The Miami River originates from the Everglades and runs through downtown Miami to reach Biscayne Bay. The length of the narrow river is around 5 miles. It is very interesting to rent a boat in Miami and to cruise along its path. The atmosphere and environments change radically from miles to miles. The exit of the Miami River in downtown shows a hectic real estate development activity with recent luxury building just completed such as the Carbonell, One Miami, Brickell on the River and much more. New projects in development are also coming such as the famous Phillipe's Starck Icon.

Heading up the river, visitors will discover the historic face of the Miami River with old fashioned fisheries with fleets of small fishing boats. Scenery then changes to show old historic Key West type two story family homes located next to trendy restaurants. During the journey visitors will cross roads with huge cargo boats descending the river to heads towards the Caribbean.

The Miami River went trough a serious face lift with old marinas disappearing and giving life to new condominiums projects. Historically the river was the area where major illicit trades were conducted, drugs, contraband, and illegal aliens. Continuing efforts by local enforcement authorities such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, The United States Coast Guards etc, minimized illicit trades to an acceptable level. Cruising further up the river a large number of ship yards are found.