North Point: hiking and biking in the "forbidden zone"

The North Point of Virginia Key - the point that faces Fisher Island - is a forbidden zone.

The 22-acre site is locked behind a chain linked fence that abruptly ends the joy ride through the island as it edges the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Station, just past the Jimbo’s parking area.

But this week about dozen people, including bike enthusiasts, conservationists, biologists and a handful of city employees, got together to tour the North Point to discuss how to best site biking and hiking trails through the Point.

The area has been heavily impacted by the dumping of dredge spill from a previous Port of Miami expansion. But that has also created rare South Florida bluffs - as high as 50 feet -- above Biscayne Bay, where visitors get spectacular views of the city skyline and the green tranquility of mangrove shorelines stretching to the Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Refuge.

The undulating landscape also has bicyclists excited to roam through the wilds of an area free of vehicular traffic.

DERM biologist Gary Milano was on hand Wednesday to talk about the restoration work he has been doing in there since the late 1990’s.

“The area is holding it’s own,” he said, as he surveyed the landscape of mature sea grape trees he planted more than a decade ago. “Those trees started off in coffee cans.”

The dune area that faces Fisher Island has been restored, he told the crowd. Next up: recreating a wetland area through a tidal creek that flows all the way from the Shrimper’s Lagoon near Jimbo’s.

North Point contains some of Virginia Key’s most important wildlife habitats, according to state biologists who examined the area in the 1990‘s in response to the City of Miami’s request to waive deed restrictions. Manatees, wading birds, loggerhead sea turtles all depend on the North Point and its surrounding waters for their survival.

A 1994 report from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection stated:

“The area is highly productive fish and wildlife habitat, as well as a movement corridor for the endangered manatee...A narrow coastal berm on the north shoreline supports a variety of rare plant life and is documented habitat for marine turtles.”

Finding a clear path that protects the restored natural areas and steers clear of future areas marked for restoration was the point of the walk. 


Next step, drawing a road map that reflects a consensus among all interested users.

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