Sandspur Beach is OPEN in 2023 + will there be seaweed?! 🌴 swimming 🌴 Bahia Honda State Park seaweed 🌴 Florida Keys travel blog

Hi there!

 

Sandspur Beach is one of the Bahia Honda State Park beaches.

Once upon a time, Sandspur Beach was considered one of the best beaches in the Florida Keys.

But then in 2017, a hurricane happened.

 

According to the Florida Park Service:

In September of 2017, Hurricane Irma struck the Florida Keys.

The category 4 hurricane did more than just topple trees.

Buildings were flattened, and much of the beach’s sand was displaced and campsites were buried in debris.

When the storm passed, park staff, the community and emergency officials came together to help free trapped citizens and clear the wreckage.

 

This hurricane also resulted in the destruction of Sandspur Beach.

 

When will Sandspur Beach reopen?!

There’s a google review from October 2021:

Hurricane Irma was over 4 years ago.

Is Sandspur Beach temporarily closed or permanently closed?

 

Well…

As of May 2022, Sandspur Beach is open.

In May 2022, Sandspur Beach reopened after it was closed for years due to hurricane damage which means that Sandspur Beach is open for 2023!

Sandspur Campground also reopened in May 2022.

When I went immediately after it opened, the new Sandspur Beach did not look like the pre-hurricane Sandspur Beach.

 

👆 Sandspur Beach opened in May 2022 for the first time in several years after a hurricane hit it.

 

👆 Map of where Sandspur Beach is located in the Florida Keys. Explore the Florida Keys tourist map. Explore more things to do in the Florida Keys!

 

I don’t know what Sandspur Beach was truly like before the hurricane since my first time in Bahia Honda State Park was in 2022.

But I have seen the pre-hurricane Sandspur Beach pictures online.

And the post-hurricane Sandspur Beach I saw in May 2022 is nothing like the pictures.

Sandspur Beach is more like a seaweed beach.

 

 

Now, seaweed is a thing along the shoreline of the Florida Keys.

Seaweed is said to be an important part of the coastal ecosystem of the Florida Keys, so there’s no proactive measure to remove it.

So nearly any beach you go to in the Florida Keys will have seaweed, including the other Bahia Honda State Park beaches.

 

 

So seaweed on a beach in the Florida Keys is not an unusual sight.

But Sandspur Beach was above and beyond.

Pretty much all I saw was seaweed at Sandspur Beach.

 

 

Seaweed along the shoreline comes and goes, so maybe when you go, you’ll get more of a sandy beach!

There are bathrooms at Sandspur Beach.

 

 

There are outdoor showers at Sandspur Beach.

 

 

What is Sandspur Beach like in 2023?

Well, although I have not been back, it seems like in 2023 that you have a chance of seeing (much!) more sand on Sandspur Beach than I did!

In looking at more recent google reviews of Sandpur Beach, in some pictures there is a lot more sand visible on the beach!

See recent Sandspur Beach pictures. (You can “sort” by “newest.”)

 

 

More for your trip to Bahia Honda State Park and beyond

• Bahia Honda State Park beaches
• Snorkeling in Bahia Honda State Park
• Camping in Bahia Honda State Park
• Things to do in Bahia Honda State Park
• Looe Key snorkeling in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
• John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park beaches in Key Largo
• Fort Zachary Taylor State Park snorkeling in Key West
• One day in Key West
• Key Largo to Key West
• Miami to Key West

 

 

More pictures below from the new Sandspur Beach when it first reopened!

 

 

🌞

 

 

 

Here is Sandspur Beach when it reopened

I went to Sandspur Beach on the first day it opened.

The first time I entered Bahia Honda State Park, the road to Sandspur Beach was closed.

 

👆 In the first few days of May 2022, Sandspur Beach was still closed.

 

I was camping in Bahia Honda State Park for 1.5 weeks.

A few days later, I entered Bahia Honda State Park after coming back from Horseshoe Beach, which is a Florida Keys shore snorkeling spot that’s a few minutes down the road.

I saw that the road to Sandspur Beach no longer had a closed gate.

I had thought that maybe someone just forgot to close the gate. So I didn’t try going to Sandspur Beach at that time, and instead continued driving back to my campsite.

 

👆 The road to Sandspur Beach is open in May 2022!

 

Then I was driving through Buttonwood Campground back to my campsite at Bayside Campground when I saw a sign that said Sandspur Beach is OPEN.

 

👆 The Sandspur Beach day use area of Bahia Honda State Park is open in May 2022!

 

So that gate WAS meant to be open!

And so I drove over to Sandspur Beach.

 

 

And when I got to Sandspur Beach… yeah. 😆

This surely is no longer the Sandspur Beach that made a name for itself as one of the prettiest beaches in the Florida Keys. 😜

 

 

The water color is there though!

 

 

Your experience may vary!

Maybe more sand will be exposed at Sandspur Beach when you go!

 

 

 

Snorkeling at Sandspur Beach?!

Since there’s a sign, it seems that you have a chance to see a queen conch or starfish when snorkeling at Sandspur Beach?!

 

 

I did have fun snorkeling at the other Bahia Honda State Park snorkeling beaches though!

 

 

And that’s a bit about the NEW Sandspur Beach!

 

More for your trip to Bahia Honda State Park:

• Calusa Beach snorkeling
• Loggerhead Beach snorkeling
• Snorkeling in Bahia Honda State Park
• Things to do in Bahia Honda State Park

 

More for your trip beyond Bahia Honda State Park:

• Looe Key snorkeling in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
• One day in Key West
• John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park beaches
• Key Largo to Key West
• Miami to Key West

 

HAPPY BEACH TRIP TO SANDSPUR BEACH!