Jacksonville Beaches Guide

Jacksonville beachgoers choose among two city beach parks, Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park and Huguenot Memorial Park, the state beaches on Little Talbot and Big Talbot islands, and the open strands of the separate cities of Jacksonville Beach and Atlantic Beach.

The two city parks charge an entry fee, close in the evening and offer campsites. Hanna Park sits at 500 Wonderwood Drive in Jacksonville (City of Jacksonville). Huguenot Memorial Park sits at 10980 Heckscher Drive, Jacksonville 32226 (City of Jacksonville). Little Talbot Island State Park, also on Heckscher Drive, is run by Florida State Parks rather than the city (Florida State Parks).

The beach cities write their own rules. Jacksonville Beach bans driving on the sand and sets seasonal dog hours (City of Jacksonville Beach), while Atlantic Beach sets a different dog rule (City of Atlantic Beach).

Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the City of Jacksonville website.

Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park charges $5 per car for up to six people and $3 per pedestrian or bicyclist from 8 a.m. to close, and it opens at 8 a.m. daily.

The park closes at 8 p.m. while daylight saving time is in effect and at 6 p.m. in standard time (City of Jacksonville). Early bird and annual passes are the only way in between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m., and those passes have to be bought in advance. The Hanna Park annual pass costs $92.52 plus tax, and active duty military and veterans get half off admission with a military ID or DD214. Bus entry costs $46.73 plus tax, and last entry is 30 minutes before closing. The park office answers at (904) 255-6767.

Hanna Park has 1.5 miles of sandy beach with several access points, and the city calls its surf break, The Poles, the premier surfing spot in Northeast Florida (City of Jacksonville). The Jacksonville surfing guide covers The Poles in more depth.

Alcoholic beverages, glass containers, balloons and fireworks are not allowed anywhere in the park, and open fires and grills are not allowed on the beach. Pets must stay in designated areas on a leash of eight feet or less. The Hanna Park splash park runs from the first weekend in May to the first weekend in October, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., without lifeguards (City of Jacksonville).

Huguenot Memorial Park is the Jacksonville beach where driving on the sand is allowed, along most of the seaward shoreline at 5 mph, with seasonal closures for nesting birds.

Huguenot opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m. in daylight saving time and 6 p.m. in standard time, with an 8 p.m. close on Fridays, weekends and holidays from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day; the office and entrance gate close one hour before closing time (City of Jacksonville). Vehicle entry is $5 for up to six people plus $1 for each additional person, pedestrian and bicycle entry is $3, and the annual pass costs $99.46 with tax included. The office and reservation line is (904) 255-4255. Tent sites cost $22.70 per night and RV sites $27.24 per night.

The sand on the Huguenot peninsula is soft. The city highly recommends four-wheel drive and suggests that two-wheel and all-wheel drive vehicles park on Family Beach or in the marked lots. Drivers go at their own risk, stuck vehicles can be towed at the owner's expense, and the park can close to all admissions when high tides, crowds or unsafe conditions arrive (City of Jacksonville).

Day-use visitors may not bring dogs into the park at all, and dogs are kept off every Huguenot shoreline even inside a vehicle; only registered campers may have a leashed dog (City of Jacksonville).

The city also notes that a temporary road was built so the park could open after erosion along the St. Johns River compromised the main roadway. The Huguenot page still shows a notice that the north end of the peninsula is closed to vehicles for nesting shorebirds, dated 6/11/2025, more than a year before this check. The same page ties the seasonal north end closure to Memorial Day and Labor Day, so the gate office at (904) 255-4255 is the place to confirm whether that stretch is open on a given day (City of Jacksonville).

Little Talbot Island State Park, at 12157 Heckscher Drive in Jacksonville, offers more than 5 miles of undeveloped beach for $5 per vehicle, open 8 a.m. to sunset every day of the year.

Florida State Parks describes Little Talbot as one of a handful of undeveloped barrier islands left in Northeast Florida, with 3 miles of bike trails (Florida State Parks). The park's contact number is 904-251-2320.

