The spring break tradition in Florida stretches back to the early 1960s, when the movie “Where the Boys Are” put Fort Lauderdale on the map as a destination for college students. Spring break crowds also spread to Daytona Beach, Miami Beach and Key West.
What has spring break looked like through the years in South Florida?
Let’s take a look through the Miami Herald Archives:
FORT LAUDERDALE
The bikinis are tiny and the crowds are massive as thousands of students celebrate a rowdy American tradition: the seasonal migration to Fort Lauderdale in 1985. Pam Smith O'Hara Miami Herald File
The 1986 spring break crowd at Fort Lauderdale Beach. Walter Michot Miami Herald File
This is what the Fort Lauderdale area looked like in 1970 during spring break. Miami Herald File
Fort Lauderdale Strip during spring break in 1983. Pete Cross Miami Herald File
Fort Lauderdale in the “where the boys are” days of the 1960s. Miami Herald File
This 1961 spring break photo shows a student who climbed the light pole in front of the Elbo Room on Fort Lauderdale beach. Miami Herald File
Spring break college invasion in Fort Lauderdale. Towel hangers at the Sunrise Inn. Miami Herald File
This is a photo from the late-’60s capturing spring break on Fort Lauderdale beach. Miami Herald File
In 1997, spring breakers gather near the Fort Lauderdale “strip” near the Elbo Room. Bob Eighmie Miami Herald File
BSO’s Mounted Unit demonstrated its special Spring Break deployment along the beach in Deerfield Beach in 2008. Walter Michot Miami Herald File
Spring Break at Fort Lauderdale beach in 1986. Walter Michot Miami Herald File
SOUTH BEACH
Two students from Miami Dade College while away the day at the First Street beach in Miami Beach in 1988. Marice Cohn Band Miami Herald File
Spring break visitors gather on South Beach in 2015. Al Diaz Miami Herald File
Ishani Falconi and Rodolfo Rojas keep their balance on a tandem slack line on Ocean Drive and Eighth street as spring breakers and locals take over South Beach on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 Miami Herald File
Spring break party at the Raleigh Hotel on Miami Beach sponsored by Victoria Secret in 2008. Al Diaz Miami Herald File
Spring Break tshirts on sale at the shop on the bottom floor of the Congress on South Beach. Spring Breakers hit South Beach Monday, March 11, 2013 for the beginning of Spring Break for many colleges. Emily Michot Miami Herald File
Megan Cockroft, (lower left then clockwise) Jordyn Fisher,. Kaitlyn Galati, and Alli Boettinger, all from Montclair State University just arrived from New Jersey for Spring Break. They are enjoying some large drinks along Ocean Drive on South Beach on March 11, 2013. Walter Michot Miami Herald File
KEY WEST
Spring breakers greet a police officer on horseback in Key West. Miami Herald File
Old Town has turned into a college town as spring breakers converge on Key West in 2003. Here, they ride down Duval Street. Miami Herald File
This story was originally published February 5, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
