This is one of the most beautiful, publicly maintained beach I have ever been to!…read more Here is what to expect: - Free and abundant parking - Clean bathrooms - Picnic tables, grills - Playground And the main star of the show .... the beach! The fine, white sand is made of quartz so it actually stays cools in the summer heat. If your children like hunting for seashells or building sand castles, this place can't be beat. This beach borders Longboat Key and the views going over the bridge of the undeveloped, stretches of pure white sand, and aquamarine water is breathtaking. This truly is one of my favorite places in the US to be.

First time at this beautiful beach a few miles south of Anna…read moreMaria in Bradenton. Plenty of free parking. Large soft white sand beach. Water color close to the Caribbean. Water stays shallow for quite a distance out. Does eventually get shoulder height. Several lifeguard towers open from 9-5 pm. There is a snack bar, restrooms, showers, and chair rental. Long walk on sand to water. Difficult to pull carts. Easier to carry your gear. Beach gets very crowded by snowbirds in the Winter. On the weekends in the summer beach is crowded by residents.

This Beach is great and very nice is nice and calm waters and mostly clear water this beach should…read morebe call betiful greenish blue water beach

I've been here many times If you enjoy the the beach I…read morehighly Recommend this This is the gulf ! The water is warm & crystal Clear not dirty I enjoy walking early morning along The beach & collecting the pretty Shells that wash up !! You won't be sorry ! Free parking The sand is clear as they are always Out there cleaning mornings

Wonderful beach! Sand is soft and not too hot. Water is warm and felt awesome. Ample parking…read more And best of all - not too crowded! Awesome afternoon here.

The beach and the water is very nice. Major problems: the lack of parking; very few amenities…read morelike showers and bathrooms; inconsiderate high powered Ebikes everywhere. Just try walking over the Cortez bridge and have an Ebikes barreling towards you or coming up from behind - so far after a week not a single one of dozens has bothered to slow down when passing me. I ride a bike all the time at home so don't think I'm a bike hater.

Tony and I shared our "Last Day" at the Beach at Cortez Beach on Anna Maria Island. The waves were…read morevery high today and strong. Much stronger than rest of week! The sand was wet like "Sand Castle making" feel to it! The water was clear but there was a lot of seaweed rolling in! We had a nice 2.5 hrs Going to miss this area but we Def have a new place to venture too! Cortez has lifeguards no drinking no pets no smoking rules it also hasno bathrooms no showers or changing rooms! But it does have free parking! Lots of shells!

Park here for shops on the pier. This beach was outside of our rental. It's very popular for…read moredolphin watching and fishing off the concrete runway. Ocean is very shallow. I didn't see anywhere to wash the sand off. There are bathrooms.

This is the 5th beach on my Florida journey, and this one wins HANDS DOWN! Right over the bridge,…read morestraight into the FREE parking lot and then steps to the powdery sand beach. On this spectacular day, we walked right into the water hardly even having to acclimate to the water temperature. Crystal clear water, so I can almost see my toes and whatever decides to swim by me. Thank you for such a beautiful visit. The food area takes cash/credit and there's plenty to choose from. The o my problem is these love bugs are EVERYWHERE! My fried fish tacos were delicious, served with fresh pico de gallo! Yum!!

Tony and I enjoyed a few hours at Manatee Beach on Anna Maria Island. This park is for the public…read moreand Beautiful! Free parking no pets no alcohol and the water is 3 Shades of Blue with white sands ...hardly any shells! We both agreed this is one of the most beautiful beaches we have seen all week! If your in the area you have to check it out! Tony Vanoy Lisa Diane Boyce-Vanoy #vacayinthesouth2025

Heaven on Earth can be found here. If I could just stay here, & go no where else I would be happy…read more Only thing is the beaches aren't dog friendly here. The closest is in Venice. It's ok though. We go to the same spot on the beach. We have the best free parking here always found and the beach is steps away. There's no restrooms here. The closest is the Walgreens. There's also a nearby plaza with Crepes, tacos, ice cream, and souvenirs, Publix and CVS are just down the street. It's a perfect spot in our happy place in Anna Maria Island. Also pretty close to getting off the island which is good bc the traffic is crazy in other spots.

Tony and I enjoyed a few hours at Manatee Beach on Anna Maria Island. This park is for the public…read moreand Beautiful! Free parking no pets no alcohol and the water is 3 Shades of Blue with white sands ...hardly any shells! We both agreed this is one of the most beautiful beaches we have seen all week! If your in the area you have to check it out! Tony Vanoy Lisa Diane Boyce-Vanoy #vacayinthesouth2025

This beach was very clean with a lot to offer: a big parking lot, showers, bathrooms, changing…read morestations, grills, picnic tables, chair rentals, and a bar with drinks. The beach itself was also very clean and well-kept. I highly recommend stopping here if you want a relaxing beach day. I came around noon, and there was still plenty of parking.

