Smyrna Dunes Park

The Boardwalk at Smyrna Dunes Park Nears Completion

A photo visit to Smyrna Dunes Park in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.

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.

Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 7.16.14 PM — Dunes and Inlet beyond and Ponce Lighthouse

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.

Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 7.14.57 PM — View of dunes while walking the new boardwalk, looking toward Ponce Inlet

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.

New boardwalk that leads to the ocean — Looking north toward New Smyrna Beach from the boardwalk at Smyrna Dunes Park showing the newly re-done walkway leading to the ocean

Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 7.15.13 PM — Jetty seen from boardwalk near stairs

Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 7.15.05 PM — Posts where old walkway met the beach

Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 7.16.05 PM — End of boardwalk at stairs leading to Inlet and Jetty

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.

Screen Shot 2018-03-21 at 7.13.07 PM — New stairway to Inlet beach area

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.

Found Some Great Shells, But Not On the Beach

My son and I headed over to the beach today, which is an unusual thing for us to do on the weekend. Weekends are too busy. We did go early, and still hit traffic, but it was a lot of fun. I love living so close to the seashore.

I’ve been debating on whether or not to buy a year pass for Smyrna Dunes Park. It’s an awesome place to walk with nice boardwalks that lead out to the beach on all sides of the peninsula. The cost is $20 for county residents and it’s $10 for each visit. If I go twice I will have paid for the pass. But… the pass is only good from now until the end of the year… not a full year, really. Still, it seems worth it because it’s a wonderful place to visit.

At 9Am on a Saturday the place was packed with cars! The woman who put the sticker on my car (yup, I bought the pass) said it’s turtle season (and the beach doesn’t open until 8am) so the surfers come here to surf early in the morning.

It’s also a place where everyone goes to walk their dog! Almost everyone we saw had a dog…. or 2 or 3 with them! We saw all kinds of dogs…. from Corgi’s and Shepherds, to big and small Poodles and mutts . Even so, the place is clean as can be. Locals respect the area and dutifully clean up after themselves.

The boardwalk is being replaced, so the first part is torn down and you must walk in the sand. I assume they will do the second part after the first part is finished, but I don’t know.

construction — Construction on Dunes Walkway

No matter. It’s still a wonderful place to visit. They have a new long fishing pier (see it in my first photo above) and my son and I went there first. He has a new metal detector and is dying to find buried treasure. So while he searched for treasure I cooled off in the wonderful ocean water. It was clear and refreshing. Fabulous!

little coquina shells in beach sand — Little coquina shells in beach sand

Of course, I also kept my eyes open for seashells. I saw some of the usual arks and many tiny coquina in the sand. Found an orange jingle shell, a bit of coral, and a little crab climbing up one of the pier’s pylons.

little crab — Little crab climbing up the dock pylon

The best shells I found were not on the beach though, they were up near the construction site! Look at this wonderful Lettered Olive! It’s small, but so pretty once I rinsed the dirt off.

lettered olive shell — Lettered Olive Seashell – 1.25 inches

Yup… I found this Lettered Olive and Banded Tulip along the fence which blocks people from entering the construction area. All that digging moved the shells around I guess, and there was not a single hermit crab to be found!

Hallelujah..!

The tulip shell is not in great shape. It’s encrusted with something that is gradually flaking off. It may end up being sorta pretty. The bands tell me it’s not the True Tulip like I’ve found before, but the Banded Tulip.

I also got this little gem of a shell, even though it’s somewhat broken, I love it. I think it might be a little Knobbed Whelk.

On the way back to the mainland we had to wait for a boat to go by and the traffic was building while the north causeway bridge was lifted.

bridge up at north causeway — Bridge up for tall boat to pass

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Late in the Day Trip to Smyrna Dunes Park

One of the long boardwalks that make up the park.

Recently I went to Smyrna Dunes State Park to walk, visit the beach, and take photos. My camera was full, so I had to keep deleting photos to take more, which was annoying. I would have taken a lot more photos.

My son had his girlfriend visiting over the Christmas break. She lives in New Hampshire and had never been to Florida. Well, the Christmas break is NOT the time to visit as everyone in the world is visiting Florida then…. or they are waiting to come for the spring break, which is also a horrible (touristy) time to come here.

We went to Smyrna Dunes Park late in the day and had to leave by 6:00PM or be locked in, so I was constantly checking the time. I was the odd man (woman) out accompanying the young sweethearts on a romantic stroll among the dunes, but I did come in handy when it came to photo taking.

We ended up on the west side by the Intracoastal (Indian River) where the sun was beginning to set and my son wanted pictures. So I used the girlfriend’s cell phone to take most of them, and got some very good photos (if I do say so myself). The sun was setting and they posed in silhouette… ah, young love!

The Park is a long boardwalk over the dunes that leads to the ocean and river in several places, and Ponce Inlet. I had visited this place years ago – probably 15 or 16 – and it has changed. Now there are trails just for dog walkers, and there were many people taking advantage. The dogs are not allowed on the boardwalks except at certain places.

At one point we walked down to the beach by the rocky jetty. The tide was out, and lots of little shells were caught in seaweed along the beach. My picture here shows some of the seashells I found. Pieces of shells that were once quite big, and the regular finds of the incongruous arks and cross barred venus clam.

We saw a gopher turtle (tortoise) snacking on some weeds in the dunes (no photo, camera issues), and I was reminded of the one that used to live in the corner of my yard. They are big turtles and slide down into their dens that are a maze of underground tunnels. My daughter volunteered at the Central Florida Zoo (named differently now) and learned all about them. They are quite amazing wild animals. With all the building going on constantly in this state, they are threatened. The gopher turtle, like much wildlife in this state, has lost a lot of it’s natural habitat.

Ponce Inlet lighthouse and beach at the end of the boardwalk.

We had a lovely time walking the boardwalk, and I was sorry I didn’t just buy the $20 yearly pass. I may go back and use this place as my exercise area. But I do have a beach pass, so I can drive onto the beach and then use the boardwalk, or simply walk along the beach. I’m lucky to live so close to this beautiful area.