All the Boca beach parks are similar. Lots of parking, grills available for free, but you need to bring your own charcoal. Pretty boardwalks that lead to the beach. Lots of native trees and plants. I gave it 4 out of 5 because of the cost. Being a Boca resident, I'm able to buy the annual pass, but if you don't have that, it costs range from $35-$50 to park, depending on the day. read more

Red Reef Park - Entrance from A1A - Beaches Near Me - Boca Raton, Florida

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My eight-year-old daughter and I came to this beach to snorkel. As you walk up, you'll see a sign with the fish you may see. Sadly, we saw no fish around 5:30pm on a Tuesday in July, but we enjoyed the beach. It wasn't very crowds and the waves were fun to splash in. There's restrooms and places to wash off the sand. The parking lot across the street had spots open for $3 an hour. read more

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In the 1970's the City of Boca Raton began to make an effort to preserve five miles along the coastline. Part of this preservation effort included purchasing 67 acres for Red Reef Park in 1974 through a special bond referendum. The master plan for Red Reef Park recommended the development of a nature center and as a result a group of concerned citizens formed the Gumbo Limbo Friends of the Nature Center. The City of Boca Raton's Sea Turtle Conservation Program began shortly after. In 1981 Red Reef Park opened with the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center and a par 3 golf course that was once a private course belonging to Sun and Surf Club. In 2021 a new snorkel reef made out of limestone boulders was constructed to extend the snorkel trail for beach goers. The new reef was created to attract sergeant majors, parrotfish, bar jack, spot tail pinfish, molly miller, and more. I used to love coming to this park with my daughter when she was younger. She would spend hours snorkeling the reef off the beach but when we used come here it was $20 to park. Now it costs $50 just to enter Red Reef with a car on the weekend. I would rather spend the money for the shuttle to Peanut Island where you can snorkel off the beach or go to Phil Foster Park for the snorkel trail for free. Visitors to Red Reef come to enjoy swimming, surf fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving, and photography. I hadn't been to Red Reef for a number of years but one day after visiting Gumbo Limbo I wanted to check the beach out. If you don't want to pay the $50 entrance fee you can park across the street at the municipal golf course for $3 an hour. I enjoyed the walking paths in the park through the coastal hammock. In addition to beach access the park also has picnic areas with grills, shower, restroom, and a playground. Note that alcohol and pets are not permitted in the park. read more

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Well it's a crime to charge 50.00 a day on weekends and holidays and 35.00 a day to park on weekdays .Of course with limited parking across the street it's 3 dollars an hour with limed 4 hour time. This is pure discrimination toward poor people who can't afford 50.00 to park closer to beach. I was explained that this park beach was beautiful but honestly I've been to better maintained and nicer park than this . Shame on your city .. read more

Red Reef Park - Beaches Near Me - Boca Raton, Florida

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First of all, I've been coming to this beach since my kids were little. For some reason, I don't remember this long boardwalk that they have now it could be because I was focused on the kids and we went right to the beach, but I think they've been renovating lately But it's really pretty. It takes you down to the other beach area. I think it's called south beach on Palmetto so it's a nice walk if you head towards the ramp to the beach instead of going to the beach discontinuous straight on the boardwalk to the right and that'll be The whole path to the other beach. It's very very pretty and there are bathrooms along the way. You also pass the golf course on the right and the beach to the left. It's very nice. read more

