My youngest son was here visiting and wanted to go to the beach. Unfortunately the only day we could go was on a weekend. Late morning Sunday we packed the truck and headed to New Smyrna Beach.
It should have taken about 10 minutes to get onto the beach, but took more like 45. Some of the ramps were closed, because the beach was so busy, so we headed further north and got in line.
My older son, who was driving, needed a new year-long beach pass, so we had to get that. Instead of holding up the traffic while buying the pass, we were given a sign under the windshield wipers and told to go to the right where we could get the pass. Good idea!
Sitting in traffic to get onto the beach Heading onto the beach
Once we had the pass put on, we headed north to find a spot to park. We ended up close to the inlet before there was a space!
New Smyrna BeachBeach condos
The weather was hot, but very cloudy and super windy! The water was in the 70’s and a very rough surf. This was great for surfers but there weren’t a lot of people swimming.
Low tideToward the jetty
We didn’t stay long, but it was enough time to enjoy time with my visiting son. We drove back down to the ramp at Flagler Ave. and I got a photo of Breakers Restaurant.
Breakers at Flagler Ave.
On Flagler, there was still a line of traffic waiting to get onto the beach. This is why we never go anywhere (to the beach or boating) on the weekend!
Many people dream of having a beach all to themselves. Because we have a boat, we often get to be on deserted beaches. But you can find deserted, and semi-deserted beaches in Florida, at certain times. It also helps if you have a boat with a low draft.
These photos are just a few from the past six years of travels.
Near Ponce Inlet, by Boat
It can be tricky boating around here. Storms can make changes to the boating lanes by shifting the sand around.
L-R below are all photos from travels north to the Ponce Inlet area. That pretty little river with the blue-green water is no longer there. The beach area is part of Disappearing Island, which is a popular place for boaters to hang out at low tide. On this particular day, the place was not deserted, but close enough. A boater further down the channel needed help pushing his boat off the sand.
The last time we went up that way, to the Inlet, the sand had shifted, and everything looked different.
Go during the week because this place is packed on weekends, and especially when the weather is hot.
Saltwater river behind Disappearing Island – 2017Lots of beach at low tideSandy beach north of the Inlet
Ponce Inlet and Park Beaches by Car
Drive over the North Causeway in New Smyrna and take a left on Peninsula Ave.. At the end of the road is Smyrna Dunes Park. All photos below come from that area. It is the end of the peninsula that is one side of Ponce Inlet and the park wraps around from the beach side to the river side. It is also a dog park, so be ready for dogs. They are not supposed to run free, but people do it.
Parking at the park can be tough at busy times. And it costs money. However, if you go early in the day, or late in the day, you may be practically alone here. And when the tide is out, the beach is huge and wide.
Drive onto the beach and walk around the jetty and it will bring you to the same place.
Ponce Inlet beachRiver beachLate day photo
Most Visited By Us
When we go boating, we usually visit the places below. Three Sisters is a group of islands at low tide. At high tide it is all shallow water. We take the boat in behind the big island and anchor. Then we explore, swim and / or fish.
This is where I’ve seen some wonderful wildlife like a living sand dollar, tiny sea star, and big red hermit crab. There were lots of stingrays in the water one time that made walking a bit creepy. We have to hit the area at low tide or it’s not as much fun. And sometimes low tide is too high to create dry ground. You never know.
The first photo below is the channel pass that leads from the main channel to the backwater area. We mostly stay out of the main channel as there are lots of “no wake” zones which makes travel slow. Also, the backwater islands are where we see the good stuff.
The big photo below is where we stop quite often. It’s a good place to swim and cool off. Shelling is not so great, but I’ve found some interesting things on this beach, like olive shells (a rare find here), a pretty knobbed whelk, and there are always hermit crabs.
Water passage from main channel to backwaterLow tide at Three Sisters islandsMuddy flats near Three Sisters
Ocean Beach
The ocean beach is never truly deserted. With condos and houses all along the coast, someone is always out on the beach. During the day it is a drive-on beach. I visited after a storm that blew in jellyfish and made the sand bumpy and full of ruts. I pretty much had the beach to myself.
When a storm is rolling in, the beach empties pretty quickly too. But of course no one should be on the beach during a thunderstorm.
Florida winter beachJellyfish on New Smyrna Beach
The Inlet beaches are usually a lot less crowded than the drive-on beach.
Both Sides
The condos visible in both photos below (they are just above the white truck in the storm photo) are the same group of condos. The storm photo was taken from the ocean beach. The other photo is from an island beach across the river that runs behind the condos.
Took a boat trip to the lagoon and explored one of the Spoil Islands.
A boating trip south to the lagoon brought us to an island we had all to ourselves. My daughter came for a visit in November and we took a boat ride, with my son, to explore the islands.
If you Google Florida’s spoil islands, the links that come up have mostly to do with the islands made further south. Those islands have camping and are kept up for visitor. We were in the northern tip of the lagoon. In general the “spoil” islands were mostly manmade by dredging the ICW canal so large ships could pass through. The coquina rock chunks were piled up to create islands which are now filled with palm trees and vegetation. This is my understanding.
This area is very shallow, and you can only access these islands with a boat that has a low draft. We are not used to dealing with “rocks” and had to be careful as we approached the shore. These coquina rocks are made up of shells and sediment that are all tightly compacted.
A Whelk Unearthed
On the rocky beach side of this island I came across the pointed end of this whelk sticking up out of the sand. When I pulled, the smooth, worn, knobbed whelk shell came up.
Shell part sticking out of sand!
Beach Erosion, From Hurricane Ian?
Hurricane Ian passed over this area the end of September (2022) and I am guessing that the erosion seen here was due to that storm. Hurricane Nicole didn’t come until November 10th, which was only a few days after this trip. Nicole was worse for the coast, so I’m sure more of this island beach was washed away. Hope we can go back soon. The wind and waves from hurricanes can wash up – or wash away to expose – some interesting things. In Daytona Beach Shores they are excavating a shipwreck that has appeared along the beach, and is believed to be from the 1800s.
Windy days have kept us off the water – that, and the fact that it’s just a busy time of year. I took a short video for the full effect of being on this beach.
Yes, many of the shells had hermit crabs inside, but the big whelks did not.
Hermit crabs in all three shellsCoquina rocks & broken whelksThis bleached lightning whelk was just so prettyBeachcombingA beautiful whelk!
The water was still quite warm – around 78 degrees – and my daughter took a swim and did some snorkeling. I saw stingrays hiding in that grass and it kept me on dry land!
We spent a few hours walking around the beach area, then boated to another island and headed home. hadn’t seen my daughter in nearly two years, so it was a really nice week with her. The day she arrived we (along with my son) headed to Flagler Ave. for an evening beach walk. Every day was spent on or in the water!
Me and my kidsSnorkeling
I’ll be writing more about the shells we found here on my next post.
