Siesta Key Beach Cam

The above cam looks over Siesta Key Beach and is one of our most popular webcams. It’s great for seeing how crowded the beach is or if conditions are good for a swim. You can also check the wind before sailing or even view the fireworks on the 4th of July.

Having lived on Siesta Key for over 10 years, I wanted to write a bit about the beach. As you may have heard, Siesta Key was recently rated #1 in the US by Dr. Leatherman aka Dr. Beach. And while Dr. beach’s criteria for selecting the best beach may differentiate from person to person, most of us can agree on a few things.  

1. Sunrises and Sunsets rock!
2. Reasonable access to the beach is required; including parking. Showers, restrooms and nearby food is always in order after a day of fun in the sun.
3. You have to be able to stand (or run) on the beach (barefoot) without getting stabbed by shells, glass, rocks.
4. Trash, sewage and oil balls stink -  who wants to be around that? Eww!
5. You'll want to swim whenever - anytime (preferably without a wetsuit) without being eaten by sharks or stabbed by stingrays, stung by jellyfish, bitten by crabs or be subjected to any critter that wants to have its way with you.  AND you don’t want to be entangled by a web of seaweed, ran over by boats or pulled out to sea by a strong currents/riptide (especially without a lifeguard present).

So... how does Siesta Key Beach stack up against this criteria?

The Sunset

Siesta Key’s sunsets look like the sky is on fire. Most days the skies over Siesta are clear: Summer thunderstorms stay well east of Siesta Key, keeping the sky clear while the sun sets.  A quick google image search will give you a good idea of what Siesta's sunsets look like on a typical day. Sometimes (if your lucky), thunderstorms will move far enough to the west and begin to dissipate leaving a haze in the sky.  The evening sun lights up the haze and turns the whole sky a golden-yellow color; often with a back drop of rainbows.  It’s simply the best time for taking pictures. My wonderful and talented wife took the following pictures near Siesta Key Public Beach:

Beach Access

Beach access is pretty straight forward.  There are a number of small public access points on Beach Rd starting from the south bridge, beach access 12 (Crescent Beach) and counting down until you reach the village.  The main public lot has a little over 800 spaces and several boardwalks. The pavilion offers beach wheelchairs for those who need a ride.  My sis-in-law is disabled, so we’ve needed a beach chair on many occasions and I've always been impressed by how rugged they are and how easy they roll. The beach chairs are made of PVC so you can bring them into the Gulf and the inflatable wheels keep the whole chair afloat. Bathrooms, showers and food are provided at main pavilion.

Parking

Parking can be a difficult depending on the time of year, namely in the spring.  On the weekends and in season, you won’t have much of a chance unless you get to the beach early (by 10:00am).  If you can’t find parking, I recommend hanging out near the boardwalks as long as you can until you can flag down someone that is leaving. This is probably against the law, but you might not get a spot unless your a deviant.

Sand

The sand is truly sensational. It's the number one thing people notice when arriving to Siesta Beach.  Even on the hottest Florida days the sand doesn't burn your feet. The sand is white and made of 99% quartz so the sunlight is reflected rather then absorbed. It’s sugary and soft so you can run barefoot confidently (free in the wind) without stepping on something sharp. And if you fall on your face, chances are it won't hurt too bad; perfect for volleyball and other sports. In fact, college volleyball and other sponsored tournaments are often held near the main pavilion.

Sand castle competitions are held with professional sand sculpturists visiting to the beach to make masterpieces of epic proportions.  On these days, from Crescent to Siesta, the beach is littered with sand makings.

Locals say the sand has magical properties and healing characteristics and judging by the number of die-hard old-time beachgoers who are 90 plus years of age, it must be true!!!

Keeping Siesta Beautiful

Sarasota County has always had a knack for keeping the trash off the ground and Siesta Key is no exception.  However, due to the size of the beach and the number of visitors Siesta receives daily, keeping the beach clean has become increasingly more difficult. If it weren't for volunteers, our beach wouldn't be as clean.  In Spring, we have spring breakers; the river tubing type - party until you drop, who generally speaking don't have much consideration for our environment.  They don't understand the massive ongoing effort made keep the beach clean; keeping birds and other wildlife unentangled from garbage.  It gets worse: after a chat with one of our local volunteers, I was surprised to hear that the spring break trash problem is short lived and much of the problem lies in everyday families who just forget pick up after themselves. She says, "I don't know what people are thinking! It's not even the young adults - those I can understand, it's dads and moms (with children) that are forgetting their trash like they expect someone to clean after them.".  This is a shame. Come on moms and dads, set an example!

