Sebastian Inlet Jetties Guide

The Sebastian Inlet jetties are two rock and concrete structures that reach from each side of Sebastian Inlet into the Atlantic: a 1,000-foot north jetty and a 575-foot south jetty (Sebastian Inlet District).

The north jetty reached its 1,000-foot length in construction work completed in 2003, which added an elevated concrete cap, handrails and a grate system (District FAQ). Its main job is navigation: the District states that the main purpose of the jetties is to provide safe navigation within Sebastian Inlet (Sebastian Inlet District).

The channel between the two jetties is also a county line. When the Sebastian Inlet bridge opened on February 27, 1965, Brevard County ceded almost 3 miles of land south of the inlet to Indian River County, so the north jetty stands on the Brevard side and the south jetty on the Indian River County side (District history). Both jetties sit inside Sebastian Inlet State Park, which the District says draws an average of 750,000 to one million visitors a year (Sebastian Inlet District).

Sebastian Inlet State Park, where both jetties stand, is open 24 hours a day and charges $8 per vehicle carrying two to eight people (Florida State Parks).

The two sides of Sebastian Inlet no longer keep the same hours. Effective Nov. 12, 2025, the South Ranger Station follows standard park hours of 8 a.m. to sunset, with after-hours entry only for registered campers or visitors holding an annual pass and an after-hours permit, while the North Ranger Station continues to operate 24 hours a day for all visitors (Florida State Parks). Night anglers bound for the north jetty therefore use the north entrance. The Hours and Fees page itself still reads 24 hours, 365 days a year, so the station notice is the more current line. Campers arriving after sunset call the park at 772-589-9659 for the gate combination (Florida State Parks).

Parking near the jetties is tighter than usual. The District webcam page warns of limited parking at Sebastian Inlet due to the Florida Department of Transportation bridge construction project, and the same page still shows an old notice that the north jetty is closed November to July 2025, a closure that ended on June 30, 2025 (Sebastian Inlet District webcam). The District history notes that FDOT will begin replacing the Sebastian Inlet bridge in 2026 (District history). Florida State Parks adds that parking spaces on the north side of the park fill quickly on busy weekends and holidays, and that additional parking lies over the bridge on the south side (Florida State Parks).

Anglers on the Sebastian Inlet jetties follow Florida saltwater rules, may need a fishing license, and may not spearfish anywhere in Sebastian Inlet State Park (Florida State Parks).

Both Sebastian Inlet jetties are ADA accessible, and the park says big catches regularly come off the two structures where they push into the Atlantic. Each entrance station of Sebastian Inlet State Park carries information on fishing regulations. A saltwater license can be bought at any county tax collector office, online, or through 888-FISH-FLORIDA (347-4356). Fishing piers and a fish cleaning station appear on the park's accessible amenities list (Florida State Parks).

Bait is sold inside the park: Salt Water Cowboys bait and tackle is listed as open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closed Wednesdays. Divers and snorkelers share the inlet with jetty anglers, but diving is not permitted under the Sebastian Inlet Bridge or in the boat channel, every diver must stay within 100 feet of a dive flag, and dives end one hour before sunset (Florida State Parks).

The Sebastian Inlet District describes the appeal plainly: the jetties offer something akin to the ocean fishing experience without the expense of owning a boat. The same District article notes that anglers who frequent the jetties lose access whenever the structures close for inspection or repair (Sebastian Inlet District).

The first Sebastian Inlet jetties were small coquina structures, completed when the inlet was opened at its current location in June 1923 with rock carried on barges (Sebastian Inlet District history).

The Sebastian Inlet District itself dates to May 23, 1919, chartered to maintain the navigational channel connecting the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean. The 1923 cut did not last; in 1948 workers blasted the inlet open again with surplus U.S. Navy demolitions, and it has remained open ever since (District history).

The modern Sebastian Inlet north jetty took shape in 1968 and 1969, when Cleary Brothers Construction Co. of West Palm Beach carried out a complete overhaul and 500-foot extension to incorporate the crib structure seen present day. Conrad Weihnacht Construction Co. then extended and capped the south jetty, as recommended by the District's engineer of record, Beindorf and Associates of Vero Beach, with work extending into 1970 (District history).