A really nice white sand beach. The beach is very clean and well maintained. The water was clean…read moreand warm. While there there was a police/security presence which passed by on a regular basis ensuring beach goers were able to enjoy the beach without anyone creating any issues. In the section we were at, we did not notice any lifeguards, but basically everyone was very careful.

Predatory Parking Enforcement will ruin your day with $75 violations for subjective failure to…read moreachieve surgical grade precise compliance. No room for error with the both posted and unposted rules. Know before you go.

Anna Maria Island is just gorgeous, regardless of the section of beach you end up on. Even with all…read morethe rental properties and tourists, it was surprisingly clean on the sand and in the ocean. The waves were minimal, and there were so many fish swimming around us the whole time! I counted three different schooling fish species and a few crabs, which were unusually easy to spot because of how crystal clear the water is. I do want to note that we couldn't fins any public trash cans, showers, and bathrooms. It ended up wasting our water bottle reserves and probably led to spending more money at businesses that had these amenities than we would've otherwise. Options for surrounding businesses are limited and pricey. For instance, the only pizza place within walking distance is great if you can afford $20+ average-sized pies. There's also only one beachside bar along this stretch of beach access that has a long wait time and doesn't list cocktail prices on their menu. Parking is slim, but a lot of it is free if you park on gravel roadsides. Since it has always been extremely windy when I've visited, I definitely suggest firmly anchoring any tents or umbrellas. Also bring materials to hold down blankets and towels. They don't allow alcohol on these beaches, so also keep that in mind when packing your coolers. All in all, this beach is a must-see!

Beer Can Island, also known as Hooked Spit Island & Greer Island is located at the northern tip of…read moreLongboat Key, and is visible from the Longboat Pass drawbridge & Coquina Beach's most southern side. Beer Can Island is right across from Coquina beach and is located on Longboat pass which is a busy channel for boaters coming in and out so it's a good spot to see a lot of boats going by. This popular white sand beach has crystal clear blue waters on sunny days, was formed by tidal currents, and offers a beautiful undeveloped shoreline which is a popular stop for boaters. Over time, mother nature has eroded portions of the beach uprooting many of the Australian pine trees that once stood on the shore. The huge tree trunks and roots give the beach a real exotic feel and create an amazing landscape of fallen and weathered wood. A lot of people come to Beer Can Island by boat. There are no formal docking spots, but the shallow sandy water makes it a great spot to drop anchor and come ashore for a fun sunny day! If you're not coming by boat, you can take North Shore Road until you see signs for the beach, park, and walk north along the beach. You'll know when you're getting close by the driftwood becoming more and more plentiful on the shore. I saw a beached huge 10 foot lemon head shark and got some shark teeth from here! Although Beer Can Island is more secluded than some of the other area beaches, it does get busier on the weekends with all the boaters anchored up! All of the trees close to shore make this the perfect place to bring your hammock and lounge out! We saw a number of people who had strung their hammocks across two trees! Note, since this is a secluded island, there are no bathrooms or showers here.

Cool hangout spot! Kinda reserved from all the people at the other beaches. If you like hammocking,…read morethere are good spots for that too. Just keep two things in mind: - A lot of people like to come here to get drunk and high since it is reserved. Hence the name. Can sometimes get annoying and a little trashy. Kinda why I don't really come here anymore much. But recently local police have been cracking down a little on it. - The water on the side with the channel can be a little rough and unpredictable, so just be a little careful. Could possibly cause small rip currents.

Really great walking or biking path right along the water. Plenty of places to park and watch the…read moregorgeous Florida sunsets, dip your toes into the water, you could even launch your boat or kayak from here. The biggest perk is dogs are allowed which is pretty hard to find a nice beach area for dogs in this area. Definitely a nice spot to get some exercise in and enjoy the sun with your pups!

This is the first intercoastal you will pass as you go to Anna Maria Island. One can hang out with…read moretheir dog and play fetch here. Sit by the water without walking to far from the car, launch a jet ski or a kayak, or just plain chill. It would be a 100% perfect spot if the traffic from the road wasn't there. It is still a good spot! You Can wade in the water here too, but depending on the time of the year there may be more seaweed. When you face the water, the view is nice and you could be looking at the view of the huge beach side mansions or the nice blue water. There is a bathroom on the causeway that is covered