Entry No. 16 — the Miami file — filed under: roadside oddity
Stiltsville
Six or seven wooden houses on stilts standing alone in a few feet of open water about a mile out in Biscayne Bay — the last survivors of a community that peaked at 27 buildings in 1960, home to a Prohibition-era offshore gambling shack (the Quarterdeck Club) and a 1962 'bikini club' that gave free drinks to women in bikinis. Now managed by the National Park Service and the Stiltsville Trust within Biscayne National Park, reachable only by boat and enterable only with permission/permit.
The story
A mile south of Cape Florida, stranded on the shallow flats known as the Safety Valve where Biscayne Bay meets open water, sits a phantom neighborhood hovering over the tide. Six or seven wooden shacks stand on concrete and timber pilings above the seagrass, looking less like real estate and more like a fever dream or a shipwrecked colony floating in midair.
The village began back in the 1930s during Prohibition. Setting up offshore on shallow sand banks meant you could run gambling shacks and pour drinks completely out of reach of police on dry land. By 1960, the community peaked at 27 buildings and became Miami’s raciest offshore playground—home to notorious high-seas private clubs like the Quarterdeck Club and a 1962 'bikini club' that offered free liquor to women in two-pieces.
Hurricanes, fires, and state land leases slowly tore the settlement apart over the decades until only seven structures survived. Today, the ruins fall under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service and the Stiltsville Trust inside Biscayne National Park. Nobody lives here anymore, and you can't step foot on the decks without a rare permit, leaving these sun-bleached hulls suspended between old Miami's vice history and the bay.
What it's like
Since these houses sit in open water roughly a mile off Key Biscayne, you cannot walk here. You'll need to join an official guided boat tour departing out of Dinner Key Marina in Coconut Grove or launch a private boat, kayak, or paddleboard near Cape Florida. Because stepping onto the platforms is illegal without a permit, the actual experience is circling the perimeter by water at golden hour, watching the low sun strike the weathered wood and cut straight through open doorframes.
The move: Rent or charter a boat, or book a kayak/paddleboard tour out of Key Biscayne, to circle the houses at golden hour — you can't go inside without a permit, but paddling the perimeter of a ghost neighborhood standing in open water is its own strange payoff.
- 📍 Biscayne Bay (off Key Biscayne)
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Departure/viewing point: Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park area, near 1200 S Crandon Blvd, Key Biscayne, FL 33149 — the houses stand roughly a mile offshore in Biscayne Bay
Hours: Added 2026-07-19 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Cape Florida Lighthouse, Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park — Look out over the bay toward Stiltsville from the shore of Cape Florida State Park before visiting its historic 1836 lighthouse.
- Sunset Cruises on Biscayne Bay — Biscayne Nature Center — Pair an offshore paddle around Stiltsville with an evening boat trip focused on Biscayne Bay's broader history of shipwrecks and smugglers.
- Vizcaya Village Night Market — Combine a day spent on the water departing Dinner Key Marina with an evening walk through the historic working village of the nearby Vizcaya estate.
- Swizzle Rum Bar & Drinkery — Follow up your tour of Miami's offshore Prohibition watering holes with a rum drink inside a hidden landbound speakeasy.
Good to know
Can you go inside the Stiltsville houses?
No. The structures are closed to the public and require a special permit from the Stiltsville Trust and the National Park Service to board or enter.
How do you get out to Stiltsville?
You must go by water. You can book a boat tour through the Biscayne National Park Institute from Dinner Key Marina, hire a boat charter, or paddle out via kayak or paddleboard from Key Biscayne.
How many houses are left in Stiltsville?
Six or seven wooden houses remain standing in Biscayne Bay, down from a peak of 27 buildings in 1960.
Why were houses built in the ocean?
They were built on shallow sandbanks starting in the 1930s to bypass mainland laws regarding gambling and Prohibition-era alcohol sales.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: nps.gov · Wikipedia · biscaynenationalparkinstitute.org · Reddit
last checked: 2026-07-19