Beaches

Traveling to the Beach Checklist

The beach is such a big part of my life that packing to spend time on the sand is second nature. Whether boating to a deserted island, or driving onto the beaches here in New Smyrna, necessary take-alongs are nearly the same.

For vacationers from out of state, and especially those unfamiliar with Florida beaches, I will share some advice. First, if you are traveling to the beach in a car, find out if it will be high tide. Sometimes the drive-on roads are closed if the tide is high!

What You Need To Bring For a Day at the Beach

Money to pay for entrance to drive on the beach. Even if you park and walk on, there is a fee to park these days.

A big bag, preferably waterproof with a zipper. It can be very windy. Maybe more than one bag depending on the number of people in your family. Fill it with towels, sunscreen, shirts, hats, beach toys, money, sunscreen, snacks, and whatever else you need for a fun day on the sand.

Cooler filled with drinks (alcohol is not allowed, neither is glass) and food and lots of ice. Drink a lot while out in the Florida sun. Trash cans are provided by the dunes.

Clothing and Hats with UPF / sunscreen built in. This is an especially good idea for little kids. I prefer to wear beach shoes as well.

Extra Towels for the car on the ride home. My advice is to NOT use towels to sit / lie on in the sand. The sand is so fine that it is difficult to remove it from towels. Sit in lightweight chairs meant for the beach.

I bring a container of water for rinsing (empty milk cartons, empty ice-tea cartons and cat litter containers work well) to rinse my feet, chairs, boogie-boards, etc., before heading home. It helps with the car mess and makes the ride more comfortable. This is in addition to lots of bottled water for drinking.

SUNSCREEN: Sunscreen has an expiration date. DO NOT BUY IT ONLINE. Go to a local store to buy your sunscreen and check the expiration date. Apply before you leave the house and preferably before you dress in a swim suit. That way you will cover all areas easily. Bring it with you to re-apply when needed. My favorite brand is Coppertone. I use an SPF 8 when we go out for hours on the boat, but I bring a shirt and wear a hat. A 15 or 30 SPF should work fine unless you are super pale skinned or plan to stay on the beach the entire day. Once you look “a little red” you need to cover up. That red will get brighter as time goes on!

Flagler Ave entrance to New Smyrna Beach, closed because of high tide — The end of Flagler Ave is a popular entrance ramp to the beach. In this photo the beach access is closed.

While at the beach, don’t feed the birds, do watch for traffic, drive slowly, don’t litter, stay off the dunes, and away from any turtle nesting sites (they will be marked), and follow the rules. Go to a spot near a lifeguard and be careful if there are rip current warnings, or you see jellyfish on the sand. Most often the jellyfish are not the kind that will hurt you but I’ve seen man-of-war on the beach too!

No glass is allowed on beaches, and music must be contained to your area. You will have to get out of the water if there is thunder / lightning. It can strike from very far away even if the sun is out…! Check out the Beach Safety page for Daytona and New Smyrna Beach area for more useful information before you head to the beach.

Low tide beach at Ponce Inlet in New Smyrna Beach in Florida — Low tide beach at Ponce Inlet beach

There is no car access at Ponce Inlet to the north of the jetty. You must drive onto the beach further south at one of the ramps and slowly make your way to the south side of the jetty. Parking at the jetty is usually busy in summer months because the surfers and people fishing from the rocks will take up the spaces. This is where the waves are good, and it’s also where most shark bites happen!

I took the photo above while walking the boardwalk at Smyrna Dunes Park.

Beach at the Ponce Inlet near the jetty at New Smyrna Beach in Florida — Beach at the jetty, north New Smyrna Beach

In summer, and big vacation times like Spring Break, expect the beach to look like the photo below. Busy. Crowded. Crazy.

crowded beach drive on — Summer Crowds at New Smyrna Beach

A February Walk on New Smyrna Beach

A friend called and we met up at 27th Ave. in New Smyrna, down on the beach. We both needed to buy our yearly beach passes, so we drove onto the beach and took a walk. County residents pay $25 for New Smyrna Beach access and it’s good until the end of the year.

Kite surfer at New Smyrna beach is packing up after surfing. — Walking north from 27th Ave.

It was a warm February day, but very windy on the beach. We watched the kite-surfer jump some nice waves until he came onshore and packed up to leave. Then we took a walk north near the waters edge.

I suspect that most of the people on the beach were “snowbirds”, or people who only come to Florida for the winter months. Some may have been vacationing on their Spring Break. Unless you love to surf, locals don’t generally visit the beach at this time of year. For me, the water is too cool to swim, and there are no lifeguards. But it’s a nice place to walk.

If you are planning a visit, for all the beach information read the Volusia County beaches page.

New Smyrna Beach at low tide near the 27th Street access ramp. — Tide is going out

Low tide is my favorite time to visit any beach. As you can see, there is a lot of space between the edge of the water and the driving area. There is a specified “road” where vehicles must remain, and the speed limit is 10MPH.

