Bal Harbour Beach, Florida
Overview
Bal Harbour Beach is the public beach of the village of Bal Harbour, at the northern end of the Miami Beach barrier island. It runs for about a mile along Collins Avenue, from 96th Street, where Surfside ends, north to Haulover Inlet. The beach is backed by landscaped dunes and a paved beach walk that runs the length of the village, with oceanfront hotels and condominium towers behind it and the Bal Harbour Shops across Collins Avenue.
The beach itself is public, although the hotels provide loungers and umbrellas on the sand in front of them for their guests. Public facilities are limited compared with the larger county beaches nearby.
Our current condition score for this beach is .
Photo summary of last month
Each photograph is published unedited and in date order, and is replaced as newer submissions arrive, so what appears here is the most recent view of the beach rather than a promotional photograph.
Bal Harbour lies between Surfside and Haulover, so its photographs are a useful comparison with Haulover and Sunny Isles to the north and Miami Beach to the south on the same day.
Position relative to the Atlantic sargassum belt
Sargassum reaches South Florida from the Atlantic belt when easterly winds push floating rafts ashore, and the amounts vary greatly from week to week. Miami-Dade County Parks cleans the beaches from Government Cut to the Broward County line each morning during the season, and the stretches immediately north and south of Haulover Cut, at the northern end of Bal Harbour, are among the county's designated hot spots where heavy accumulations are removed with specialised tractors. State and federal rules prohibit removing sargassum from the water before it lands, so it is cleared only once it reaches the sand.
The sargassum season
In South Florida the local sargassum season usually runs from about May to October, with the peak in June and July, according to Miami-Dade County Parks. Volumes vary considerably from one year to the next, so recent photographs are a better guide than the calendar.
The beach walk and the jetty
The paved beach walk runs along the back of the sand through Bal Harbour and into Surfside, and is popular for walking and jogging. At the northern end, the beach curves into Haulover Inlet, where a concrete jetty extends into the ocean and is used for fishing and for its views of Haulover and Sunny Isles.
Swimming conditions and safety
Lifeguard cover is limited compared with Miami Beach and Haulover Park, so swimmers should check the conditions and the flags before entering the water. Currents near Haulover Inlet can be strong, and swimming close to the inlet should be avoided.
Access and getting there
The main public access is at 96th Street and Collins Avenue, with metered street parking nearby. The 102nd Street path is reserved for residents. Parking is limited, and many visitors use the Bal Harbour Shops garage or arrive by bus along Collins Avenue.
Check live conditions before you go
On the live map we track Bal Harbour Beach with dated photographs and a current condition score, which makes it easy to compare with Haulover, Sunny Isles and Miami Beach on the same morning.
See live conditions, photos & cams →