Beaches

The Animal Code does require dogs to be on a leash while in the water at the beach.  No exception is explicitly created by the Beach Code. 

• Under the Beach Code, the “beach” includes the land from any seawall or line of permanent vegetation and the water up to 3 miles out.  While the section of the Beach Code on animals (Section 3.02) does not include its own specific leash/restraint requirement, it does incorporate by reference the Animal Code, as amended. (St. Johns County Ordinance 92-1 is an older version of the Animal Code.) 
• Section 14.C of the Animal Code requires all animals when off its owner’s property to be leashed or restrained such that it is “under the direct control of the owner or possessor.” The only exception is for dog parks. “Direct control” is defined in Section 5.R to be “immediate and continuous physical control of an animal by means of a restraint sufficient to restrain the animal, such as a leash, code, or chain, such restraint not exceeding than 12 feet in overall length.”

Dog bites are a danger to our citizens and can cause serious injuries.  It is very subjective for an officer to decide whether it is appropriate for an individual dog to be off a leash, and an objective test such as whether the dog is leashed or not is far more practicable.

Reservations can be made through the online reservation system found on our website at Beach Accessible Wheelchairs - St. Johns County (sjcfl.us).

No. If the driving conditions of a vehicular access ramp are designated as "4WD Recommended", you may enter at your own risk with an all-wheel drive vehicle. If the conditions are designated as "4 WD only", you could receive a ticket for accessing that location with any vehicle that is not a four-wheel drive vehicle. All permitted vehicles may access the beach, at their own risk, if the driving conditions are designated "2WD". Please use caution and be aware that all vehicular access gates are subject to tidal flooding.

Beach Services is currently working to acquire new software and devices that will enable the toll attendants to accept credit card payments at the booths. Attendants will then be scanning daily and annual passes each time you visit our beaches. This will provide real-time data on how many vehicles are on our beaches at any given time throughout the year. This data will help our department allocate resources appropriately.

You would be required to contact the GTMNER (Guana), Anastasia State Park, the City of St Augustine Beach, and Fort Matanzas National Monument directly if you would like to host a special event on their property. Applications for special events hosted on beaches managed by St Johns County can be submitted through our online reservation system, which can be found on our website at https://www.sjcfl.us/special-events-beaches/.

Scraping the soft, dry sand down the travel lane, running north to south, on the beach would require moving a large volume of sand. Doing so would result in lowered beach elevations and increased landward wave penetration. North to south grading is inconsistent with the statutory protections of beach-dune system stability under Florida Statutes.

May 1- October 31, beach gates on beaches managed by St Johns County close at 7:30pm and are opened at 8am. November 1- April 30, beach gates remain open unless there is a significant weather or tidal event. A Street vehicular access gate closes daily at 5pm and is opened at 8am. This gate is managed by the City of St Augustine Beach. Pedestrian access remains open 24 hours a day.

No. Open fires are not permitted on St. Johns County Beaches. Any and all fires and associated debris must be self-contained (have a lid) and removed in the same manner in which they arrived. If you are using charcoal grills, you must take the coals with you when you leave. Please do not place coals in beach garbage cans. It is prohibited for any person to dispose of coal, briquettes, embers or other heated objects on the beach or in trash receptacles.