Beaches in KW

[Amy_girl]

Hello everybody! I am going to be in KW next week, and we really want to spend time at the beach. What is the best beach to go to in KW? Thanks for your help!

[wwinfl91]

Here's a site that tells about the beaches in Key West. Generally they are not great as the ones that do have sand have to import it. The others have coral gravel which doesn't make for comfortable walking. Since Wilma just went through there recently I don't know how accurate these descriptions will be as I know some beaches got a lot of seaweed on them and others lost sand.

 

http://keywest.com/beaches.htm

 

Have a great visit to Key West.

[bhopal21]

Jamie, please don't expect much from the Key West beaches. I would skip them all together if I were you and spend time at other venues. They are in poorer than normal condition due to hurricane Wilma; but on a good day are nothing to compare to the beaches of the panhandle.

 

Have a great visit!

 

Mike:)

[southernmost]

The beaches have been a bit re-arranged right now.

I went to Boca Chica Beach, something locals know about, and the entire landscape has changed. No longer is there a dune with vegetation. It's all been scrubbed clean, and even the road has been washed out. The sand is now well inland, and the shoreline is a mixture of rock and coral. But still, it was beautiful. Walk that solitary stretch, and you can't help but think of the natural beauty of the area (except for the fighter jets from the local base).

I don't think Bahia Honda State Park has re-opened yet, but if it has, then you may want to check out their beaches...especially Sandspur (it was recently rated by the Travel Channel as a top ten beach in the state).

Here is a link to a page with photos of the Key West beaches (and surrounding area). Hope it helps you get an idea of what to expect (minus the hurricane effects).

[WeBeGone]

Key West is not a beach town anyway, but now Smathers beach is sitting along side the road! Since the hurricane there really isn't a beach left anywhere.

[1particularharbor]

We are in a condo across from Smathers ...every day there is a front loader type equipment raking the beach ...although it was hit pretty hard by Wilma .. lots of sand is located near the curve 1800 Atlantic and LaBrisa condos on the road blocking the road at the curve ..you can get to the beach via bikes/cars..and the beach looks and appears to be clean of debris ...I agree with previous posters that Key West is not known for its beaches ..the beach is still available ..and the recovery from Wilma seems to be a daily activityon the beach esp. very early morning ...seems the routine for the cleaning/raking of the beach to be done early, early ...there have been plenty of people using the beach all day long for the last week...

 

Enjoy ....

[LittleBit]

The only beach we bother with is Fort Zach - we were there yesterday actually! Gentle wave action, but VERY rocky and the washed up coral and stones are rough on the feet (water shoes are th only way to go). Found a lot of sea glass and shells after the storm - don't normally see all that there. If you snorkle bringyour stuff - there are several rock groups that give you an upclose view of some neat fish. Walk around the area too -- the fort (if it has reopened) is interesting and it's a pleasent area to just walk around - bring lots of sunscreen - my back is so itchy from sunburn today!!

 

Be careful about going into the water - there are still health advisories posted (we swam anyway)

 

It was weird to see those really tall dunes of sand being scraped up along the sides of the roads...SUV's were dwarfed next to some!