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Most Florida beaches close at sunset, and every state park does, so a late evening on the sand needs a city beach rather than a park.
Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood in Broward County, Miami Beach in Miami-Dade, Clearwater Beach in Pinellas and Daytona Beach in Volusia all stay open and lit along the seafront, though swimming after the lifeguards leave is at your own risk everywhere. Fishing is the standard exception: Jupiter Beach Park and Ocean Inlet Park in Palm Beach County, and Jetty Park in Brevard, keep the inlet open at any hour for anglers. In sea turtle season, from March to October, lights on the beach are restricted along the whole coast, so the beach is darker than you expect.
Broward County. The city's main beachfront, with the waterfront walkway running along it. Fort Lauderdale Beach Park at 1100 Seabreeze Boulevard has restrooms, outdoor showers, picnic tables, grills, a playground, a volleyball court, a basketball court and a launch for boats without motors.
Open the guide →Broward County. The Broadwalk runs nearly two and a half miles along the sand here, brick paved and open to walkers, joggers, cyclists and skaters. On it are the Hollywood Beach Theatre and a children's water playground at Charnow Park.
Open the guide →Miami-Dade County. Nine miles of oceanfront with the Beachwalk running the length of it, from South Pointe Park up to 87th Street. The path was widened and repaved in 2022, it is step-free the whole way, and it is open around the clock.
Open the guide →Pinellas County. The city's main beach, guarded seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with towers staffed according to season and weather. Pier 60 runs out from the middle of it.
Open the guide →Volusia County. Vehicles are allowed on the sand at marked ramps. From May 1 to October 31 they may be on the beach between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. or sundown, whichever is earlier; from November 1 to April 30 it is sunrise to sunset, tides permitting.
Open the guide →Palm Beach County. Seventeen hundred feet of lifeguard-protected beach at the Jupiter Inlet, with picnic areas, grills, restrooms, outdoor showers and a sand volleyball court.
Open the guide →Palm Beach County. At the Boynton Inlet in Ocean Ridge. Guarded, with a playground, picnic pavilions and a marina.
Open the guide →Brevard County. At the mouth of Port Canaveral, with a fishing pier, a campground and a camp store opened in 2025. Day passes and annual passes are sold online. Cruise ships pass close to the sand on turnaround days, and it is one of the nearest public viewpoints to the launch pads.
Open the guide →For lying in the sun you want wide dry sand above the tide line, a chair and umbrella to rent, and somewhere to buy a drink without moving the car.
Florida's guarded beaches fly a colored flag to say what the water is doing that day.
Red tide is a bloom of a microscopic alga, Karenia brevis, and it turns up in the Gulf almost every year, usually in late summer or early fall.
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