Oil?

Siesta Key has been lucky regarding the BP oil spill.  Trade winds, cold fronts and loop currents have kept the spill west of us. There is no oil.

Water

Most of the year the water is warm or wetsuit optional.  When peak summer rolls around, the water is warm like a bath. Unfortunately, you can't quite tell if someone pee'd next to you or not but it's all good, even with the pee the water is pretty safe: Shark attacks are uncommon.  In my 10 years of water activities, the scariest thing I've seen is dolphins jumping waves next to me. And if by chance there is some crazy creature in the water, you'll be quick to find out because the lifeguards blow their whistle and stick a blue flag on top of their towers for warning. Warning flags are usually a result of passing jellyfish or stingrays; once a year.

Seaweed sometimes filters in after storms. There are times it clumps into massively thick clusters, but it’s rare and is usually cleaned up shortly thereafter. The remaining seawead is pushed out to sea by the tradewinds.  Consistent wind from the east keeps the water calm and clear.

Fishing

Fishing is prohibited in or near the swim zones, but the rest of the beach is fishable...Whether or not the fishing is good is arguable and completely circumstantial.  Personally I haven't caught much; just small fish. In the day, Spanish Mackerel and Jacks, and at night, itty bitty tiny weenie baby sharks, catfish and whiting. I'd say there are better spots nearby to fish, but don't expect me to tell you where they are!

Sailing, Kiteboarding, Windsurfing

Enter my life: I love to kiteboard and surf - it's what I do for fun. But I want to explain the DOs and DON’Ts of kiting Siesta Key because kitesurfing has almost gotten banned. First of all, kiting with a landboard or buggy is prohibited. It’s against the law. There are simply too many people and too much risk. Wildlife preservations are also on the beach where endangered species such as the Snowy Plover come to breed. Their young are fearless and can easily be trampled over.  A traction kite will cast a large shadow and can be mistaken as predator to the birds so all kiters must keep their kite over the water when near a preservation.

Siesta Key has 3 main spots to launch a kite/windboard and depending on the wind direction, you must choose wisely. Crescent Beach (access 12) is best on a WNW,NW or North wind. Just be careful near the rocks, the current can work against you and rob your wind.

Siesta Public Beach works well out of the South. Be careful near shore, strong current can rob your wind.  Launch just north of the swim zone near Beach Rd. and Avenida Del Mare, but be aware of the preservation to the north (no shadows).

The last beach access also works for a WNW,NW wind. Sailing is popular here due to the proximity of Big Pass channel.

And finally be cautious of the parasail boats and lines. The boats are supposed to be 500ft offshore but they often drive closer to compete for advertising ground near shore. In my experience the captains can sometimes be void of caution, so keep tabs on the sky.

Siesta Fiesta

The Siesta Fiesta is a marvelous event.  Ocean Blv. and part of Beach Rd. usually gets blocked off so  tents can setup and people can wander.  There’s always something new at Siesta Fiesta. In general, it’s a place where people can sell there homemade food and goods.  Some of the main attractions include kettle korn, paintings, metal and glass arts, jewelry, tie dye clothing, wildlife installations, live music. A scaled down version of the Fiesta is hosted sometimes on the beach, at the main lot, near the tennis courts.  Check out events page for updates.

This years Siesta Fiesta was a disaster however, love bugs swarmed the tents and stopped people in the tracks.  Love bugs aren’t harmful, but the sheer number of bugs that were swarming looked like a horror movie. I wish I had gotten some pictures. Here is a blog I found on it.

Farmers Market

The farmers market is hosted in the village on Sunday Mornings. It’s not as large as the one downtown or near Phillippi Creek, but it’s perfect for locals that need their fix on quality organic food and Waltz has some of the best seafood around.

Village

The Village is a great place to unwind from the beach.  You can get food and drinks, ice-cream and gifts. If you wind up at the Big Olaf, I recommend you try their toasted coconut ice-cream. At night, the clubs come alive with music and if that’s your thing, I recommend visiting on Wednesday (ladies' night) or Friday/Saturday.

4th of July

If you looking for awesome fireworks, hit up Siesta on the fourth. Period.

Siesta Key Improvements

A 12 million dollar upgrade is in order to improve Siesta Key.  Basically all the existing beachside facility buildings are going to be torn down and replaced with more parking.  New (unobtrusive) buildings will be added on the sidelines to keep from blocking the view.  Improvements will start in 2013.  Stay posted on our events page for more Siesta Key news.

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