Jacksonville's Beaches and Ponte Vedra
Four communities, about twelve miles of dead-straight Atlantic shore, and sand firm enough at low tide to ride a bike on. These are working beach towns rather than a resort strip, which is what makes them more interesting than the brochure suggests.
Getting your bearings
North to south: Mayport and its shrimp docks at the river mouth, then Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach and Jacksonville Beach running into one another along the same shore, then the St. Johns County line and Ponte Vedra Beach. Four jurisdictions in about twelve miles, which is why local rules appear to change every couple of miles.
The through roads (Atlantic Boulevard, Beach Boulevard, Butler Boulevard) carry traffic in from the city and are not for bikes or carts. The parallel residential streets a block or two behind the dune go everywhere those roads go, flat and low speed, and that is where you will spend your time.
This is the Atlantic, not the Gulf. The surf is real, rip currents are the genuine hazard, and ocean rescue posts warning flags daily at the guarded beaches. Learn the flag colors on day one. In exchange you get a beach wide and hard enough to walk for miles on, and low tide effectively doubles it.
Every guide for here
What to Pack for a Beach Week
Written for a family whose chairs, umbrella, bikes and cart are already at the house, which is exactly the part every other packing list gets wrong.
Read guideBest Family Beaches from Jacksonville Beach to Ponte Vedra
Wide hard-packed sand, lifeguard stands and street-end accesses from Hanna Park south to Mickler's Landing, with parking and facility notes for families.
Read guideJacksonville's Beaches With Toddlers
Sand firm enough to push a stroller on, a freshwater lake with no waves at Hanna Park, rip current rules worth learning early, and short outings that survive a nap schedule.
Read guideWhere to Eat With Kids at Jacksonville's Beaches
One walkable block that solves most dinners, a dockside shrimp shack up at Mayport, and how to feed a group of twelve without a two-hour wait.
Read guideRainy Day Things to Do at Jacksonville's Beaches
A free museum four blocks from the sand, an art museum and a zoo in town, a Civil War fort you can walk inside, and the indoor options that actually hold a large group.
Read guideBiking Jacksonville's Beaches
The flat run from Atlantic Beach to Jacksonville Beach, the oak shade of Ponte Vedra Boulevard, riding the hard sand at low tide, and what a cruiser is and is not good for at Hanna Park.
Read guideGolf Cart Rules at Jacksonville's Beaches
Why a registered low-speed vehicle is the only cart that travels well here, which roads are in and out, the St. Johns County difference, and where Jacksonville Beach marks cart parking.
Read guideState Parks Near Jacksonville Beach and Ponte Vedra
Hanna Park, the Guana Tolomato Matanzas reserve, Little and Big Talbot Island, Fort Clinch, and the Timucuan preserve with Fort Caroline, plus drive times from the beaches.
Read guideThe Best Time to Visit Jacksonville's Beaches
Month by month on a coast with four real seasons: when the Atlantic finally warms up, when the beaches are empty, and when right whales calve offshore.
Read guideHurricane Season at Jacksonville's Beaches
Two counties, two different water problems (ocean surge at the beaches, St. Johns River flooding inland), and the ten minutes of preparation that covers it.
Read guideUnique Things to Do at Jacksonville's Beaches
The Jacksonville Beach pier, Beaches Town Center, the shrimp boats at Mayport, the St. Johns River ferry, Adele Grage in Atlantic Beach, and sharks' teeth at Mickler's Landing.
Read guideCommon questions
What is the difference between Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach?
They are three separate small cities sitting end to end on the same shore. Atlantic Beach at the north end is the quietest and most shaded, with oak-lined residential streets. Neptune Beach is the small middle one. Jacksonville Beach at the south is the largest and busiest, with the pier, the oceanfront plaza and most of the lifeguard coverage. Ponte Vedra Beach, further south, is across the county line in St. Johns County.
Is the beach at Jacksonville good for families?
Very. The sand is wide and it packs hard above the waterline at low tide, firm enough for a stroller, a wagon or a bike, which is unusual. The trade is that this is the Atlantic, so the surf is real and rip currents are the hazard to respect. Swim near a lifeguard stand and read the flags.
Can you drive a golf cart at Jacksonville's beaches?
A registered low-speed vehicle may be driven on any road posted at 35 mph or less, which covers the residential grid in all three beach towns. An unregistered golf-course cart is a different vehicle under Florida law, and each of the four jurisdictions here treats it differently. Jacksonville Beach marks a small number of oceanfront parking spaces specifically for licensed carts and low-speed vehicles.
What is there to do near Jacksonville Beach besides the beach?
Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park fifteen minutes north has an ocean beach and a freshwater lake in one park. The St. Johns River ferry at Mayport carries you across to the Talbot Islands and Fort Clinch. Beaches Town Center is a walkable block of restaurants where two cities meet. The Guana reserve south in Ponte Vedra has ten miles of trails.
Is the equipment already at our vacation rental?
At an Amenio partner home, yes. Bikes, a six-seat street-legal cart and beach gear are at the house before you arrive. The cart unlocks once the driver, who must be 21 or older, uploads a driver's license and current auto insurance and signs the low-speed vehicle walkthrough.
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.
See what is at the house on the bikes, golf carts and beach gear pages, or call or text 850-231-8000.