"Stiltsville" Top 5 Page for this destination Biscayne National Park by grandmaR

Biscayne National Park is a very large park south of Miami. My daughter and SIL and children camp here, but we have only transited through the park in Hawk Channel.

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Visitor Center and park headquarters is located at Convoy Point. Convoy Point and park headquarters are open year round.

Hours: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm daily

There is no fee to enter Biscayne National Park. The are fees for camping and overnight docking. The overnight docking fee is $15.00 per night at Boca Chita Key Harbor and Elliott Key Harbor ($7.50 per night for holders of Golden Age or Golden Access Passports).

Hours:
8:30 am - 4:30 pm - Weekdays
8:30 am - 5:00 pm - Weekends
Cclosed Christmas Day
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Alphabetically, the following activities are available.

Backcountry Camping / Hiking

Obtain a backcountry permit for any overnight use. Building ground fires is prohibited. Pets are prohibited on park trails and in the backcountry.
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Birding
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Boating - the park is a no discharge zone.
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Camping

There are two campgrounds in Biscayne National Park. One campground is located on Boca Chita Key and the other is on Elliott Key.
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Fishing

Fishing licenses are not required for ocean fishing. A Florida license is required when fishing in the bay. ------------------------------
Food and Supplies

There are no restaurants located in the park. You can always bring your own food as there are picnic tables and grills at Convoy Point, Adams Key, Boca Key and Elliott Key
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Hiking

Stay on established trails. Carry out all refuse.
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Programs and Activities

Join a National Park Service ranger to explore Biscayne's natural and cultural history.
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Swimming, diving, snorkeling, wading and waterskiing are permitted. No lifeguards are on duty.
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Watercraft

Personal watercraft commonly referred to as jet skis, waverunners, sea-doos, etc are prohibited In the waters of Biscayne National Park

Stiltsville during the day

Most of my pictures taken in the park are of Stiltsville which is included in the park boundaries. It is in the purple area at the very top of the mapped park boundaries.

Stiltsville is a controversial community on the flats south of Miami between Florida Bay and Hawk Channel. The water is from 1 to 3 ft deep at low tide. The general mud flat area is divided by several main navigational channels. One of these channels is Biscayne Channel, the most frequently used channel south of Government Cut and the only access channel before Government Cut was made. Most of the houses are along the Biscayne Channel.

On August 28, 1998, the Florida National Register Review Board voted unanimously to recommend the Stiltsville site to the National Register of Historic Places.

Seven months later, on March 18, 1999, the National Register of Historic Places denied the application based on the fact that the remaining seven houses were under 50 years old.

As a result of the denied application, the National Park Service, owner of the land since 1980, will not renew the bay bottom leases that the houses stand on after July 1,1999. They have issued a mandatory removal of all structures

But they are still there.

The history of Stiltsville begins with a local fisherman named "Crawfish" Eddie Walker in the early 1930's, however some historians say there were about 12 shacks out in "the flats" as the area was known, as early as 1922.

As Key Biscayne became an exclusive community, the residents complained the houses and shacks on the flats would lower their beachfront property value, and referred to them as squatters, even though the houses had submerged campsite leases with the state. Judge Frank Knuck of the Dade County Circuit Court, built his first house in 1953, stated "We're a family-type colony, not a scruffy bunch scruffy bunch of squatters."

Opposition continued as Florida Secretary of State, Bruce Smathers, characterized the community as a " blight on Biscayne Bay," and called for it's end to existence by 1986. However others disagreed and took great pride in Miami's unique village on the sea.

Bay bottom leases were issued by the State of Florida in 1976. The leases were transferred in the late '80's to the National Park after the boundary was extended northward in 1980, just enough to include Stiltsville. By then there were fourteen houses and a radio tower.

In August 24, 1992, hurricane Andrew the strongest hurricane since 1926, left only seven of the fourteen houses standing. The destruction was devastating, but half of the stilt houses survived. A testimony to the quality building design of many of the structures and a triumph over natures fury.