Accessible Florida Beaches: ADA Tips

General information, not legal advice. Beach rules, fees and conditions change: follow posted signs, flags and lifeguard instructions.

Sand, dunes and long walkovers can make beaches hard to reach for wheelchair users and anyone with limited mobility. Here's how to find accessible accesses in DEP data and what Florida State Parks offer.

ADA accesses in the DEP data

Florida DEP records whether each beach access is ADA accessible and whether it has ADA parking.¹Of 2,190 accesses, 451 are marked ADA accessible, 660 record ADA parking and 351 record both.

Counties with the most ADA-marked accesses:

Beach wheelchairs and mats at state parks

Several Florida State Parks list beach access equipment on their amenities pages:

Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park (Naples) lists beach wheelchairs, free and first come, first served.²
Avalon State Park (Fort Pierce) lists beach wheelchairs, free and first come, first served.³
Fort Pierce Inlet State Park lists beach wheelchairs, free and first come, first served.⁴
Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area (Flagler Beach) lists a beach wheelchair available by reservation.⁵
Bald Point State Park lists a beach wheelchair by reservation and a Mobi-mat beach access mat.⁶

Availability changes, so check each park's page before your visit.

What to check before you go

Is there ADA parking close to the walkover, and how long is the walkover?
Does the route end at the sand, or at a platform or stairs?
Is there a beach mat, and how far does it reach?
Are restrooms and showers accessible?
Do you need to reserve a beach wheelchair?

Sources

Florida DEP, public beach access data layer (ADA and ADA parking fields).
Florida State Parks, Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park amenities.
Florida State Parks, Avalon State Park amenities.
Florida State Parks, Fort Pierce Inlet State Park amenities.
Florida State Parks, Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area amenities.
Florida State Parks, Bald Point State Park amenities.