Cycling along Miami Beach and Ocean Drive

Miami Beach, if any, is the ideal cycling destination. South Beach bike paths are many and you can easily bike along Ocean Drive and the miles long beach promenade. Or take any quiet South Beach street and feel the tropics and the great art deco.

This post will help you explore Miami’s South Beach along bike paths. We took bikes and explored South Beach riding them. As biking is by far the best way to see South Beach sights, I made a South Beach cycling itinerary and put it on Google maps.

Cycling along Miami Beach

As Miami Beach has bike rentals all around, it’s super easy to get a bike.

Or, why not do like we did, take a self-service blue Deco Bike? To get your bike just pay for it with your card. If you don’t see any bikes available outside your hotel, go and look for more bike holders in the most crowded areas.

Miami Beach Deco Bike locations

So now we have the bikes, let’s go cycling! But first some words about Miami Beach.

About Miami Beach

Miami South Beach, a beach hut

Florida is blessed with 1600 km (1000 miles) of fine sandy beaches. Among all these beaches Miami Beach is the most famous. But Miami Beach is much more than a sand stretch, it’s a normal city where local people live. And the southern part of which has its special South Beach atmosphere,

The city of Miami Beach is on a long sandbar that is linked with bridges to Florida’s mainland. Before the first bridge was built in the 1920’s Miami Beach was just an isolate tropical island.

After the bridges people started to move to the sandbar and hundreds of stylish art deco houses were built in the southern part of Miami Beach, now called South Beach. Today up to 800 of these beautiful art deco creations still stand there.

Miami Beach: Ocean Drive

So if you ever go to Miami, you must see its South Beach. There is the Ocean Drive with art deco houses, and of course the beach and beach huts in all colors. And other must see places like Lincoln Road, Espanola and the South Point area. We will see all these places as we bike along this route:

Miami Beach Bike Map

Our Miami Beach cycling route on the map

The map shows Miami Beach and its southern part South Beach. South Beach is where the main sights are and the place tourists come to Miami for.

I marked our cycling itinerary on the map. You can start your bike ride wherever you like, but I will now begin from Ocean Drive.

Cycling along Miami Beach: Ocean Drive

Cycling Miami Beach, Ocean Drive

Ocean Drive is by far the most famous street of South Beach. It’s opposite to the sandy beach and has a whole row of stylish art deco buildings from the 1930’s. They are hotels, restaurants, cafés, bars and trendy shops.

There are always crowds of people walking around or just sitting in their cars and looking at the beauty. As the traffic is very slow you should avoid this street if you are in a hurry. For us the slow traffic doesn’t matter. we have bikes.

To really feel the South Beach atmosphere, spend some time in Ocean Drive cafés and bars. If it’s morning it may be quiet, afternoons and evenings are the busiest time here on South Beach.

To get the greatest views of the Ocean Drive you should come here in the morning or early in the afternoon, as long as the sun shines on the houses. In the afternoon the sun has already moved behind them and you don’t see the details that well.

Bike riding on Miami Beach: Ocean Drive

There are houses with rounded corners, sharp corners, corner windows, flat roofs, vertical columns and they all come in all ice-cream colors. And most of the houses have only three floors.

Read more about Ocean Drive art deco houses here.

Then, if you want to see even more art deco buildings, there are more of them on Collins and Washington Avenues which are right behind Ocean Drive, and more houses exist scattered all over the sandbar.

Miami Beach

Cycling along Miami Beach: a typical South Beach hut

What about the beach then? Here you can see the fine sandy beach and one of its colorful lifeguard huts. Miami Beach almost never ends, it’s miles and miles long.

The beach is very busy and often full of young Miami locals of all ethnic backgrounds and tourists from all parts of the world.

Caribbean colors of Miami beach

Cycling along Miami Beach: Lummus Park

Lummus Park, Miami Beach

Lummus Park is a green area full of palms and separates Ocean Drive from the beach. Here you can choose if you want to head north or south. There is a walking and cycling path all the way along the beach in both directions.

The only Lummus Park building and the benches are all built in a beautiful art deco style.

Biking through Miami beach hotel zone

Lincoln Road Mall

Miami’s shopping street: Lincoln Road Mall

Lincoln Road Mall on the 17th Street is the area’s main shopping street, a beautiful walking area with shops, art galleries and outdoor restaurants and cafes.

On certain weekdays there is a street market.

Lincoln Road is great place for meeting friends for lunch or dinner, or just for people-watching.

Exploring Miami Beach by bike: Lincoln Road Mall cafes

Cycling along Miami Beach: Espanola

Cycling along Miami Beach, Espanola buildings

Proceeding south to the 14th and 15th Streets there is a small piece of Mediterranean, salmon-colored houses and red-tile roofs. A Mediterranean street, here in Florida, US!

Espanola streets are packed with restaurants that mainly serve Spanish or Italian food. Just like back home in Europe.

Espanola Way ,South Beach, Florida

South Point

Now we will proceed south, to the southern part of Miami Beach and Miami Beach Marina. You will have to take the beach bike path southwards from Lummus Park.

You will see a fishing pier (South Point Pier) where you can get very close to Caribbean cruisers as they are sailing off from Miami Harbour. It looks like you can almost touch them when they sail to open seas through the narrow waterway.

Cycling along Miami Beach, The South Point

As the waves are bigger in the southern part of the beach this a good surfing area. And it’s not as crowded down here as on the main beach.

Here you can see a Carnival cruiser on its way to Caribbean harbors.

Caribbean cruiser leaving Miami harbor

Miami Beach Marina

Miami Beach bike path: the Marina

Further south, the South Point Park has an amazing water playground for children. Maybe we are too old for that?

The palm-fringed walkway is ideal for biking. Our route follows the shore all the way around the South Point and on to the busy marina. Here you have two alternatives, either you can turn back and return the same way you came, or just take the straightest small side streets back to Ocean Drive. Whatever you prefer.

If you took a Deco Bike, you don’t have to return it where you took it. You can bring it back to any South Beach area Deco Bike point.

Enjoying cycling along Miami Beach bike paths

Miami Skyline

Or, to end your bike ride you can still cycle to the end of 16th Street or Lincoln Road, to the lagoon side of South Beach. There is a small harbor where you get the most beautiful sunset view, with downtown Miami on the background.