Seven wooden houses on stilts a mile offshore in the shallow flats of Biscayne Bay, Stiltsville is Miami's most improbable surviving architecture — a collection of structures built over the water beginning in the 1930s as fishing shacks, party houses, and social clubs that existed in a legal grey zone between land and sea. At their peak there were twenty-seven buildings; hurricanes, neglect, and regulatory pressure reduced them to the seven that remain, now maintained by the Stiltsville Trust and protected within Biscayne National Park. Visible from the Cape Florida shoreline as silhouettes against the open water, Stiltsville is a monument to Miami's fundamental character: build it anyway, worry about the permits later.
Location
Key Biscayne, Miami
Map
Insider Intel
Kayak or paddleboard from the Cape Florida shore for the self-powered approach — the shallow flats allow you to wade and paddle close to the structures. Boat charters from various Miami marinas offer narrated tours. The Stiltsville Trust hosts occasional open-house events that allow access to the structures themselves — check their website for scheduled events. Photograph from the south side in the afternoon for the best light. The approach is the experience; the structures are not publicly accessible on a regular basis.
Calm-water mornings from October through April when the bay is flat and the visibility is best. The kayak approach requires calm conditions — check wind and wave forecasts before launching. The Stiltsville Trust events are seasonal and sell out quickly; plan well in advance. Full moon nights when the structures silhouette against the sky are dramatic but require a boat.
Stiltsville is located approximately one mile south of Cape Florida in the shallow flats of Biscayne Bay, within the boundaries of Biscayne National Park. Access is by boat, kayak, or paddleboard only — there is no land connection. The structures are not open to the public except during scheduled Stiltsville Trust events. The waters around the houses are shallow (two to four feet in many areas) and the seagrass flats are ecologically sensitive — avoid grounding boats or trampling vegetation. No facilities of any kind exist on the structures. Bring water, sunscreen, and everything you will need. The history of Stiltsville — gambling clubs, Prohibition-era parties, hurricane survival — is worth reading before visiting.