A 30 min drive from where we were staying - what a beautiful beach! There was hardly anyone there on July 4th weekend. The waves were intense, but much fun. A cool breeze made for a wonderful beach day! read more

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Intrigued by what we saw at the Amelia Island Museum, we wanted to see the place for ourselves. Basically this beach was a place during the 1930-60s where Afro Americans could go to enjoy the beach. It was 1000 feet of beach front, purchased by an African American Insurance Executive. There were famous entertainers who performed at the now defunct club. The day we visited there were lots of trucks parked on the beach and lots of fishermen. Besides the beach, what I really wanted to see was NaNa, the tallest sand dune in Florida. Standing some 60+ feet, named by a somewhat famous black entertainer who performed throughout Europe,but made American Beach her home. read more

American Beach - The beach - Beaches Near Me - Amelia Island, Florida

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So I wanted to visit this beach because of the history. This beach sits on land bought by the the first African American millionaire so that African Americans can enjoy. The beach along with the establishment, Evans Rendezvous, which is now closed and boarded up was a place where blacks can enjoy themselves. The beach is amazing, you can drive on the sand, with a $5 permit that can be purchased in a couple of locations, which we should not have tried with our car. Or you can park for free around the corner. It is clean, quiet and tranquil. There is also an American Beach Museum, closed at the time but can be visited Friday-Sun. I love to visit places with purpose, not only for the enjoyment but also for the added benefit of learning a bit about the place and its history and American Beach is a gem. As my husband and I enjoyed the water, walking in front of the night club we imagined the joy and fun had by our ancestors on the same walk. read more

American Beach - 200 acres owned by AL Lewis, 1st African American millionaire. #blackexcellence #beach - Beaches Near Me - Amelia Island, Florida

This is a very clean and close beach. If you are parking at the free parking area the walk is not as far as some of the other beach can be. And the best thing is that you can drive on the beach if you are a local or have specific special permits. Not being a local I was permitted to drive on to the beach and it was an experience that I wouldn't mind having again. read more

American Beach - Nana sign behind the beach. - Beaches Near Me - Amelia Island, Florida

I came to American Beach on a history bus tour. American Beach is certainly historic as it was most likely the only Afro-American beach anywhere in the country. Also historic as the vacation paradise of Cab Calloway and Lois Armstrong, amongst other notables. The beach itself is nice, but with all the wonderful beaches in Florida, not a standout; just sort of an OK. Then as for the surrounding neighborhood, nothing impressive and to my mind somewhat run down. Though intellectually and historically enlightening, not much to see. It's a place I certainly wouldn't bother going out of my way to visit. I also have to add, that for me, rather painful to think of the bigotry and racism of the days that went into the making of American Beach. read more

American Beach - The neighborhood itself is totally unimpressive. - Beaches Near Me - Amelia Island, Florida

I find it ridiculous that people can't respect our beaches enough to leave their stupid car on the road. I find it repulsive that they drive on a historic beach, right next to the "Nana" dune system (a natural marvel, which had to be fought to be environmentally protected, by the great-granddaughter of American Beach's founder, Florida's first black millionaire, Abrahan Lincoln Lewis). Are y'all so lazy as to not be able to park your car on the street and WALK to the beach, as happens with most any other beaches along the East Coast? This sandy parking lot used to be open to anyone, and they now at least restrict vehicle access to residents with AWD, but still, I find it totally disrespectful to the cultural significance of this beach for people to drive on it, not to mention how it negatively impacts the marine environment. Just a few miles away, there are major beach erosion problems in the Amelia Island State Park--I would think that locals, especially, would be aware and care about what their cars are doing to their own public spaces. And I honestly watched these people whose cars were on the beach, wondering why a car was needed? Are they disabled? Are they catching a shark in the ocean that they need to haul off in their truck? Nope. Just setting up umbrellas and folding chairs. The car is there as a portable stereo! Yes, American Beach Museum photos show people in their 1920s cars on the beach. This is what people did ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, before erosion and pollution impact became HUGE ISSUES. They also had no antibiotics 100 years ago, and used lead paint, and smoked. Oh, and we also used to be segregated, which is the whole point of this beach! The history of American Beach (whose heyday was 1930s-1950s) has been covered by other reviewers, and is a very interesting read on Wikipedia. It makes me so happy to read that Abraham Lincoln Lewis created a safe and joyous place for segregated Americans to enjoy beach life, and some of the most amazing talent of their time. Per Wiki, these famous people visited American Beach: "Zora Neale Hurston, singer Billie Daniels, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Billy Eckstein, Hank Aaron, Joe Louis, actor Ossie Davis, and Sherman Hemsley." There is an American Beach Museum, which I was unable to visit because I had a toddler and dogs with me, but I will make sure to see it in the future. There is free parking in a grassy lot along Gregg Street, about 1/20 mile from the beach access. Parking is right in front of the "Nana" dune system, and Evans' Rendezvos, which both have some didactic panels to read, and which are an integral part of American Beach. Ervin's Rest is another nearby historical spot. American Beach is free to visit, and is a very wide, flat sandy beach. The sand is very fine and soft, and there are a lot of shells (most of which probably get run over). The water is typical of northern FL Atlantic water. Cold, waves, murky, but swimmable and still fun. Port-a-potty available at the entrance. Leashed dogs are allowed, and there are trash cans on and near the beach for pet waste. There is a tollgate booth at the entrance, but that's for cars only. I very much wanted to enjoy this place, but the feel of the beach was unsettling because of the abovementioned vehicles. Not only were they disrespectful and environmentally toxic, but I could not feel comfortable with my child and dogs because I never knew if a truck was going to decide to drive around and get in our space, or if someone leaked oil or windshield fluid in the sand. It took away the peace and relaxation of beachtime for me, and was an eyesore in the middle of nature. The approach to American Beach was also a little unsettling. Driving down A1A on Amelia Island (coming from Fernandina Beach), we passed the Ritz Carlton, and a ton of gated communities in among the heavily wooded groves hiding private and restricted opulence. Everything was very sterile, and "keep out" feeling. Gates, guards, fences, hedges... the only open-feeling areas were the "Employee Parking" ones. The road to American Beach is still in these woods, but as you drive out to the shore, it opens up and becomes beachy. However, I was really surprised to see how built up it was, with multi-million dollar homes crammed everywhere, choking the "Nana" dune system, and creeping right up to the beach. I get it, this is FL, and it's off A1A no less. But I guess I thought this landmark area would be left intact, with a buffer around it. I guess I can be thankful that they preserved and protected what they did, and as soon as I pulled up to the lot beside "Nana" I could see how important was the fight to save that dune. I would love to return to this beach someday and see cars prohibited from it. Maybe when my son is older we can enjoy some time in nature on American Beach, and pay proper respect to its history. read more

