A short notice now sits at the top of the Florida State Parks page for Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Effective October 28, king-tide flooding closed the Lighthouse Grounds "until further notice," and lighthouse tours were canceled for the same period. That puts the island's best-known landmark off-limits just as Key Biscayne starts its busiest stretch of the year. That stretch includes a race named for the lighthouse, a boat parade in the harbor beside it, and a holiday 5K that is no longer held in the park at all.
The traditions are all going ahead, but the map has changed. This November and December, more of the island's season takes place along Crandon Boulevard, from the Village Green up to Crandon Park. The southern tip still hosts the big moments, but you'll get less of it than you're used to. The guide below runs south to north, so you can see what's open where, before the calendar fills up.
At the Cape: the traditions hold, with closed areas around them
The Lighthouse Grounds closure is the newest limit at Bill Baggs, but it isn't the first. The same Florida State Parks page shows that Beach Access #3 and the park's fishing piers have been closed for repairs since September 11, 2023. Repair work is in the pipeline. In October 2025, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection posted bid results for "Overwater Viewing Platform and Bulkhead Improvements" at the park. The project covers part of the bulkhead and fishing platforms #5 through #8, with platforms #1 through #4 bid as an alternate. Razorback LLC was named the anticipated awardee at $2,407,000. That notice gives no construction schedule, so for now the piers stay on the closed list.
The park itself is open from 8 a.m. to sunset every day of the year. Several anchor events of the season are still scheduled there.
The 49th Key Biscayne Lighthouse Run is Saturday, November 14. According to the Miami & Miami Beach event listing, the 10K starts at 7:40 a.m. and the 5K run/walk at 7:50 a.m. Both courses start and finish near the lighthouse and loop through Village streets. Registration is $40, with no race-day sign-ups, and the park entrance closes at 7:15 a.m. on race morning. If you aren't running, that 7:15 cutoff matters most. Anyone planning a beach morning at the Cape that day should plan around it. The Village lists the run as an island tradition held on the second Saturday of November and organized by the volunteer Lighthouse Run Committee, with the Village co-sponsoring alongside the state park.
The same morning, Florida State Parks lists a 2nd Saturday Day of Action cleanup at Cape Florida from 9 to 11 a.m. A December session follows on Saturday, December 12, at the same hours.
Friends of Cape Florida is keeping evening programs going at Pavilion D-18:
- Wellness in the Park: Sunset Stretch & Core runs Thursday, November 19, and Thursday, December 10. The Key Biscayne Independent lists 5 to 6 p.m. for both dates. Friends members attend free, nonmembers make a $15 donation, park entry applies, and an RSVP is required. Some listings give 6 p.m. for the November session, so check the time on the RSVP before you head down.
- Line Dancing in the Park is Wednesday, November 25, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. It's free for Friends members and $15 for nonmembers, plus park entry, and The Cleat stays open afterward.
No Name Harbor's big night is December 12
The Village calendar says only that the Winterfest Boat Parade at No Name Harbor happens in mid-December. The Friends of Cape Florida event page gives the details for 2026. The Holiday Paddleboard Flotilla & Boat Parade runs Saturday, December 12, from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. It's free with park entry.
Here's how the evening runs:
- 4 to 5 p.m. The Friends paddleboard flotilla meets and launches at No Name Harbor by Boater's Grill, then paddles a small loop around the harbor. Paddleboards and kayaks are both welcome, and a safety boat patrols the loop. Flotilla participants reserve a spot by emailing [email protected].
- Around 6 p.m. Decorated boats arrive. Owners who want to enter a boat coordinate through the Key Biscayne Yacht Club at [email protected].
- 6 to 7 p.m. The boat parade passes through the harbor, with music and an MC narrating. Bring blankets and folding chairs.
Prizes go to "Best Holiday Spirit," "Most Creative," "Best Holiday Outfit for your Pet" and "The Best Shiny Lighthouse." The Cleat will be open for sunset.
The flotilla and boat parade happen at the harbor, well away from the Lighthouse Grounds. Even so, the lighthouse is the backdrop, and this year it's a view from outside a closure. That's a good reason to arrive early and settle in by the water.
Crandon Park picks up what moved
The Jingle Bell Jog is this season's clearest example of the shift north. Aggregator calendars still list it at Bill Baggs. The race's RunSignup registration page now announces a venue change "due to some construction issues on the route at Bill Baggs Park." The race has moved to Crandon Park, 6747 Crandon Blvd.
On Saturday, December 19, the 5K starts at 7:15 a.m. and the Elf Dash follows at 8:30 a.m. The 5K was listed at $40, with the price set to rise after November 2. The Elf Dash is $20, and registration for it stays open until 8 a.m. on race day. Instead of a shirt, every participant gets a Santa suit and a pair of jingle bells to tie on their running shoes, and finishers get a holiday-themed medal. If you usually drive to the Cape that morning, head to Crandon instead.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Biscayne Nature Center at 6767 Crandon Blvd has a full fall schedule of its own:
- November 7. Weeding Warriors runs from 10 a.m. to noon for $10. A Public & Family Seagrass Adventure follows from 1 to 3 p.m. at $15 per person.
