Florida Atlantic Beaches: West Palm Beach Area - West Palm Beach FL Beach Vacation

Preview: Jupiter Inlet, just south of the Palm beach–Martin County border, is the second of the two major dividing lines along the east coast of Florida. Whereas the other one marks a difference in sand type, this inlet marks a difference in water quality. Farther north, the warm waters of the Gulf Stream run anywhere between 15 and 50 miles offshore, whereas in Palm Beach County the tropical current comes as close to the beach as 2 to 3 miles. Aside from warmer water in winter months, this also means that the water clarity is consistently much better. A constant flow of water out of the deep blue helps make these beaches some of the better ones in the state. The county has done a good job of land purchasing for public beaches, which is critical in ever-booming South Florida. If you wait too long, all the beach that hasn’t been developed already becomes too expensive to purchase. A1A’s return to the beach after crossing the inlet brings you to Carlin Park, home of everything from high school cross-country races to Shakespeare by the Sea. The next few miles before the road bends inland again is a smorgasbord of beach opportunities, including Double Roads, Loggerhead Park, and Juno Beach Park, which features a brand-new fishing pier. Resuming its coastal path once again at the magnificent John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, A1A winds by Ocean Reef Park and Riviera Beach Municipal Beach before jogging inland again. The return to the beach lands you right in the heart of Palm Beach luxury. You will be bedazzled by the conspicuous wealth and maybe tempted to drop a few thousand dollars shopping on Worth Avenue, but also perplexed at how to find a public beach. It takes a little bit of ingenuity sometimes, but it’s worth it. Finally A1A stays glued to the coast, taking you through a startling variety of coastal areas. After Phipps Ocean Park and Lake Worth Pier, veritable castles are the view through the town of Manalapan, and suddenly you’re back in a patch of quiet old Florida at Ocean Ridge Hammock Park. Before you know it you’re passing by a community of trailer homes, of all things, at the tiny little municipality of Briny Breezes. Delray Public Beach gives you the first feeling of being in a town where life revolves around the beach. A half mile of public beach sits opposite a variety of shops, bars, and restaurants, yet succeeds in not being overly commercial. The coastline gets casual to the south, without much development past Atlantic Dunes Park. Condos emerge again until you get to Boca Raton, which features a few nice beaches like Red Reef Park with excellent snorkeling. Boca Raton falls somewhere in between Jupiter Island and Palm Beach in approach, having made available good beaches but charging a great deal of money for nonresidents to use them. One exception is the nice little county park on the south side of the inlet, but the only way to use the beach free in Boca Raton is to do what the locals do. Take Spanish River Boulevard from I–95 out to the beach and look for one of the free parking spaces just after you cross the bridge. The key to enjoying the Palm Beaches is spending as much time on A1A as possible, because inland is the typical congested development of South Florida with snarled traffic or irate, speeding commuters. Out on the coast, though, life moves along at its own pleasant pace and no one’s in too much of a hurry to get anywhere. This chapter includes detailed descriptions of these beaches: Carlin Park, Juno Beach Park/Loggerhead Park, John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, Ocean Reef Park, Riviera Beach Municipal Beach, Reef Road, Phipps Ocean Park, Lake Worth Municipal Beach/Kreusler Park, Ocean Ridge Hammock Park, Delray Beach, Gulfstream Park, Red Reef Park, and South Inlet Park.
© Copyright George Hurchalla published by Falcon Publishing all rights reserved.


Best Time to Go: Year-round
This travel guide comes from:
Exploring Florida's Atlantic Coast Beaches Guide Book