at, except for Loggia Beach Park at the Broward County Line.

Hallandale
The city of Hallandale welcomes you to Broward County, and greets you after your break in Golden Beach with more high rise condos on both sides of the road. A1A, now called Ocean Drive, is a short hop through the city that ends with the interchange of Hallandale Beach Boulevard (State Road 858).

Hollywood

Hollywood is one of the oldest cities in Broward County, and for many years has been second to Fort Lauderdale in population. Driving through it on A1A, you see different aspects of South Florida coastal life: beach parks, boat ramps, restaurants and, yes, more high rises.

After entering Hollywood, I stopped at Tony's Pizza Chef for a slice of four-cheese (and some water for Lucky!). The pizza was decent, although it seemed like it wasn't thoroughly reheated and the girl at the counter was a bit indifferent.

Back on the road, you notice that the barrier island is narrower in Hollywood than what you see in Miami Beach. Along much of the drive, you have beachfront properties to the right and (Intracoastal) canalfront properties to the left. Then the road shifts to the left and the road runs right along the Intracoastal, part of which includes South Lake.

Ocean Dr. then crosses an interchange that starts Hollywood Boulevard (State Road 820). This is the area where you see more restaurants and smaller hotels. For a short stretch, North Lake is on the left.

As you cross Sheridan, Hollywood North Beach Park is on your right. As I mentioned before, A1A in Hollywood runs on a narrow island that provides easy access to both the beach and the Intracoastal. At North Hollywood Beach Park, you get both at the same facility.

On the west side of the road, there are picnic tables and boardwalks on the Intracoastal, and looking across you see the Mangroves of another county park, West Lake Park.

Take a walk across the street (or park on one of the several streets named after famous military leaders), and you can find yourself crossing the dunes onto....a dog beach! Finally, Lucky was able to get some sand and surf (although she didn't go into the water).

One issue, however: there were no other dogs! People were looking at us, and I'm not sure if they were annoyed that I dare bring a dog onto the dog beach, or wondering why that guy in a t-shirt and jeans was on the beach taking pictures of his dog. I actually went back to check the sign and make sure that I really was on the dog beach.

Okay, back in the car, and good bye dog beach with your parking rows bearing the names of the like of Generals Pershing and Meade.

A1A does a loop-dee-loop, turning around to go west and becoming Dania Beach Boulevard. But first, we made a stop at John U. Lloyd Beach State Park. I had planned on stopping here because the park's website said that pets were permitted in the park, with restrictions. However, I didn't realize that those restrictions included just about anything in the park that you would want to go to. There was a nature trail we couldn't take (those dogs can be real litterbugs) and beaches we couldn't go on.

Now that's not to say that there isn't neat stuff there. John U. Lloyd is right across the Intracoastal from Port Everglades, so there are some really neat up-close views of the ships and facilities. In fact, the park itself looks like a natural island in the midst of industrial and tourist sprawl.

At the north end of the park, there are some noteworthy off-limits areas, such as a Coast Guard station, a Nova Southeastern University oceanographic research center, and a Naval Sea Systems Command facility.


There is also a paved pathway that leads to the south jetty of the Port Everglades inlet. Unfortunately, it is closed off and the signs indicating the closure look permanent. I cannot find any explanation, but a nearby cyclist suggested that it may be a security measure.

Ah, life in the post-9/11 age.

Dania Beach

We get one last beach on this stretch of A1A, which is part of a sliver of Dania separate from the rest of the city. Dania Beach is a popular destination, with a pier and two restaurants. Across the parking lot is Sea-Tech, Florida Atlantic University's Ocean Engineering campus.





A1A does a loop-the-loop onto Dania Beach Boulevard and crosses the Intracoastal Waterway. Across the bridge, you drive down a stretch of about a mile with mangroves on both sides of you, mainly the western side of John U. Lloyd Beach State Park.

You then find yourself in the commercial center of Dania, which brings you to the end of the segment of A1A. It terminates at the intersection with Federal Highway (US 1), with its old storefronts and antique shops. I bought myself a couple of smokes (for me - not for Lucky) from a cigar bar on the corner and called it a day.