One afternoon, on one of our cooler Florida days (60’s), I headed to the New Smyrna Beach peninsula and got my 2018 Smyrna Dunes Park pass for the year. I asked the woman at the gate about the boardwalk’s progress, because I hadn’t been there for months. I was told that soon (possibly May) the entire walkway would be finished, which is earlier than planned.
Passes are only $20 (or pay $10 per visit), and the area is perfect for walking and sightseeing, swimming and fishing. It seems that the biggest draw is for dog-walking. Nearly everyone has a dog on a leash and those dogs look very happy!
Dogs are not allowed on the boardwalk other than early AM and just before sunset. Signs are posted. Dog owners must take the sandy paths.
Those who like to fish will appreciate the new fishing pier.
The boardwalk that heads directly toward the Inlet is nearly finished. There is one sandy area that must be crossed, and I’m not sure why that little section is not done, but maybe something special is going in there.
Still, I was happy to be able to get to the stairs leading down to the Inlet beach. Last time I visited I couldn’t get there on the boardwalk.
Lots of people kept going out toward the ocean on the boardwalk you can see in my photo below. It was a very windy day and not exactly perfect for beach-walking. I was alone by the time I reached the stairway.
The jetty rocks are fun for kids to climb on, and it’s a favorite place for fishing. I’ve never been very coordinated so I stayed off the rocks. I did walk down to the jetty in search of seashells, but found none.
I took a short video of the sand blowing along the beach. My legs definitely got sand-blasted, but it was a great day for collecting unique shells. I collected a Baby’s Ear seashell, which I’d never found before.