The trend in Florida is to make beach access points more visible with colorful signs, like this one in Bonita Beach.
For many years humans have worn trails through the dunes to the beach. Today, with so many people flocking to the beach and building homes on the shoreline, beach access has become more complicated. Access points vary from simple sand trails to spreading parks with modern amenities. And they come with rules. Lots of rules.
In 2005, when I first published my beach access guide to west central and southwest Florida, I predicted that in the future, beach access would become even more restricted and more expensive. I was half right.
During my 2013 travels to update my guidebook, I found that beach access locations had improved overall and had (surprisingly) increased in number, though in many locations they had become markedly more expensive. It’s true that on some islands beach access is severely limited, but this article isn’t intended to address littoral rights and all that.
A long boardwalk on Englewood Beach makes it easy to get from one end of the beach to the other, and provides easy access to all facilities and to the beach.
For those staying in a hotel or other accommodation right on the Gulf, finding a beach access is not an issue. But for anyone traveling by car, and without ready access to a bathroom, one’s choice of access locations is important. Even people who are staying in an accommodation directly on the beach often want to explore nearby islands and beaches by car.
Let’s have a look at some of the ways west central and southwest coastal Florida provide beach access to the public.
Most people have certain needs during a trip to the beach. Here’s a basic list to consider:
- Parking (free or paid)
- Bathrooms / changing rooms
- Rinse-off showers
- Picnic tables
- Shade
- Food / drink concessions
- Beach equipment sales / rentals
- Lifeguards
- Handicap access accommodations
Beach Parking
The most basic access suitable for someone traveling in a motor vehicle offers a few parking spaces, with perhaps one or two reserved for handicap parking, a trash can, and a short trail to the beach, most likely with some type of boardwalk over the dune. Some may even have a drinking fountain and a rinse-off shower.
Here is a typical boardwalk and sand trail to a Gulf beach. This trail happens to be on Anna Maria Island. No charge for the dark cloud;-)
On many beaches you will encounter a parking pay station like this one.
Parking and beach access is becoming more expensive in many areas. Paid parking is generally the rule along west central and southwest Florida’s beaches. Manatee County and Sarasota County still do not charge for beach access or parking. All state park beaches have an entry fee, generally between $4 and $8, depending on how many are in your car. City and county beach accesses generally have parking fees ranging from $1.25 per hour to $2.75 per hour. Most parking pay stations, and even some parking meters will accept debit and credit cards now.
Some parking lots have a few spaces for motor homes greater than 20 feet in length. Most do not. If you are traveling in a large motor home you might want to check with the various city and county web sites to see which beaches have parking for large vehicles. I have made notations to that effect in my upcoming beach access guide, but parking situations change so quickly you should always double-check.
Beach Restroom Facilities
The next level of access will, in addition to parking and a trail to the beach, have some type of restroom facility. The restrooms vary from portable toilets (not very common), to a small structure with flush toilets and a sink, to a large, modern restroom facility that can accommodate a large beach crowd. Most beach restroom facilities, even the larger ones, do not have indoor showers or dedicated changing rooms. Outdoor rinse-off showers are the norm.
Modest restroom facilities at Coquina Beach on Anna Maria Island. These are a step up from portable toilets, but fall short of what most nicer beach parks offer. Note the showers on the outside wall and the foot rinse-off lower down.
Sarasota County has made major improvements to its beach restroom facilities, like this new one at Manasota Key beach, which cost over a million dollars.
This is a typical configuration for an outdoor beach rinse-off shower. This is a newer model, found at Caspersen Beach in Venice, FL.
Beach Food and Drink Concessions
A full-service beach will have a food and drink concession. These usually have limited hours, perhaps 11 am to 4 pm. Many rent beach equipment like chairs and umbrellas. The food has evolved over the years from hamburgers and hotdogs, to a more varied menu including pizza, fish sandwiches, cold sandwiches and more. Some concessions (Honeymoon Island, Upham Beach, and Manatee Public Beach for example) open early and offer a breakfast menu. Most offer some type of covered seating, from umbrellas to a covered pavilion.
