Tennis Anyone!
“Serve’s up” at these Miami courts: Haulover Park (10800 Collins Ave., south of Sunny Isles; 305-940-6719) counts tennis courts among the other amenities offered. The Tennis Center at Crandon Park (7300 Crandon Blvd., Key Biscayne; 305-365-2300), home of the NASDAQ Open held in March, boasts 16 hard courts, six of which are lighted (reservations are necessary for night play). At the Flamingo Tennis Center (1000 12th St., Miami Beach; 305-673-7761), you can rally on 20 clay courts.

Park Place
The 954-acre Oleta River State Recreation Area (3400 NE 163rd St., Miami; 305-919-1846), the largest urban park in the state, holds some of the last remaining natural features in South Florida, including an 80-acre lagoon and a mangrove-lined island. At home in the Oleta River are mullet, tarpon, pinfish, porgy, sheepshead, snapper, shrimp and mollusks. Other denizens include raccoons, crabs, pelicans, bald eagles, hawks, ibises and egrets. The endangered West Indian manatee also frequents this pristine area. You can swim, fish (a saltwater fishing license is required), canoe, bicycle, hike, picnic, rent a paddleboat or just relax among the red mangroves and Australian pines. Located at the north end of Biscayne Bay, the park is open daily.

On the Water
Boucher Brothers (2301 Collins Ave.; 305-535-8177;
www.boucherbrothers.com) has excellent watercraft instructors plus wave runners, kayaks, boogie board, banana-boat, parasailing and catamaran rental. Therapy IV (Haulover Park, 10800 Collins Ave.; 305-945-1578), a 58-foot, air-conditioned, twin-diesel fishing yacht holding six, offers deep-sea sport fishing for the serious big-game enthusiast in search of marlin and swordfish. Or just do one-stop shopping at Miami Beach Marina (300 Alton Rd.; 305-673-6000): Sissy Baby (305-531-4223) offers 1/2- and 3/4-day trips with 2- and 3-chair boats.

Entertaining large parties? Reward Drift Fishing (305-372-9470) has a
70-foot Coast Guard certified cruisers with full crew, so you can sport-fish in luxury. Florida Yacht Charters and Sales (305-532-8600) offers weekend and live-aboard cruises as well as racing yacht rental. If you want to powerboat on a Sea Ray or a Century, Club Nautico (305-673-2502) is the place to go. And for extreme aquatic action, hit American Watersports Clubs (305-538-7549) for all your Jetski needs. Dolphins often sighted on their tours!

Best Beaches
On Miami Beach (21st to 87th Sts.; 305-673-7714), a 300-foot-wide shoreline beckons you to while away the day. For surfers, South Pointe Park (1 Washington Ave.; 305-673-7714) is where to find the swells. Lummus Park (Ocean Drive, btwn. 5th and 13th Sts.) is great for swimming while North Shore Open Space Park (78th to 87th Sts.; 305-993-2032) boasts trails, bike path, a boardwalk and pavilions. Bal Harbour (96th St.), a small beach, features an exercise course and Key Biscayne sports three miles of beaches and a boardwalk. Consistently rated one of the top ten beaches in the U.S, Crandon Park (4000 Crandon Blvd., Key Biscayne; 305-361-5421) offers bird refuge, a marina and cabana rentals while Haulover Beach Park (10800 Collins Ave.) has more than one mile of beach with a boardwalk, concessions, a marina, a kite-flying area and a nude beach area.
Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Recreation Area (1200 S. Crandon Blvd.; 305-361-5811) is considered the area’s best picnic beach. Windsurfing conditions
at Hobie Beach (North side of the Rickenbacker Causeway; 305-361-2833) are good for beginners. Experienced windsurfers will want to waft over to Virginia Key Beach (north of Key Biscayne; 305-361-2833), an Atlantic-facing strand.

Body Rejuvenation
Shula’s Athletic Club (15150 Bull Run Road, Miami Lakes; 305-870-8025) offers four indoor racquetball courts, a tennis center, badminton and volleyball. Williams Island Spa (5300 Island Blvd., Aventura; 305-937-7860) offers deep-tissue, shiatsu, even fitness classes. Le Spa Lancôme (150 8th St., Miami Beach; 305-674-6744) is a Parisian-style salon specializing in facials, full-body massage
and manicure. Salon Blu (101 Washington Ave.; South Beach 305-531-2020) seduces with advanced massage therapy while J. Sisters (669 Lincoln Ln.; South Beach, 305-672-7142) pampers the mind as well as the body. Aventura Holistic Day Spa
(17070 W. Dixie Hwy., Aventura; 305-957-8814) offers whole-body treatments and reflexology. At Bellezza (7245 S.W. 57th Court;
305-284-0669) a full staff of masseurs, hair pros and aestheticians await you. Open 7 days.

Off to the Races!
Gulfstream Park (901 S. Federal Hwy., Hallandale; 954-454-7000) opens its gates Weds.-Mon., beginning January 3, 2004. At Calder Race Course (Palmetto Expressway/27th Ave.; 305-625-1311), hear the thunder of hooves from April through December. Fans go to the dogs at Hollywood Greyhound Track (U.S. 1 and Pembroke Road, Hallandale Beach; 954-924-3200), December through May, and at Flagler Greyhound Track (401 N.W. 38 Court; 305-649-3000), June through November.

Snap to It
Gator Park (24050 S.W. 8th St., Miami, FL 33187; 305-559-2255; www.gatorpark.com) Located 12 Miles West of The Turnpike on S.W. 8th Street in the heart of Everglades National Park, no trip to Miami would be complete without an airboat tour around South Florida’s unique wetlands. See alligators, snakes, and all manner of swamp creatures prowl this fragile ecosystem as the pilot wisks you over the marshy surface. Onsite restaurant also serves alligator sausage and fresh frog legs. Open every day 9 am to 6 pm, regardless of weather.

Underwater Adventures
South Beach Divers (850 Washington Ave., South Beach; 305-531-6110) offers instruction about Miami’s 60-70 dive able wrecks. Tarpoon Lagoon (300 Alton Road, South Beach; 305-532-1445) offers scuba instruction at all levels. Snorkel at Looe Key (a coral island sanctuary) and 78-square-mile
John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (off Key Largo; 305-451- 1621), America’s first underwater park. View the nearly submerged Biscayne National Park (9700 S.W. 328th St., Homestead; 305-230-7275), one of only a few aquatic parks in the nation. The three-hour, glass-bottom boat tour (305-230-1100), introduces you to manatees and other marine creatures. Reservations are required for tours. And Crandon Park Visitors Center (6767 Crandon Blvd., Key Biscayne; 305-361-6767) offers a kayaking and snorkeling trip to the Half Moon Shipwreck