The 2002 renovation proved itself two years later. Hurricane Frances made landfall on Hutchinson Island on September 5, 2004, and Hurricane Jeanne struck almost the same spot on September 25. The District states that both Sebastian Inlet jetties survived the storms due in large part to the 2002 renovation. In 2007 the District added the webcam and weather station on the north jetty, the source of the live images on its public webcam page (District history).

The 1968 to 1970 north jetty extension created First Peak, the wave beside the Sebastian Inlet north jetty that Florida State Parks calls one of the most consistent surf breaks in Florida (Florida State Parks).

The District history says the jetty extension created what some argue was one of the best waves on the East Coast, dubbed First Peak by the surfing community, and that it produced champion surfers through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, Kelly Slater among them. The same extension started a fight over the water beside the north jetty: fishermen and surfers clashed for months until signing a peace pact in April 1970, and in practice the feud continued (District history).

South of the channel, on the Indian River County side, Florida State Parks lists Monster Hole, which is not a hole but a shoal about a third of a mile off the beach on the south side of Sebastian Inlet. When the surf is big there, waves form long lines and give a long ride (Florida State Parks).

The Sebastian Inlet District has finished a $2.5 million Phase 1 repair and is now awarding Phases 2 and 3, which continue the rehabilitation of the north jetty structure, with construction expected in late 2026 or early 2027 (Sebastian Inlet District).

Contractor Shoreline Foundation, Inc. began staging in November 2024 and rehabilitated approximately 210 linear feet of revetment with four-foot diameter granite, plus a steel sheet pile seawall with a concrete sidewalk deck along storm-damaged parts of the Sebastian Inlet north jetty. Design and construction costs were approximately $2.5 million (Phase 1 FAQ). Scores of people came to Sebastian Inlet on June 30, 2025 for the reopening after an eight-month repair and improvement project (Sebastian Inlet District), and the District history records that the jetty reopened ahead of schedule (District history).

The Sebastian Inlet District states that the most recent jetty inspection, conducted in April 2026, recommended major structural repairs. The Phases 2 and 3 scope for the Sebastian Inlet north jetty covers installation of 48 pre-stressed concrete piles, concrete beams, new jetty decking, supplemental four-foot granite armor stone and three-foot diameter crib stone (Phases 2 and 3 project page).

As of October 14, 2026, the Phases 2 and 3 page, originally posted August 11, 2026, lists the bid advertisement on July 31 and August 4, the mandatory pre-bid meeting on August 14 and the bid opening on September 4, 2026, all complete. Award of the bid is listed as anticipated on October 14, 2026, and construction begins late 2026 or early 2027. The District has not yet posted closure dates for this phase. Questions about the project go to the District at (321) 724-5175 (Sebastian Inlet District).

The Sebastian Inlet District maintains both jetties and the shoreline armoring on either side of the inlet, while the Florida Park Service directs park access, fishing piers and catwalks inside Sebastian Inlet State Park (Sebastian Inlet District).

The District is an independent special taxing district created by the Florida Legislature in 1919, with offices at 114 Sixth Avenue in Indialantic. The Florida Park Service operates under the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and sets park regulations, boat launches and campground reservations at Sebastian Inlet (District FAQ).

Every couple of years the Sebastian Inlet north and south jetties undergo a structural assessment. In one such review, consultant Environmental Science Associates and subcontractor Wantman Group, Inc. spent three days examining the 1,000-foot north jetty and the 575-foot south jetty, and crews removed many of the 59 massive aluminum grates from the north jetty to look for cracks in the concrete framework. Public access to the jetties closed during that work. The previous inspection had been in September 2019 (Sebastian Inlet District).

The shoreline next to the jetties gets its own repairs. After Hurricanes Matthew and Dorian eroded the channel banks, the District rehabilitated approximately 655 feet of the North Shore of Sebastian Inlet and repaired the catwalk under the State Road A1A bridge west to the T-Dock. That project was completed on October 21, 2022, and ad valorem taxes funded its $1.1 million cost (District history).