Virginia Key's sister community: Stiltsville

Viewed from the edge of Hobie Beach off Virginia Key, the houses on the far horizon appear almost as apparitions in Biscayne Bay.

But they’re not.

They are the seven remaining houses of Stiltsville, the quirky, beautiful, battered collection of wood stilt houses that rise from the bay bottom in Biscayne National Park.

Some historians believe houses started sprouting atop the flats of Biscayne Bay as early as the 1920‘s, originally as ice houses for fisherman plying deeper waters. Eventually there were as many as 25 houses out there, with some becoming notorious party houses, worthy of police raids.

In June 1980, Congress expanded Biscayne National Park’s boundaries to include the “community” of Stiltsville whose property owners had once leased the bay bottom from the State of Florida.

Today, the National Park Service, in conjunction with the Stiltsville Trust, maintain and operate the structures, which are made available to groups for special events and educational purposes. The Park Service indicates the ultimate goal is to rehabilitate the buildings for community meeting spaces, a National Park Service Visitor Centers, research facilities or an artist-in-residence program.

Learn more about the colorful history of Stiltsville and its denizens in a new documentary
“Stiltsville: Generations on the Flats” that premieres Sunday, August 22 at 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m on WLRN - 17. It will also air again Wed., August 25 at 9:30 p.m. and Thurs., August 26 at 9 p.m.


Resources:

http://www.nps.gov/bisc/historyculture/stiltsville.htm

http://www.wlrn.org/stiltsville/

Kayaking the Key

The Virginia Key “experience” is as much about the waters surrounding the 1,000 acre island as it is the wilderness of its tropical hammocks and dunes.

The island is surrounded by the protected waters of the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve, which includes 67,000 acres of sovereign submerged lands. The Preserve shares the bay with Biscayne National Park, whose watery boundary begins just to the south. (If you’ve ever sailed past Stiltville in Biscayne Bay, you’ve been in National Park territory.)

Biscayne Bay’s shallow, clear waters make it a haven for nature lovers who can peer over the edge of the vessels to see all manner of critters that make their home in the soft sediments of mud or sand or among the seagrasses, including Johnson’s seagrass, a threatened species found only in southeast Florida.

And then there’s the wildlife swimming alongside, on the edges or flying above.

The fact there’s a major metropolis just over the horizon makes the experience even more thrilling and startling:

Siobhan Morrissey, who rows in the early mornings in the Marine Stadium lagoon, paints the picture:

“Perhaps the best place to see the moon over Miami is from a boat that sits a mere six inches off the water and glides silently along with a cityscape for a backdrop.

We also see dolphins breaching above the water. Occasionally a manatee may become intrigued enough to investigate us as our oars silently slip into the water and propel us along.

The lagoon by the rowing club provides a refuge for other animals, as well. On any given day we see blue herons wading at the shoreline, pelicans in formation, pods of leopard rays and an occasional shark or crocodile.
It’s amazing to see such wildlife in the midst of Miami.

TRIP! Experience this watery world of Virginia Key on a kayaking trip sponsored by the Tropical Audubon Society Sat., Feb. 20 that combines adventure with nature photography. Bring your own kayak ($10) or rent one for $35. Reservations and information can be made by calling or emailing Tropical Audubon: 786-543-1926 or tropicalaudubon@gmail.com

More info:
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/coastal/sites/biscayne/
http://www.tropicalaudubon.com


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