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My family and I enjoy trying out all the various public beaches in Palm Beach County. We are very familiar with the beaches of Northern PBC, but not at all familiar with the beaches of Boca Raton, which are actually closer to us in distance! We selected Red Reef Park because they added artificial reefs just off the shoreline in 2021, and we wanted to snorkel from the shore (as in, not snorkeling that requires a boat or other watercraft to get a snorkeling area). . We watched a YouTube video of snorkelers wading into the water and almost immediately finding a ton of fish, a barracuda, and more. What we did not count on was that any amount of waves or current makes swimming next to rocks hazardous, plus the insane amount of thick seafood that made swimming super disgusting (and of course blocked all visibility of sea life!). The 'red reef' rocks were actually blocked off by tape, with lifeguards yelling at people for getting too close. We could only find this out by going to the beach, and we already knew that we would park across the street, where parking is $3/hour (with the ParkMobile App, so it's super easy to keep track of and/or extend time as needed), as opposed to parking at Red Reef Park itself, which is a hefty $35/day! Thus, by the time we parked, paid for parking, loaded up all of our belongings and trekked across the street and finally to the beach, there was no turning back. Despite lugging all of our snorkel equipment, we did not use it. However, this beach is clean and mostly pleasant (ants bothered us immensely, which was unfortunate). My kids used nets to scoop up seaweed from the ocean and rooted around for critters to dump in a bucket. They found tiny crabs, shrimps, and even a every small fish. Walking back to our car in the parking lot across the street, we crossed to the park on the Intracoastal we had read about, which was cool to see but not particularly appealing. read more

Red Reef Beach has become my all time favorite. There are several reasons why...no tourist, clean restrooms, several picnic areas and it's is completely peaceful! It has 2 reefs you can snorkel to and see several different fish. We also saw a nurse shark and barracudas. Keep in mind you have to have a parking pass. Which is $75, but we'll worth it! read more

Red Reef Park - Beaches Near Me - Boca Raton, Florida

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The drive in entrance to the Boca Raton beach and park is pricey at $35. We parked across the street with metered parking at a fraction of the park price. We were lucky to find a spot after circling a few times. We only did a nice walk on the beach and boardwalk. It is also adjacent to a golf course. Many picnic tables and a great place to spend the day. It is very clean and scenic. read more

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Really love this beach! Parking is expensive on the beach side of the street $35, but they have a public lot across the street. It was really busy on the weekend for parking there though. Water was too chilly for me in March, but there were a bunch of people in the water the whole time I was there. You can also rent beach chairs and umbrella for $15 an hour. I believe there is a daily rate, as well as an annual rate available which covers 9 locations. read more

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The park has two sections. The beach side and the park side. The beach side is big. This is good place to snorkel. It's defenetly a snorkeling park. You are going to want to. They have this big rock that has tiny little holes were tons of little fishes swim around. You see so many variations of sizes. I think I say something that looked like a lobster too. This big rock is not too far from the shore so it's not so deep. The park itself is nice. It's a clean spacious place. At one side is an area with trees and grass. They have shady area with tables, great for a picnic. The trees have formed this beautiful shady canapes. A few of them too and yes very clean area. This place is really taken care of. The park is a little pricey. You do get your money's worth as in it's not crowded. Most of the parking spaces are in a shady area. There is enough spaces for everyone and the staff is friendly. read more

Red Reef Park - Picknick area - Beaches Near Me - Boca Raton, Florida

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The park is not family friendly don not bring young kids too many restrictions. I planned my daughter birthday party had expensive balloons made . I begged and the security people did not care . They constantly are on top of you , you can't even unload stuff they want to take $50 from you . Could you imagine $50 per car how ungrateful. And wait it gets better I am handicap and last week we came in person to get inf . The parking attendance told us no charge . Also asked my husband a veteran, the kind man said thanks for serving we will help . My friends today $50 for my handicap car and $50 my husband the veteran Do not come so many other beautiful parks . I will keep on posting until I get somone to reach out read more

Red Reef Park - Look how plain and ugly I told them I have weights they will not fly away nope we don't care - Beaches Near Me - Boca Raton, Florida

