208heidie
They tore out the cute playground and put in a piece of junk. They recently started charging $10 a day to use the parking lot. And clean bathrooms? I've been there 1000 times and the bathrooms are always disgusting.
centralfloridamomm
Clean family beach, bathrooms available, lifeguards on beach, and no cars on the sand. Getting here early will keep you from waiting for a parking spot.
Amazenhazen
Great park. Fun padded playground. Clean restrooms. Lots of parking. Nice benches to sit and relax, overlooking the beach.
sjhokie
I love how this seaside community offers so many free items for visitors. This park has a nice large lot where you can park for free, grills, benches, showers,,picnic facilities and basketball.There are four bathrooms, which unfortunately are very oddly configured and become backed up and dirty on busy days. The drive on beach entrance is at 27th St, so guests can choose drive-on or natural beach settings. Nice long ramp if you are toting wheeled items.This is a guarded beach, and there is a fee if you choose to drive onto the beach.
tprewitt53
This park has lots of parking. Has showers, bathrooms, showers, pavilions with grills and a small playground.
Mariathurmond
On our most recent visit, we really enjoyed this park as our home base while on the beach. There is plenty of handicapped parking, a handicapped accessible bathroom and a ramp for the wheelchair to get to the beach. Once on the beach it is a very short distance to the surf. Additionally there are two lifeguards at this parking making it extra safe!
InLakeMary
The park has restrooms and showers, open to the public. Lots of parking. Beach parking costs $5/day. I wish I could park in the lot for free, but with two small kids and a car load full of stuff the only way I can get my gear and children to the beach alone is to pay :( Would be nice if they gave a break to cars with small children!
MommyTess
We lived in Lake County Florida several years ago and would often visit this particular beach park. When we returned back to Florida three years back (we are in Central FL), we began coming here again. If you are visiting Orlando, and looking for an Atlantic beach to visit, this is a great spot. It is just over an hour's drive and is usually a low traffic drive.Our most recent visit was on Memorial Day. Beware if you are going on a holiday such as this, because, unless you get there by 9:30 or 9:45, it is tough to find parking. On any other day, there is ample parking in the large lot at this beach park. The great thing is that the parking is FREE! Now, those who like beach parking, you can pay a fee and park right on the beach. Even THAT was full on Memorial Day. Because we arrived around 10:15 on Memorial Day, there was absolutely no parking at the parking area. That was a first for us, and we have been here many times. So...we went through the light at the park and over one block, turned left, and there was a wide street behind an apartment/condo building. There were not any "no parking" signs, and we noticed others parking there, so we parked there; not on the grass, because that's rude, just along the cub. It's only a few minutes walk.There is not food at this spot for purchase, but there are restaurants nearby. In addition, there are several covered areas with picni tables and grills. On busy days, people grab those pretty quickly, so keep that in mind. A lot of people have their coolers and food, umbrellas, blankets, chairs, etc. for a comfortable day.They have bathrooms, at least 3 for women, and 3 for men. I have been there when they were out of TP and actually have gotten to where I take it, just in case. They always work, though, and are actually pretty clean for being park bathrooms! I have never been disgusted using them. There are outdoor showers for rinsing the sand off, which is great before loading into the car.There is a small boardwalk up way above the beach, so you get nice views, and always meet interesting people there. There's a dude who is almost always at a picnic bench by the restrooms, using this glass thing to burn artwork onto pieces of wood. It's entertaining, certainly. To get to the beach, you can go down a set of wooden steps, or down the very long ramp. Therefore, if you have a stroller (which is hard to take along a beach, I suppose), a wheelchair, or a rolling cooler, it's fairly easy to get to the beach area.I have never noticed lockers or storage. We have been to this beach many times, and have never felt unsafe, or had issues with things being taken. Of course, use common sense; someone always is within an eye's view of our stuff. There is a basketball court; usually not many people use it, except on weekends. In addition, they have a playground. The area looks very, very nice, really.The crowd here is typically a lot of families. People are not really obnoxious acting, they are just enjoying the sun and sand. One interesting thing is that New Smyrna Beach does have a lot of shark bite incidents, but it is usually surfers getting nipped. They even have a "surf camp" or "surf school" set up during the summer, and it's fun to watch. I've not heard of swimmers ever getting attacked, and people will go out fairly far. I suppose it may have happened, but don't avoid this beach because of that! We did see a small black tip shark on a recent visit; my husband likes to set up his fishing gear on quiet days at this beach. You do need to be aware of the rip currents because they can be bad in this area. There are lifeguards, which is a huge plus. They are very nice; my kids always stop by and visit them and ask lots of questions. My children don't do much swimming out in the water (they are fairly young). They enjoy splashing around, riding the waves, and playing in the sand. The tide change is quite considerable. The beach is very wide at low tide. It's a very clean beach, and has lots of trash cans up near the entrance. Patrols pick up the trash, and maintain it very well. For a Florida mid-Atlantic beach, THIS is the one I would suggest!!!
momworkdc
Plenty of parking, clean bathrooms and plenty of parking on the beach if that is what you prefer. Plenty of shopping on the way to the park for your beach snacks if you are staying in a hotel, etc. Just a lovely time ~ even though the weather was a little too chilly for most during this 2013 spring break!
LynnB205
This park is at the 27th Avenue beach access. North of here is beach driving while in front of the park and south is no driving. The park is up above the beach so it is a great place to eat without fighting sand. The park offers a playground, ball courts and public restrooms. There are covered picnic tables as well as tables and benches out in the open, overlooking the beach. For adults it's a great place for photos, people watching or just sitting on a bench reading. On a pretty day, I enjoy getting a meal or sub to go then bringing it here to eat.The parking lot is compacted sand and can be difficult for anyone with mobility problems, but the rest of the park is accessible. Simply let that person out at the end of the walkway while you go park. There are handicapped parking spaces as well.It's a beautiful location to watch the sunrise as well. In fact, this area of the beach is the site of Easter Sunrise Services. Since there is no beach driving at this end of the beach, you may want to consider coming here if you have small children. That way you won't have to worry about them darting out in front of vehicles.