50 June 27- July 3, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times b e s T o f m i a m i ® 2 0 2 4 BEST ROCK CLIMBING Velocity Climbing 2280 NW 41st Street Miami, 33142 786-542-5005 velocityclimbing.com Rock climbing in flat-as-a-pancake Miami would have been a mere novelty not long ago. But thanks to palm-sweating documentaries like Free Solo and the sport earning a spot in the 2021 Summer Olympics, South Florida now boasts four climbing gyms and counting. The most recent gym to open, Velocity Climbing, however, is the clear go-to. The newly minted 23,000-square-foot gym features 60-foot walls, two floors of bouldering (climbing without a rope on shorter walls), a regular fitness area, and Florida’s first speed-climbing wall. A curi- ous layperson can take up the sport and get a fun workout with beginner classes and auto-belays — a system that lets you climb the high walls by yourself. And thanks to good natural light, scal- ing the tall walls at golden hour makes it one of Miami’s new best spots to catch the sunset, al- most as if you’re perched high on a prime piece of granite in the wilderness. BEST CHEAP THRILL Foraging for Fruit Though we reported in 2022 that it is techni- cally illegal to pick fruit on another person’s property, what kind of cheap thrill is on the right side of the law? Our semi-tropical envi- rons make for a wild, diverse, all-you-can-eat fruit buffet, and yes, sometimes you have to put it all on the line for some titillating flavors. Most famously, in the summer, it’s mango season, when the stickiest and sweetest of fruits have all kinds of gourmands risking life and limb to climb fence and tree. Our big, meaty Florida av- ocados and star fruit ripen anywhere from June to January, while papayas pop up year-round. But if you want to play it safe by plucking only fruits on public property, scale a palm tree for unlimited, year-round coconuts. On the coast, you can snag sea grapes, ripe from August to October. Just make sure you eat them when they’re the darkest of purple, or they’ll taste more sea than grape. Snack on some ripe red Surinam cherries when they pop up on hedges from April through June, and don’t sleep on co- coplums from winter to spring. BEST FREE THRILL 420 Space Yoga 34 NE 11th Street Miami, 33132 786-357-6456 instagram.com/420spaceyoga instagram.com/tifftopia One way you can make a karmic payment to your body after doing it dirty at Club Space is to partake in a free afternoon yoga at the same place you blacked out the week before. Every Saturday at 4:20 p.m., you’ll find jubilant yoga instructor Tiffany “Tifftopia” Levy or her col- leagues leading 420 Space Yoga. Classes include free water and a DJ who spins more tranquil beats than the hedonistic club usually serves up. The hourlong classes are vinyasa-based and fill up quickly, so make sure to go early and RSVP ahead of time. Not everyone wants to go to a bass-bumping club, but it’s hard to deny a free yoga class. And when factoring in a unique loca- tion? Well, if someone asks if you wanna leave, you’ll say, “Namaste.” 420 Space Yoga will be moving to Club Space’s outdoor venue Factor Town for the summer while the club is reno- vated but will be back in business in the fall. BEST UNAFFORDABLE THRILL La Caja Miami 1395 Brickell Avenue Miami, 33131 [email protected] lacajamiami.com Want to feel like a celebrity, dominating the blue waves of the Atlantic with your crew, but feel like renting a booze boat for the day is just so ba- sic? If you really want to stand out — and splurge — grab 11 of your closest friends and rent a char- ter from La Caja for $2,300 and take it on a four- hour ride of your life. Despite its name, it’s not a floating box with a crisp pig inside, but more like a floating 40-foot slab. There’s a covered section with a cute bar area and a couch, but you’re going to want to spend your time on the main open deck sprawled out on lounge chairs, absorbing vitamin D. While the initial fee just gets you a captain, the company can connect you with private chefs or wellness instructors to re- ally add that extra level of bougie to your float- ing (or gloating) experience. BEST PLACE TO TAKE THE KIDS Tidal Cove 19999 W. Country Club Drive Aventura, 33180 786-279-6152 tidalcovemiami.com Not far from where children of Miami’s 1980s fondly remember summer days at Six Flags At- lantis is a newer, fancier water park, Tidal Cove. Oddly hidden