- November 14. The Miami Watercolor Society Fall Exhibition & Awards Reception runs from 3 to 5 p.m. and is free and open to the public. The run is that morning and the reception is that afternoon, so you can do both.
- November 21. Another Seagrass Adventure runs from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at $15 per person.
- December 19. A Seagrass Adventure runs from 10 a.m. to noon, a few hours after the Jingle Bell Jog wraps up nearby.
Miami-Dade County lists the Crandon Park Visitor and Nature Center as open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Naturalist-guided trips into Bear Cut Preserve can be arranged by calling 305-666-5885.
The Crandon Park Tennis Center has also changed hands. USTA Florida began a one-year interim permit to run it on January 16, 2026, and the County says the goal is to restore prior operating hours and court availability. USTA Florida's fall youth team-play pilot started there on October 17 and finishes with a championship weekend on December 12. That's the same Saturday as the boat parade, so families with a junior player may have both events on the calendar.
The Miami Herald reported in October on a privately funded plan of roughly $80 million to redesign Crandon's golf course and racquet center. The plan would replace the current tennis layout with 27 tennis courts, eight pickleball courts and eight padel courts. According to the Herald, it's still in the planning stage, so nothing changes on the courts this season.
The Village Green holds the middle of the island
Between the Cape and Crandon, the Village keeps its own dates close to home. The Village calendar lists a Community Recycling & Reuse Drive on Saturday, November 7, at 8 a.m., and the Veterans Day Ceremony on Wednesday, November 11, at 9 a.m. on the Village Green.
The Village describes Winterfest as a two-day early-December celebration co-sponsored with the Key Biscayne Chamber of Commerce, with music, local performers, food, amusement rides and a visit from Santa. The Village calendar shows the SPAM Allstars playing Winterfest 2026 at 4 p.m. on Saturday, December 5. The Chamber's Winterfest listing covers Sunday, December 6, from 4 to 7:30 p.m. at the Village of Key Biscayne Civic Center, 530 Crandon Blvd. It's free and open to the public, and Santa arrives for the tree lighting. Saturday is the concert and Sunday is the tree lighting, both at the civic heart of the island.
Getting on and off the island
If friends or family are coming over the Rickenbacker for any of this, they'll be driving through a bridge program that will outlast the holidays. WLRN reported in March on a nearly $4.1 million repair project on the West Bridge and the William Powell Bridge. Weekday overnight lane restrictions were expected, and completion was estimated for spring 2028. The season's big events land on weekends and early evenings, so the overnight weekday work is more likely to matter for late weeknight drives than for trips to the events themselves.
Bear Cut Bridge is on a slower track. In early October, Miami-Dade commissioners unanimously approved an agreement committing the County to the environmental study it needs to pursue federal funding, as Miami Today reported on October 14. According to Miami-Dade's project page, the study began in October 2024 and is expected to finish in March 2027. It will weigh repair, rehabilitation and replacement, and no construction timeline has been set after that. Bear Cut traffic this season should look the way it usually does.
The season on one page
- Sat, Nov 7: Recycling & Reuse Drive, 8 a.m.; Weeding Warriors and Seagrass Adventure at the Biscayne Nature Center
- Wed, Nov 11: Veterans Day Ceremony, Village Green, 9 a.m.
- Sat, Nov 14: Lighthouse Run, with the Bill Baggs entrance closing at 7:15 a.m.; Cape Florida cleanup, 9 a.m.; Watercolor Society reception, 3 p.m.
- Thu, Nov 19: Sunset Stretch & Core, Pavilion D-18
- Sat, Nov 21: Seagrass Adventure, 10:30 a.m.
- Wed, Nov 25: Line Dancing in the Park, 6 p.m.
- Sat, Dec 5: SPAM Allstars at Winterfest, 4 p.m.
- Sun, Dec 6: Winterfest tree lighting, Civic Center, 4 p.m.
- Thu, Dec 10: Sunset Stretch & Core, 5 p.m.
- Sat, Dec 12: Cape Florida cleanup, 9 a.m.; USTA youth championship weekend at Crandon; paddleboard flotilla at 4 p.m. and boat parade at 6 p.m., No Name Harbor
- Sat, Dec 19: Jingle Bell Jog at Crandon Park, 7:15 a.m.; Seagrass Adventure, 10 a.m.
If you're hosting family for Winterfest or the boat parade and someone starts wondering about life on the island full time, I'm glad to talk through which parts of Key Biscayne fit the way they like to spend a December weekend. Ana Leighton is happy to connect whenever that conversation comes up. Let's Connect.
