Sunny Isles Beach, FL

Sunny Isles Beach fits an unusually dense city onto a narrow barrier island. The Atlantic Ocean forms its eastern edge, the Intracoastal Waterway its western edge, and Collins Avenue runs the length of the 1.01-square-mile land area. A bridge across Haulover Cut made the area readily accessible from Miami Beach in 1925. By the mid-twentieth century, as many as 50 theatrically themed motels lined Collins Avenue on a strip known as Motel Row; the Newport Fishing Pier, built in 1936, was one of its gathering places. The municipality incorporated on June 16, 1997. Many older motels subsequently gave way to high-rise residences and hotels, while the city acquired sites for parks, public facilities, and beach access. The city now maintains 22 paved or concrete public passages from Collins Avenue to the ocean, all marked accessible, with showers or restrooms at many locations.

ATTRRon Reiring / CC BY 2.0

Samson Oceanfront Park combines a beach path with a playground, pavilion, lawn, and performance stage; the restored Newport pier remains open for walking and fishing. West of Collins, Pelican Community Park supplies classrooms, a fitness room, an indoor gym, a ball field, playgrounds, youth programs, athletics, and camps. Gateway Park adds a stage, water-play area, butterfly garden, and space for quarterly Gateway LIVE performances. The city manages 11 parks in all, schedules monthly beach cleanups, and runs recreation programs for youth, teens, adults, and seniors. Its free community shuttle operates seven days a week, and Miami-Dade Transit routes 75 and 100 also stop in Sunny Isles Beach.