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| Florida Beach |
The nice beaches in Florida are those that best meet your expectations but with those expectations differing widely from one person to the next and with Florida's span of some 800 miles of sandy beach constantly changing with the seasons, a few basic tips may help keep you from wearing out that new pair of sandals. The first may seem so often repeated as to render it unnecessary but statistics say otherwise - MAKE SAFETY YOUR TOP PRIORITY! A day at the beach can be a wonderful experience but as we have all witnessed, Mother Nature can be a fickle beach and can quickly turn a nice day into a nightmare for the unprepared. Rip currents especially can be a literal drag, so learn what they are and how to deal with them. That being said, let's find us some nice Florida beaches.
As indicated on the map, Florida's coast has been divided and labeled for you starting with the 'First Coast' as you first enter the state from the north. Many visitors in their haste to get to the better known Florida beaches and attractions often fly right by Amelia Island as they enter Florida, but if you have the time, this seaside community still conveys the charm of old Florida that is so rapidly vanishing but thankfully can still be found in various nooks and crannies if you know where to look. Florida's state parks also offer many nice beaches such as Little Talbot Island and may be a lot less crowded than some of the more highly promoted spots. Continuing south along A1A, You can visit Atlantic Beach and Jacksonville Beach and if you're a history buff, check out the beaches of St. Augustine - the nation's oldest city where Spanish explorers thought the beaches so nice they decided to put up a fort and stay a while. The shores on which they once stood can still be visited and are happily close enough to Florahome for us to enjoy. If you head east directly from Florahome to the end of Florida State Road 100 you'll discover Flagler Beach, another nice Florida beach in the second coastal region called the 'Fun Coast'. Daytona claims most of the credit for the fun label having the reputation for all the fun that can be had there, but while in the area you might also want to take a look at the coquina rock along another nice and very unique stretch of Florida beach at Washington Oaks State Park. There's also one more nice beach considered unique for an entirely different reason - Cocoa Beach. found along the next section of Florida coast aptly named Florida's 'Space Coast'. The Space Coast has been setting the bar high for many years but aside from its famous launch pad it also promotes itself has having the closest beaches to Orlando. How nice is that? Next is Florida's 'Treasure Coast' named for those Scallywags that once roamed the waters off the Florida coast Florahome USA has posted about in the past. No, not the one about the politicians, the one about the pirates. Many beach goers in these parts still hope to find some of the plunder those scourges of society left behind in their travels. On second thought, either post would probably work here. Vero Beach has three nice Florida Beaches and also Stuart Beach and Jensen Beach in Martin County are nice as well. While on the subject of treasure, moving even farther south into the 'Gold Coast' of Florida you may notice the ocean becoming a bit more green. This is due to the flow of money down that way. Of course Delray Beach is a major draw in these parts but Juno Beach and Red Reef Park also have some nice Beaches. If you've found you prefer the State Park tour, you may also want to make a stop at MacArthur Beach State Park. As you venture even farther south in Florida, families should be advised to make sure the beach you want to see is not MORE than you want to see. For more on that and other beaches along Florida's Gold Coast, click here. Down in the Keys, where Florida's true pirates and Parrot Heads live, Bahia Honda State Park may be the best place for a family adventure. Continuing around and up the western side of the state, the Everglades, Marco Island & Naples, make up Florida's 'Paradise Coast'. Tigertail is a nice beach on Marco Island with the added bonus of being a great place to view some of Florida's birds. The 'Sun Coast' is next on the list featuring some of Florida's most beautiful beaches such as those in the Sanibel - Captiva Island area where the photo at the top of this post was taken. Farther up the Sun Coast you'll also find Clearwater Beach and the sugary sands of Sarasota's Sieasta Key (say that three times fast). It must be pointed out however, that because they are considered such nice beaches they inevitably attract a nice gathering sometimes causing ordinarily nice people to behave like,... well,... they just don't act so nice. Reading reviews of Florida's beaches can be amusing with one happy camper building sand castles on the same beach the reviewer before them just trashed for being too crowded. Seems a nice beach may have as much to do with the mind as with the sand. As mentioned earlier, though a great portion of Florida's natural landscape has been claimed by developers, the 'Nature Coast' farther up the gulf as the name implies has not entirely given up its wild ways. It's a different sort of shoreline with a more natural appeal and if that's for you, the Wakulla Chamber of Commerce is a good place to start. You'll also find more of that old Florida charm in places like Cedar Key located a fair but drivable distance to the west of Florahome. But if you're just looking for some nice sandy beaches under the bright Florida sun, you'll have to say good bye to the alligators and the bears and drive on to the 'Emerald Coast'. No wait,... there's one more coastal section we just passed. Oh yes,... Florida's 'Forgotten Coast'. Together these two offer some especially nice beaches including Panama City Beach, Fort Walton Beach and Grayton Beach and of course Pensacola Beach. And there's one last Florida State Park before you reach the state line - Perdido Key These are just a few of the many nice beaches you'll find here in Florida, but if you're ready to ditch those sandals, it should be enough to get your feet wet.