The Rundown: A pricey entrance fee gets you to a beach with plenty of bathrooms, well maintained walkway, but minimal lifeguards. The Review: My parents hadn't been to this beach yet so figured it was time. My mom enjoys snorkeling and heard they have an artificial reef. The entrance you are met with a small gatehouse where payment is collected (a whopping $25!) very inefficiently. It is not uncommon for there to be a line of cars on the road, not sure why collecting payment is so difficult... Luckily we got there early (before 9) so there wasn't much of a wait (2 cars), but when we left around 1pm however-what a mess! Glad we didn't have to deal with that. There are a bunch of options for parking, personally I'd recommend head to the right as most go toward the left (where there is more parking). The right also is where the artificial reef is. There are bathrooms at every section and they seem well maintained. The "trails" are really just a nicely bricked shaded path that goes up and down the beach access points. You do get to see a bit of the golf course for some variety but that's about it. The beach itself is nice, some sections are busier than others (the middle being the most packed) so that's another reason to head to an end. Some sections have chair service (current pricing I understand is $15/hr to sit on their chairs) so you may not get full choice of spots on the beach but the chair staff did their best to keep out of people's way. Not all beach points had lifeguards. The reef is denoted (I believe) by 3 buoys. Unfortunately it was too choppy for us to get out there. Overall, yes it is a nice beach. If you aren't driving in/using their lot, then yes I would recommend. Otherwise none of us felt like we would return - the $25 is not worth it when compared to other locations and the "snorkeling" is very limited to a small section. But they do maintain it well, so I'll still rate this location above average. read more

I love coming here to snorkel. It is so shallow and I really feel safe right in front of the Lifeguard house. Its not packed with people often and it is absolutely gorgeous. I go as far north in the parking lot and down the long staircase onto the beach and its amazing. read more

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Came here on President's Day for a beach day with friends and family and I loved it. The beach is wide and long, gorgeous white sands and turquoise waters. The entry to the ocean is very shallow and gradual, making it perfect for swimmers of all ages and of all expertise levels. My godson loved playing in the sand, building castles, and "driving" his construction toys around. The beach is very safe for children. There were only a few little fish in the water, but we heard that nearby there are efforts to create a manmade reef, so who knows--maybe in few years this would be a great snorkeling location. The day we visited there were signs cautioning beach-goers about men o' war and we noticed one large inflated pouch from about 100 ft away, but luckily no one got hurt. There were seaweed deposits on the beach, probably from the tide during the night. Importantly, this beach has a decently large parking lot that is surrounded with lush trees and green areas. Near the parking lot there're showers and restrooms. Parking costs $25 per day, unless you have an annual resident permit. If you don't plan to stay the whole day, a cheaper alternative is to park at the hourly lot next to the golf course across the street. read more

Decided to go this particular beach because of the snorkeling reviews and fish. There is a lot of schools of small fish but not as many colorful fish as we've seen at other beaches. We even spotted a small crab or two as well. I wouldn't go expecting tons of colorful fish but for the kiddos it was still fun for them to spot sooo many fish. TIP: Park across the street since it's only $2/hour (4 hr max). Just remember to take a picture of your ticket before you place it on your dashboard in case you forget when your time's up. The $2/hr metered parking is literally across the street and beats the sky high parking at the beach. It's worth the extra 3 minute walk if you ask me - who wants to pay close to $20 for beach parking anyway? Save that extra money and donate it at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center next door - the turtles will benefit from your donations. read more

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Went here today and had a nice time. For a Saturday, it was busy, but not crazy busy like other beaches. Perhaps the $18 weekend admission ($16 on weekdays) scares people away, but you can easily park across the street for $3 an hour. There are small restrooms close to the beach but they were dirty. The walkway is nice and clean, unfortunately the sand was littered with dead seaweed and there were clumps of fresh seaweed all along the shore. The reef is cool to look at, but dangerous to swim around. This is a place to just sit and admire the view and listen to the sound of the waves. read more

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We have a yearly parking pass for residents. Beach is groomed every morning. Bathrooms are clean & well maintained. BBQ areas are clean. You'll see lots of fish snorkeling by the artificial "reefs" of boulders. I've been coming here since 1987 & love it! read more

Red Reef Park - Sunrise at Red Reef - Beaches Near Me - Boca Raton, Florida

What a pathetic scam that Boca Raton pulls for you to use their beaches. They are immaculate, why? Because they charge $50 on the weekend. There's only about 10 spaces in the bridge to park your car for cheaper hourly parking, but good luck getting those if you've committed to driving in here. Never again, should rename it to con man beach read more

Great park and gorgeous beach! Nice for picnic and bbq! We love to come spend the day with family and friends!