The Paradise Grille is the official concession on Upham Beach and Pass-a-Grille Beach.
Menu at one of the Clearwater Beach concessions.
Picnic Tables and Shade
Florida’s coastal trees don’t offer much shade. The only good shade is provided either by exotic Australian pines or by pavilions. The trend in Florida is to cut down the pines because they are non-native and are reported to not be very wind resistant (even though one of their functions as an import was to act as windbreaks). The authorities like to build picnic tables and pavilions behind the dunes, not out on the beach where most people would prefer to be. Of course this makes sense, but it’s not as much fun.
Sometimes the only available shade is a pavilion. Englewood Beach.
Sometimes the only thing harder to find than a shaded picnic table is a table close to the water. Stump Pass State Park.
Native sea grape trees make nice shade for these picnic tables at Delnor Wiggins State Park Beach.
Beach Vendors
For many years, Daytona Beach has been the King of Beach Vendors, with large trucks and trailers parking out on the beach to provide food, drink and rentals of just about any kind of beach gear you could imagine. We here on the Gulf coast are catching up quickly. On wide beaches like Treasure Island and Clearwater Beach we are seeing more and more offerings from the beach vendors. Other islands are much slower to adopt the beach vending scene, or keep it low-key and limited to a few chairs and umbrellas. Money talks, though, and beach vendors bring in the bucks. Expect to see more of them.
The beach vendor on Sand Key has everything from kayaks to beach chairs to wedding tents.
Beach Lifeguards
I don’t understand why every beach does not offer lifeguards. Drownings are extremely rare on beaches with lifeguards, but happen regularly on unguarded beaches or after hours. This is a loud message sent by the counties and cities who want tourists to come here and spend millions of dollars, but who can’t scrape together a couple of hundred grand every year to provide lifeguards to protect those visitors. Shame on them. It is a disgrace. If you have children, I strongly recommend that you make every attempt to swim at beaches with lifeguards.
Lifeguards are well-equipped on Manatee County Public beaches. This tower is at Coquina Beach. The Manatee County lifeguards help a lot of people.
ADA Beach Access
If you have trouble walking on soft sand, or if you need the aid of a wheelchair to get around, beach access is challenging. But, local governments as well as concerned citizens are rising to the occasion and are trying to make it easier to get to the beach. Most full-service public beaches now have reserved handicap parking spaces close to the wheelchair accessible restrooms. Often, at least one shaded picnic table is wheelchair accessible, as is the boardwalk to the beach. Increasingly, boardwalks over the dune have gently sloped ramps instead of stairs.
A few cities are providing what they refer to as a “beach access surface,” consisting of a special mat that extends out from the boardwalk onto the beach. This makes it easier for a wheelchair to get further out onto the sand. I don’t see why they can’t extend the mat further to get closer to the water, but perhaps one day they will start doing that. Charlotte and Lee Counties are the early adopters of this helpful amenity, on select beaches.
Many beaches now offer special beach wheelchairs with huge balloon tires that can roll over soft sand. They still require an able bodied person to push the chair and are only available during hours that the lifeguard, park ranger, or beach vendor is on duty.
State Park beaches are particularly helpful in providing assistance to the disabled. It’s best to call the park in advance to let them know what you need, or to find out what assistance is available.
This is the special beach access surface in place on Lighthouse Park Beach on Gasparilla Island. It is very stiff and provides good traction. That’s Boca Grand Pass and Cayo Costa Island State Park on the horizon.
This is a typical beach wheel chair. Some can be taken in the water and some cannot. Deming Designs, located in Pensacola, Florida, is one of the pioneer manufacturers of these helpful chairs. This is a Deming chair at Gasparilla Island State Park (near the lighthouse).
Beach Mobility Rentals (photo above) operates out of Ormond Beach and is expanding all over Florida. They even have motorized beach wheelchairs. Greg McNair owns the business. If you need a beach wheelchair, contact him. www.GetOnTheSand.com
Thanks for reading. Cheers!