Long ago we could park in a second line down by the water. (Check out the old beach postcard at Fresh Slices of Old Florida, which shows what I mean.) I wasn’t in Florida in the 1050’s, but we parked like this in the 1980’s. Of course it could only be done at low tide. I don’t remember when they stopped allowing it.

With two rows of cars – one up by the dunes and another near the sea – there were too many accidents, and it was more difficult to see kids running around.

More People Equals More Rules

These days there are MANY rules to follow, and one is how you park. Also the person at the entrance booth will tell you to have your windows down and lights on while driving on the sand. During the summer months, surfers can only surf as specified locations called “surf zones“. A visit to the Volusia County beaches page is a good idea if you are new to beach driving.

Walking south on New Smyrna Beach near 27th ave. entrance — Heading back to the car

My friend and I had a short walk and then she had to go home. We drove north on the sand to the 3rd Street ramp where we got back onto the main road.

New Smyrna beach coast where driving is permitted. — Driving north on the sand

Beach Dunes and Jellyfish in January

My last post was about the beginning of my January walk at Smyrna Dunes Park when I took some photos from the two-story pavilion along the ocean side of the walkway.

You may wonder why I don’t just drive onto the beach (because New Smyrna has miles of drive on beach accesses) and walk along the beach. Honestly, you must time it right. If the tide is too high the beach may be closed to traffic, or there will be very little beach to drive on.

Not long ago I drove to the beach one morning and could see from the entry booth, where I have to stop and pay or be scanned for access, that the tide was quite high. Once I got down to the driving area I saw that there wouldn’t be much time left before the water was up to the parking places. So I drove to the next access ramp and left the beach.

In short, access to the Smyrna Dunes Park and walkway is not affected by the tide. I can visit at any time of day, high tide or low, because I will park in a paved lot and not on the sand. It’s a little further for me to travel, but worth the trip.

View from boardwalk to Ponce Inlet from Smyrna Dunes Park.

The Park offers more to see, in my opinion. In truth, I am not really an ocean lover. I think the ocean can get quite boring when enjoying it from shore. Don’t get me wrong, the beach is beautiful, and I never get tired of hearing the waves crash. In hotter months, the warm Florida ocean water is wonderful for floating and swimming. But the crowds can be smothering in summer when I really want to enjoy the water.

The ocean holds dangers as well. Rip currents are common in this area. Sharks have been known to bite the occasional surfer and New Smyrna Beach is actually called the “shark attack capital of the world“. However, unless you are surfing near the jetty, you are probably pretty safe.

Cannonball jellyfish on Florida beach — Cannonball Jellyfish

Something else to look out for at the beach is jellyfish. At times many will litter the beach, and most are harmless, but some are not. I have been stung by a jellyfish, or the tentacles, while swimming. I never saw it, but one of my legs had squiggly welts all up and down the back which did sting like crazy. After a storm I found man-of-war jelly fish on New Smyrna Beach.

The Cannonball jellyfish, shown in my pictures here, are relatively harmless. In fact, someone saw a man on the beach collecting them and putting them in his car. The Asian population in particular enjoy jellyfish as food. This type of jellyfish was all up and down the beach, and when we went boating a few weeks later, we saw many in the water as well.

Plover checking out the jellyfish near Ponce Inlet. — Plover and Jellyfish

This cute little shorebird, a Plover of some kind, inspects one of the jellies washed up by the tide.

January doesn’t seem to be an excellent time of year to find seashells. I collected this little bundle, but found nothing really interesting. Beginning with the long white shell and moving clockwise I have: A jackknife clam (that’s the long one), a yellow jingle shell, one of two Channeled duckclams, a chunk of striped acorn barnacles, duck clam #2.

Seashells and barnacles collected from Ponce Inlet beach. — Florida seashells and barnacles

As I rounded the bend in the beach that takes me to the River side of the water, I got this pretty photo of the sun setting behind the clouds. If I’d been able to stay a bit longer I may have seen the beautiful pinks Florida is known for when the sun goes down. It was just beginning along the horizon.

Almost sunset on the ICW side of the Inlet — Beach along the river side of Smyrna Dunes Park

Walking the boardwalk, and beholding the amazing swirls of the dunes is more interesting than walking along the beach. Occasionally the gopher tortoise will be out eating or roaming it’s protected area. While walking the sandy paths, it’s possible to see some pretty wildflowers or interesting plants and tall grasses that can grow in these salty conditions. The setting is ideal for any photographer, amateur or professional.

Read about Florida’s Gopher tortoise.

Sand dunes Ponce Inlet, Florida's east coast — View of Ponce Inlet

I visited on a rather cool day and there were no crowds. I met a couple visiting from out of state (as thousands are this time of year) and we chatted for a while as we strolled the shoreline.