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Pups enjoying a beach day! In order to drive onto the beach, you must be a Nassau County resident (there's a few other options too). The dogs must remain on leash, we use 25 ft leashes so they have some freedom. The beach is clean and it's never as crazy busy as some of the other beaches on island. read more

American Beach - Pups enjoying a beach day! - Beaches Near Me - Amelia Island, Florida

Tell EVERYONE YOU know about this place. Read before you visit for context which I'll get to. The beach is absolutely beautiful. It's not as crowded as other parts of the island. Main beach was filthy so we drove up to American Beach. Now back to context. The beach has a very rich history. It's amazing what's left out of US History books. Do not drive on the beach even though it's allowed. Respect the nature. There is great need to preserve the land. Juneteenth seems like an excellent time to visit. read more

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Great beach. We stopped here at 5pm and the closest people where 400 yards away. We stayed for over 2 hours and had the place to ourselves. Large beach at low tide but gets a lot smaller at high tide. 50 years ago this was the "Black Beach" and the beach closer to the Ritz was the "White Only" beach. The beach is now for everyone and really enjoyable. read more

American Beach - Beaches Near Me - Amelia Island, Florida

The best part about American Beach is the history behind it. New to the area, my hubby and I have been checking out all the beaches nearby, and American Beach was next on our list. During the week it's pretty easy to find parking nearby, and the walk to the beach is a short one, so that's pretty nice. On the other hand--being new to the idea that people can actually drive on a beach--I was dismayed at the number of people who take advantage of that fact. To me, a beach is white sand and cold water and no vehicles to be seen. The truck tracks everywhere were, to me, an unsightly mess, and really took away from our experience as there was no real dry sand to pick a spot to settle down for a while. The water itself was nice, though, and I loved the little rivulets that ran to the sea when the tide was out. It wasn't until we were walking back to the car that I found the best part about American Beach--the sign telling us about Evans' Rendezvous. Coming from being greatly involved in the jazz scene in the SF Bay Area, I was entranced by the idea that this little club played host to Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, and Louis Armstrong among others. In fact, I thought that it was so cool that I took a few pictures of the signs and building to send to my best friend--who works for San Jose Jazz. Who would have thought that this area would have such a little gem in its midst? Anyway...great history, O.K. beach. We probably won't be back for the beachgoing, but I've already put feelers out to see if I can volunteer to raise funds for the refurbishing of Evans' Rendevous. Fingers crossed that they would like my help. read more

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Lovely beach we had a great time here learning about the history of American Beach. We also collected some cool sea shells to take home. Absolutely beautiful!! We also saw a couple of dunes. So cool. read more

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Needs to be cleaned up, looks like a crime scene, unkept properties so sad nothing is being done to bring it alive. I was afraid to park and get out the car. It's a lot of history there and it's going to waste. read more

We spent most of the afternoon at the American Beach museum seeing the exhibits and talking to the docent. It's amazing history that really, really needs to be more well know. Since high-end resorts hem the beach and it's community. Sadly, as we were leaving the NaNa (largest dune) we saw 4 white boys leave a jeep and start vandalizing the historic property there. read more

Beautiful beach! I only spent about 10-15 minutes here, but it was great and will visit again! My dad bought a house on Amelia Island last year and we recently came out to visit and move some stuff. The neighborhood American Beach is a U.S. Historic District. Minorities weren't permitted to swim in Jacksonville beaches during the segregation era, so this was created as one of the few beach communities that African-Americans could visit during that time. Some of the houses are run down, but the beach itself is pristine! You can park and drive on the beach (but not on the dunes) w/o a permit if you reside in Nassau County, otherwise you have to get a beach driving/parking permit. I'd recommend a 4x4 vehicle so you don't get stuck in the sand. (FYI: Four wheelers and ATVs are not allowed except by beach patrol). Alcohol isn't allowed, nor are glass bottles, open fires, bbq grills, littering (DUH!) or dogs off leashes. Pretty typical of most beaches. Camping is allowed as long as it doesn't exceed 24 hrs. My dad and I met a man parked in his jeep who had just come to watch the waves and eat his lunch. Sweet! Other than that, very few people on the sand, so it seems like a pretty secluded and quiet area if you want to just take a quiet dip in the ocean, lay out and tan or nap. I also found some nice seashells to take back to Texas. read more

Nice, quiet, and low key. I went there two mornings for a stroll. Both times I saw tortoises crossing the road so drive slowly and maybe you'll be lucky to see one. I won't go into the history as there are a couple of visible signs telling you important facts. Try not to miss this one. read more