Sandspur Island sits two nautical miles west of Haulover Inlet, a quarter-acre crescent of shell and sand that vanished from nautical charts in the 1970s and reappeared under a new name after a colony of northern raccoons claimed it in the early 1990s. No freshwater source exists on the atoll.
The animals swim from shoreline mangroves or arrive aboard kayaks piloted by well-meaning visitors who began leaving food in the late 1990s. By 2003, the population had stabilized at roughly thirty individuals. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission monitors the colony quarterly but has declined to relocate the animals, citing the difficulty of trapping semi-aquatic raccoons and the absence of documented harm to native species.
Raccoon Island Miami boat tour operators began running commercial trips in 2008, when a single outfitter offered weekend excursions from Pelican Harbor Marina. By 2014, six companies held permits to land on the sandbar. The island's protected status under Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve regulations prohibits overnight stays, campfires, and the introduction of non-native flora. Visitors arrive by private boat, stand-up paddleboard, kayak, or guided tour, typically between sunrise and early afternoon when tidal currents slacken and the animals emerge to forage. The surrounding shallows range from three to seven feet deep, with visibility often exceeding fifteen feet in calm conditions. Seagrass beds encircle the island, hosting juvenile snapper, parrotfish, and occasional nurse sharks that rest motionless on the sandy bottom.
The tours themselves vary in format. Wildlife cruises depart from marinas along Biscayne Boulevard and the 79th Street Causeway, many pairing the raccoon encounter with stops at Haulover Sandbar, a submerged shelf where boaters anchor in waist-deep water on summer weekends. Kayak and paddleboard expeditions launch from Oleta River State Park or Pelican Harbor, following marked channels through red mangrove tunnels before crossing open water to the island. Swim tours permit guests to wade among the raccoons under operator supervision, though wildlife officers discourage physical contact. The animals tolerate human presence but remain unpredictable, and the preserve authority has posted signage reminding visitors that feeding wildlife violates state statute 68A-4.001. Morning departures offer the calmest seas and the highest likelihood of raccoon activity before midday heat drives the colony into the shade of sparse buttonwood shrubs that cling to the island's interior.
4 hr
