Fort Lauderdale's Best Beaches

Fort Lauderdale's Best Beaches

Fort Lauderdale Beach

Alone among Florida's major beachfront communities, Fort Lauderdale's beach remains gloriously open and uncluttered. A wave theme unifies the setting on the Fort Lauderdale Beachfront—from the low, white, wave-shaped wall between the beach and beachfront promenade to the widened and bricked inner promenade in front of shops, restaurants, and hotels. Walkways line both sides of the beach roadway, and traffic has been trimmed to two gently curving northbound lanes, where in-line skaters skim past slow-moving cars. On the beach side, a low masonry wall doubles as an extended bench, separating sand from the promenade. At night the wall is accented with pretty ribbons of fiber-optic color, often on the blink despite an ongoing search for a permanent fix. The beach is most crowded between Las Olas and Sunrise boulevards.

Hollywood's Broadwalk

The name might be Hollywood, but there's nothing hip or chic about Hollywood North Beach Park, which sits at the north end of Hollywood, Florida's Broadwalk's north end (Route A1A and Sheridan Street). And that's a good thing. It's just a laid-back, old-fashioned place for enjoying the sun, sand, and sea. Also, no high-rises overpower the scene here either. Parking is $5. The main part of the broadwalk is quite a bit more fashionable. Thanks to a $14 million makeover, this popular beach has spiffy new features like pedestrian pavers, a concrete bike path, a crushed-shell jogging path, an 18-inch decorative wall separating the actual Broadwalk from the sand, and places to shower off the sand. Fido fans take note: since the release of Marley & Me, starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, filmed in Greater Fort Lauderdale, dog beaches in the area are making a come back; the year-round Dog Beach of Hollywood is right along with them.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea

The small village packs a big punch for beachgoing pleasure. Especially popular with divers and snorkelers, this laid-back stretch of sand provides great access to lovely coral reefs. When you're not down in the waters, look up and you'll likely see a pelican flying by. The gentle tradewinds make this a place to go for utter relaxation without all the hub-a-bub of the Fort Lauderdale party scene. The place livens up on the weekends with live entertainment on Friday nights, but it's still a small-town, easy-going feel where parents feel comfortable taking their kids.