Big Talbot Island State Park, listed by the city at 12157 Heckscher Drive, is a different kind of shoreline. Wind and water have cut a 20-foot bluff along its coast, and its boneyard beach is covered with the skeletons of live oak and cedar trees that once grew near the ocean (City of Jacksonville). The city describes the park as primarily a natural preserve for nature study, bird watching and photography, where visitors can picnic at the Bluffs access and walk the Shoreline Trail to the beach.

Jacksonville Beach bans driving, grills, alcohol and glass on its beach, keeps swimmers and surfers 300 feet from the fishing pier, and limits dogs to before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m. from April 1 through September 30.

Swimming, bathing, wading and surfing are prohibited within a 300-foot radius of the Jacksonville Beach fishing pier, surfers must keep the board leashed to one leg, and charcoal and gas grills are not allowed on the beach (City of Jacksonville Beach). Personal watercraft may launch at Beach Boulevard and 8th Avenue North, must hold idle speed through the surf zone, and must stay 300 feet off the beach. Water activity stops when the no-swimming flag is posted.

From October 1 through March 31, dogs may be on Jacksonville Beach at any hour. Year round, a dog on Jacksonville Beach needs a leash of 8 feet or shorter and proof of rabies vaccination, owners must pick up waste, and dogs stay off the dunes. A dog may swim unleashed in the ocean within its owner's voice and sight, and violations can bring a $55 fine under City Ordinance 5-41 (Jacksonville Beach Police Department).

Atlantic Beach allows leashed dogs on its beach during the day and evening. The Atlantic Beach code caps the leash at 12 feet, and a dog may swim unleashed only when the owner is in the water too (City of Atlantic Beach). The Atlantic Beach FAQ sets no seasonal hours, unlike the April to September limits in Jacksonville Beach.

Paid parking in downtown Jacksonville Beach costs $4 for the first two hours and $2 for each additional hour, with a $12 maximum, on weekends and holidays through November 1, 2026.

The 2026 paid parking season in Jacksonville Beach began Friday, March 6, 2026 (City of Jacksonville Beach). Paid hours run from 8 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday, 10 a.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. Sunday, and 10 a.m. Sunday to midnight (City of Jacksonville Beach). A $15 flat rate applies on Springing the Blues, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day and Beaches Oktoberfest weekends, and paid parking is not used during the Sea and Sky Spectacular or the Opening of the Beaches Parade.

The Jacksonville Beach Pier lot at 503 1st Street North has three pay kiosks, the Latham Plaza lot at 14 1st Street North has three more, the lot at 422 1st Street North has two and the lot at 450 2nd Street North has one, and kiosks take cards only, not cash (City of Jacksonville Beach). Jacksonville Beach residents park free once their plates are registered with the parking vendor, and a registration from an earlier year stays active (City of Jacksonville Beach).

Practical timing: the city's paid parking program ends November 1, 2026, and dogs are allowed on Jacksonville Beach at any hour from October 1 through March 31. At Hanna Park the $5 car fee covers up to six people for the whole day, against a $12 daily maximum downtown in Jacksonville Beach.

Jacksonville Beach Ocean Rescue flies a flag on each staffed lifeguard tower: double red means the water is closed, red means dangerous surf and rip currents, and purple means dangerous marine life is present.

A flag on a Jacksonville Beach lifeguard tower also signals that a lifeguard is on duty (City of Jacksonville Beach). The Jacksonville Beach Lifeguard Station answers at 904-270-1685 during in-service hours, and texting DUVALBEACH to 888-777 signs up for the ALERTJAX beach and ocean safety notices. The city also points beachgoers to the National Weather Service Jacksonville office marine page for surf and rip current forecasts.

Hanna Park posts no lifeguards at its splash park, which closes for short periods when lightning is within 10 miles (City of Jacksonville). The city also lists the Mote Marine Laboratory Beach Conditions Reporting System as a place to see current conditions for Jacksonville Beach (City of Jacksonville Beach).