behind Aventura Mall as part of a luxury hotel, it’s an aquatic wonderland for chill- and thrill-seeking kids alike. For the tini- est, there are the splash pads and mellow slides of Kids Cove. Bigger kids can laze the hours away in a slow-flowing chlorinated loop of a lazy river. Little daredevils will get their kicks climbing the never-ending stairs of a number of scream-inducing waterslides. Some of the highlights include the Boomerango, where you raft into a zero-gravity effect, or the Aquadrop, where the floor disappears from underneath you for a gut-clenching free fall. Definitely make time for the Flowrider, where you can boogie board or surf in an artificial stationary surf machine. It can be a pricey day out, but the experience is free for JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort and Spa guests. BEST DOG PARK Blanche Park 3045 Shipping Avenue Coconut Grove, 33133 miami.gov/Parks-Public-Places /Parks-Directory/Blanche-Park If you’re looking for a dog park where the hu- mans who visit are just as friendly as the dogs, then Blanche Park is your canine hotspot. No matter the time of day (but especially from 4 to 8 p.m.), you’ll find more than a dozen dog own- ers with their well-behaved pooches roaming the tree-lined, fenced-in park. This is a prop- erly nice park with artificial turf, rolling hills, clean-up and water stations, and bench seating. It’s also impressively clean, and the Coconut Grove neighborhood it’s nestled in is equally charming. A welcoming spot with regulars, you’re in good company to gush about your four-legged buddies and to make yourself a few new two-legged friends. BEST PILATES STUDIO Breathe Pilates Miami 8650 Biscayne Boulevard, #31 El Portal, 33138 786-275-4128 breathepilatesmiami.com A great Pilates class is a joy: Your body glides along while pushing, pulling, and moving your limbs in time with your breath. It awakens a wonderland of muscles and tissues you didn’t know existed. Even gym fanatics bent on HIIT or boot-camp workouts are catching on that Pilates very well will kick their asses, albeit in a gentle way. Pilates has almost become too trendy, with an ever-growing number of cor- porate franchises crowding out smaller spots that offer personalized, boutique-style classes. But Breathe Pilates is one of the hidden gems, a bright, airy oasis amid the hubbub of Bis- cayne Boulevard near 79th Street. The impec- cable studio is equipped with six reformers and springboards and an advanced piece of equipment called a “Cadillac.” Owner Gretchen Wagoner brings decades of experi- ence, and her meticulous approach to form shines with integrity. A few well-trained in- structors are hands-on and attentive, and wel- coming group classes are geared toward all ages and abilities. BEST YOGA Mimi Yoga 278 NW 27th Street Miami, 33127 305-456-8686 mimiyoga.com To know Mimi Yoga’s founder is to love her. And her studio. And her retreats. A woman as beautiful as her practice, its founder Mimi Ghandour has upped the game and fostered a community that lives by her mantra to “just show up.” Within the confines of her transfor- mative central Wynwood space, her seafoam green, posh yet petite operation is where fitness lovers and yogis alike gather to sweat their wor- ries away. BEST OUTDOOR GROUP FITNESS CLASS Soca Step 3 area locations, including: Vincent Torres Memorial Park 4331 NW 36th Street Lauderdale Lakes, 33319 instagram.com/tailoredfitness12 Not to be confused with the geriatric step aero- bics classes at your local rec center, Soca Step turns cardio into Carnival. The brainchild of fit- ness coach Rhomyka Gardner and taught by Tailored Fitness owner Kamal “Coach Kam” Cudjoe, Soca Step is taught every first, third, and fourth Friday at Vincent Torres Memorial Park in Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill Sports Park, and City Park in Sunrise, respectively. What started eight years ago at Tailored Fitness in Lauderhill turned into a viral fitness sensa- tion that attracts hundreds of people every month. Bring your flag — and coordination — to Soca Step and be prepared to whine yuh waist like you’re at a Caribbean fete. Cudjoe’s energy is as buoyant as the live soca mix. Yes, he’ll call you out for not moving your waistline. Partner- ships with global brands like Nike have bol- stered this friendly class’ popularity, but Cudjoe plans to keep the classes free and accessible to the community.
