Beaches

St. Augustine Beach – Beach accesses from 16^th Street to A Street will alternate closures through the end of August to accommodate work on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Shoreline Protection Project. The Contractor is currently operating at 16^th Street (heading South) and is expected to reroute beach accesses. 16^th Street beach access is currently open and routed to the south.  The public can expect the same patterns of beach access closures/rerouting as the project progresses south to A Street. 

The pier will remain open for sightseeing but off limits to fishing due to the sand extending beyond the pier’s length. Both North and South pier beach access points are now open to the public!

Pope Road – As part of the St. Augustine Beach Shore Protection Project, the Pope Road parking and beach access will be closed starting February 22, 2024. Pope Road Parking Lot Closing Until Fall 2024 for Beach Renourishment Project Staging

On July 17, St. Johns County joined the St. Johns Cultural Council and Vilano Beach Main Street for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the reopening of Vilano Beach Oceanfront Park (2752 Anahma Drive, St. Augustine) following its $1.8 million renovation.

The renovation project included:

• Improvements to the northern walkover to bring into ADA compliance
• Renovation of existing restrooms
• Construction of a covered performance stage with terraced seating
• Construction of new outdoor showers
• Construction of changing stations
• Installation of a new climbing play structure and recreation features
• Renovation of the existing south walkover
• Addition of ADA parking in the existing parking lot

St. Johns County has completed the $38.6 million Ponte Vedra Beach Restoration Project two months ahead of schedule, with approximately $30.6 million of the costs covered by state legislative funding and grants.

The project was originally anticipated to be completed by mid-August. Weeks Marine, the County’s chosen contractor, worked with two dredges for a limited time, greatly expediting the overall project schedule so that it could be completed by the end of June. The St. Johns County Office of Public Affairs produced a video to capture the project’s success.

The County secured over $30 million from the State of Florida to construct the project, which is estimated to cost approximately $40 million. If the project is damaged in a declared disaster, it could be eligible for post-disaster funding assistance from FEMA and the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

The Ponte Vedra Beach Restoration Project has restored storm-damaged dunes and berms to provide storm protection to upland infrastructure with more than two million cubic yards of sand dredged in from the ocean. The project has also created additional environmental habitat for wildlife, enhanced the recreational value of the beach, and provided substantial coastline fortifications, including dune reconstruction between 13 and 18 feet, beach berm elevation of eight feet, and beach width increase of 40 to 180 feet post-construction. The project area stretches from the St. Johns-Duval County line to the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve – about nine miles of coastline.

Sea Turtle Nesting Season begins May 1, and St. Johns County officials are asking residents, visitors, and businesses to help protect natural habitat by observing all nesting season laws and regulations. The beaches of St. Johns County are home to several species of endangered or threatened sea turtles. From May 1 to Oct. 31, St. Johns County staff will close vehicular beach access gates at 7:30 p.m. and reopen them at 8 a.m. to allow nesting sea turtles to have a safe beach throughout the night.

St. Johns County resident passes are $50, non-resident passes are $100 and ADA-accessible passes are $40.