COOL PLACES – ACCESSIBILITY AND COMFORT ON THE ROAD THROUGH THE FOUR SEASONS: PART 4

COOL PLACES PART 2

By Steve Wright and Heidi Johnson-Wright

The United States is brimming with cool places in the desert, on the Pacific Coast, in the most urban surroundings and even in the subtropical swamp.

These places are cool because they’re hip, they’re cool because when you gaze on their natural and manmade charms, you’re sure to shout out “how cool!” and they’re cool in terms of climate – if you pick the right time of year.

Here is a guide to four wheelchair-accessible major destinations, with information on picking the right time of year and tips for staying cool in all four seasons.

Miami

Miami, a place so famed for its blazing sun that the city’s NBA team is named the Heat. But in January, the Magic City is magnificently temperate with daytime highs in the mid 70s and balmy nighttime lows of about 60.

Winter is the perfect time to stroll on South Beach and make a daytrips to the Everglades or Keys.

Don’t be surprised to see locals in leather jackets on Miami Beach’s famed Lincoln Road in January. The temperature that feels perfectly balmy to you feels like a deep freeze to the locals.

Just roll along the wide, pedestrian-only pathways of Lincoln Road and eat at outdoor cafes, shop at chi-chi boutiques and people watch to your heart’s content.

Head a few blocks south on Collins Avenue and turn east to fabled Ocean Drive. There are three barrier-free routes to drink in the oceanfront art deco gems and other candy colored confections: sidewalks on either side of the street, or via a serpentine pathway between the famous street and beach.

The beach east of the serpentine wall is accessible via beach wheelchair available for free from the City of Miami Beach Beach Patrol Station. For great proximity to the Beach, Keys and Glades, not to mention the largest (and lift-equipped) pool in North America, stay at the famous Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables.

Everglades National Park is a natural wonder unlike any other. Famous for its gators and swamps, it also has several boardwalks that accommodate wheelchair-using visitors.

The Royal Palm Visitor Center’s Anhinga Trail, which provides access via pavement and wooden boardwalk, is a fabulous half-mile round trip. This self-guiding trail winds through a sawgrass marsh, where you may see alligators, turtles, anhingas, herons, egrets, and many other birds, especially during winter’s temperate days.

The Pahayokee Overlook, a quarter mile trail boardwalk loop that provides sweeping vistas of the “river of grass,” is fully wheelchair-accessible and wonderfully tranquil.

In Key Largo, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park has a Mangrove Trail with a barrier-free boardwalk that loops through a natural wetland. Winter time is not only cooler, but the best time to avoid the mosquitoes and other flying creatures.

For the best sunset views on the planet, book a fishing or sightseeing charter with Captain Mick Nealey’s Tranquil Adventures. The Captain has a ramp-equipped pontoon boat that is perfect for wheelchair users. It even has hydraulic lifts to enable mobility-impaired snorkelers and kayakers.

Editor's Note: The idea for Cool Places came from a friend of ours who has Multiple Sclerosis. Folks with MS generally do not fare well in the heat and humidity -- thus the need to travel to the subtropics or desert when it's cool out.