Local Guide

Best Family Beaches from Jacksonville Beach to Ponte Vedra

This is the Atlantic, and it behaves differently from the Gulf beaches further around Florida. The sand is wide and firm, the surf is real, and the shore runs almost dead straight for twenty-odd miles from Mayport down past Ponte Vedra. Here is where to spend the day, and what to know about the water before you do.

The water first

Atlantic surf on this coast is usually moderate and occasionally not. Rip currents are the real hazard, and they are strongest around the sandbars and on days after a blow. Ocean rescue posts colored flags at the guarded beaches every day and they are worth reading before anyone gets in.

Double red: water closed. This is not advisory.
Single red: high hazard, strong surf or current.
Yellow: moderate. Keep small children within reach.
Green: calm, which still means pay attention.
Purple: dangerous marine life, usually jellyfish.

If you are caught in a rip, do not swim against it. Swim parallel to the beach until you are out of the pull, then come in. Teach this to the children before the first swim, not after.

The wide hard sand, and what it is good for

The single best feature of this coast is a practical one. As the tide drops, the strip above the waterline packs down firm. It carries a stroller, a beach wagon, a bike and anyone who finds soft sand hard work, and it makes the beach walkable for miles in either direction.

Plan around the tide and the beach feels twice as big. Check it before you go, because on a high tide the firm strip narrows and you are back to soft sand and a short beach.

The beaches, north to south

Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park

Atlantic Beach, north end

The best beach park on the First Coast: about a mile and a half of ocean shore, tall dunes, and a freshwater lake behind them with calm water and paddle craft. Restrooms, showers, picnic areas and campsites. The one place here where a beach day and a woods day are the same day.

Worth knowing: There is an entrance fee per vehicle, with a lower rate for anyone arriving on foot or by bike. The park publishes the current rates.

Atlantic Beach street accesses

A run of small accesses at the ends of the residential streets, each a short dune crossing to a wide beach. Quiet, uncrowded and residential, with parking that is limited and firmly signed.

Worth knowing: Facilities are thin here. Use the restroom before you come.

Beaches Town Center beach

Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach line

The access right where Atlantic Boulevard ends at the ocean, with the town center's restaurants and shops immediately behind it. The best beach on this coast for a half day that ends with lunch you did not have to drive to.

Worth knowing: Parking here is the tightest on the north beaches. Arriving on foot, on a bike or in a cart is the whole trick.

Neptune Beach

The quiet middle of the three towns. Wide sand, low-key accesses, and noticeably fewer people than either neighbor on a summer weekend for no particular reason.

Jacksonville Beach, the pier and the SeaWalk

The main event: the widest, most staffed and most equipped beach on the coast, with the pier as a landmark, an oceanfront plaza behind the sand, lifeguards through the season and food, restrooms and showers all within a block.

Worth knowing: Busiest parking on the coast. The numbered avenues a few blocks north or south are calmer and the same water.

South Jacksonville Beach

The higher-numbered avenues

Keep going south and the crowd thins block by block while the beach stays just as wide. Street-end accesses with small lots, and the best trade the coast offers between facilities and space.

Ponte Vedra Beach and Mickler's Landing

St. Johns County

Over the county line, a quieter and wilder shore with taller dunes. Mickler's Landing is the main public access, with parking and restrooms, and it is where people come to hunt sharks' teeth in the shell beds.

Worth knowing: The Guana reserve accesses further south are quieter still, with a small parking fee and dune boardwalks rather than facilities.

Making the day work

Beach gear at Amenio partner homes is built for the walk rather than the car: backpack chairs in solid wood or aluminum that go over your shoulders, and a fiberglass umbrella that flexes rather than snapping when the Atlantic breeze picks up in the afternoon.

Set the umbrella deep and angle it into the wind. The breeze here is steadier than on Florida's Gulf beaches and it will find a lazily planted pole.
Swim near a lifeguard stand when there is one, and between the flags where they are posted.
Vehicles are not permitted on the sand here, so the beach is genuinely walkable end to end.
Fill in the holes before you leave and take everything with you, turtle nesting season especially.
Watch for shell beds if the kids are barefoot and running. This coast collects more shell than the Gulf beaches do.

Common questions

What is the best beach near Jacksonville for families?

Jacksonville Beach around the SeaWalk and the pier has the most in one place: lifeguards through the season, restrooms, showers and food a block away. Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park at the north end is the other strong answer, because you get an ocean beach and a freshwater lake with calm water in the same park.

Are there lifeguards at Jacksonville Beach?

Yes, ocean rescue staffs the main Jacksonville Beach stretch during the season and posts warning flags daily. Coverage thins as you move away from the central beach and away from peak months, so pick your spot to match how strong a swimmer everyone is.

Is the sand hard enough to push a stroller on?

On this coast, yes, which surprises people who know the Gulf beaches. The strip above the waterline packs hard at low tide, firm enough for strollers, wagons, walking and riding a bike. Above it the dry sand is as soft as anywhere.

Where do you find sharks' teeth near Ponte Vedra?

Mickler's Landing is the name everybody gives. Look in the shell beds that gather at the waterline, especially after a storm or a high tide has churned the shore, and look for small black or grey triangles rather than white ones.

Do we need to bring chairs and umbrellas to the beach?

Not if you are staying at an Amenio partner home. Backpack beach chairs and a fiberglass umbrella are at the house when you arrive. The Atlantic breeze here is steadier than on the Gulf, so a fiberglass pole that flexes is the right one.

Staying at an Amenio partner home?

The bikes, cart, and beach gear are already part of your stay. They are at the house when you walk in, so there is nothing to pick up and nothing to carry home. Amenio works only with partner vacation homes on Florida's Emerald Coast, Suncoast, and First Coast, so if your house is one of ours, the gear is already there.

Want to see what is at the house? See the beach gear, or find your reservation. Questions about equipment at your home? Call or text 850-231-8000.

Already booked a partner home?

Open your stay to see the bikes, cart and beach gear waiting at the house.