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Fort Lauderdale Air Show: April 29-30, 2023

The big Fort Lauderdale Air Show will roar over Fort Lauderdale beach in spring 2023.

For years, the Fort Lauderdale Air Show was a highlight of spring, drawing vast crowds to the beach at Sunrise Boulevard and A1A.  There were so many people and so many cars that it took planning and strategy to avoid massive traffic jams and inconvenience. While the show is smaller, there’s little question the crowds, traffic and hassles will be back too.

Blue Angels
US Navy Blue Angels

The 2023 headliner is the spectacular U.S. Navy Blue Angels team, a team of pilots flying F-18 Super Hornets in a combination of formation and solo maneuvers. Other headliners are F-22 Raptor Demo DEMO Team, Navy F-35c Lightning Demo Team and Air Force Reserve F-16 Vipers.

I live two miles west of the prime viewing area at the beach and over the years my family has tried all different ways to go to the Fort Lauderdale Air Show.

There’s no question the best place to be is right on the beach, where you have fabulous sight lines and you can cool down in the water.  But it’s not easy to get there and tickets aren’t cheap.

This year base tickets are $37.50 each for the prime viewing area from Sunrise Boulevard to Northeast 14th Court. (This is essentially, the entire beach to the east of Hugh Taylor Birch State Park.)

I have another strategy, however: See it by kayak.

You won’t see everything like you do from the beach, but if you have your own kayak, it’s free and you’re likely to avoid crowds and traffic. Set your expectations correctly: You’re not “going to the air show.” You’re going out in your kayak and paddling around while the air show buzzes nearby and overhead.

The Blue Angels cover many miles in their routine, so even two miles away at my house, they often fly ear-splittingly and directly overhead.

Where to launch a kayak near Fort Lauderdale Air Show

My advice: If you want to avoid mixing it up with speeding boats and wakes on the Intracoastal, stick to the Middle River, where there are two good options.

You can put in your kayak at the boat dock at Colohatchee Park, 1975 NE 15th Ave., Wilton Manors.  This park has free parking (including across the street at the entrance to the dog park) plus a public restroom and water fountain.

From Colohatchee, paddle east on the Middle River as it winds through my neighborhood. You’ll go under Federal Highway and then head south on the wider section of the Middle River. At this point, you’re one mile west of the prime viewing area at the beach, so planes should be flying overhead or within view. It’s about three miles from where you put in.

You also can put in at George English Park, 1101 N. Bayview Drive, Fort Lauderdale, which is, essentially, where I’m proposing you reach by kayak in the scenario in the previous paragraph. Note, however, in peak years, Sunrise Boulevard backed up with traffic west of here during key times and parking filled up at George English Park very early in the day. You can give it a try, but I would have a back-up plan in mind.

An alternative kayak strategy would be to put in your kayak at Annie Beck Park, 100 N. Victoria Park Road. You can launch kayaks here, although there isn’t a lot of parking – just spaces on the street.  From Annie Beck Park, you can paddle about a mile among the Las Olas Isles to the wider waters just north of Sunrise Key.  Here, like on the Middle River, you are one mile from the prime viewing area and should see planes overhead. (Parking could be an issue here, so I can’t guarantee this will work.)

No matter which put-in spot you use, you can get much closer to the action if you want to paddle in the Intracoastal to the Sunrise Boulevard area.  There aren’t easy places to land a kayak here, though, so don’t count on getting out when you get near the air show site. (Personally, I don’t enjoy paddling on the Intracoastal, but I may be a wimp about that.)

Renting kayaks or SUPs near Fort Lauderdale Air Show

If you want to rent kayaks or stand up paddleboards, rentals are available on the Middle River at Sunrise Paddleboards on Federal Highway and at George English Park through Blue Moon Adventures. Check ahead with the outfitter to reserve a kayak or SUP.


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David Young

Sunday 7th of May 2017

As promised: the vantage point at George English park was very good and we did not have to fight crowds or traffic at all. We saw several spectacular displays overhead, but obviously we could not see the very low altitude aerobatics along the shore. All in all a good trade off between not fighting crowds versus seeing part of the show.

Bonnie Gross

Sunday 7th of May 2017

So glad it worked out for you! I thought all day about the people who might follow my advice and try this in a kayak.

Dave Young

Sunday 7th of May 2017

Thanks for the tips. My wife, daughter and I will be taking your advice to get closer to the air show today (05/07/17). I will update later with feedback from our outing.

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