Costs $25 so be aware. The beach itself is beautiful, and had plenty of space. Snorkeling is supposed to be ok here but the day we went it was too rough so can't judge. There is a playground for kids and grills to use. You can rent chairs and umbrellas ($!) But I'd bring my own. read more

Beautiful day. This is the second time I've been here in awhile. Just went for a walk on the beach because I could not resist. The beach was full of people. Couples, tourist, bike riders, and families.The beach was hot but not as usual. I was in the area and decided to breathe some ocean air. The paths were very relaxing with nature. There were many picnic tables. The bathrooms and shower were close by. There was a sign with information on the beach and lifeguards on duty times. I think it was very informative. The parking is expensive. Thats just Boca Raton for you. Nice beach I'll be back again. read more

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Beautiful beach park! Really enjoyed our visit on Memorial Day weekend. Plenty of parking, great picnic areas to enjpy with family and friends. read more

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I think you can't go wrong with any of these beaches- Red Reef, South Beach Entrance, Delray Beach, Spanish River etc. All are very nice. Red Reef has nice hiking trails and is good for more physical activity but otherwise all beautiful water, similar sand quality, and are impeccably clean and well maintained. Red Reef is interesting in that, outta all the beaches it may cost you 16$ if you're not a resident. If you tell the guard at the entrance you're here for less than an hour they won't charge you. But just be aware they may charge you. If you run into that problem, go to South Beach entrance just a little closer to Boca- 5$ charge or free parking on weekdays. Red Reef is gorgeous at high tide- because you can walk in shallow areas and see beautiful shells and wildlife in the water. The hiking pathways are evergreen and tropical too. There are lifeguards so it's safe, the beach is super clean and well maintained and people are usually well behaved. Lots of families or elderly people. read more

Red Reef Park - Air and sand bending - Beaches Near Me - Boca Raton, Florida

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It is such a beautiful beach . Lot of photo op . I went with few of my friends and stayed there 2 hours, the parking is reasonable and beach is clean . You can either park on street based on availability and walk little bit paying 3$ per hour or park on premise paying 20$ flat rate . As we just only for a couple of hours , per hour parking made more sense to me. I will definitely go back to this beautiful beach read more

Red Reef Park - Red reef beach park - Beaches Near Me - Boca Raton, Florida

Love this beach! If you come during low tides, you can observe red reef in a knee shallow water, no snorkeling gear required. The beach is very clean, has two showers and bathroom and is short walk away from ample parking provided. On a parking lot next to Gumbo Limbo Center there are several creatively painted walls that are hiding disposals with beautiful coral reef wildlife photo ops. read more

Red Reef Park - View from the ramp that connects beach to the parking lot and grill pavilions. - Beaches Near Me - Boca Raton, Florida

I love coming here to clear my mind, walk the beach and plan for my business. You'd be hard pressed to find a more laidback beach in South Florida. read more

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My go to beach. I'm there 2-4 times a week great beach doing the week not busy sometimes you have half the beach to your self.weekends are busy.cleanest park l have ever been to.lots of parking l have a yearly parking pass but you can pay by the day or parking across the street is pay by the hour.lots of restrooms and 2 kids play grounds. lots of barbecue grills and benches garbage cans great place for a family barbecue read more

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Nice park right next to the ocean. I really just came through here for the easy beach access, which is much less of a hassle than down the road at South Beach Pavilion, which is almost always crowded and parking is extremely limited. I highly recommend parking across the street from this park in the golf course lot, which is surprisingly cheap and only a short walk over the road to the actual park. (If you park at the park itself, it's $18! At least on the weekends.) There are some basic facilities here like picnic tables, restrooms, showering stations, walking paths, etc. The park seems very quiet, secluded and shady; definitely a nice venue to consider for a casual family gathering in good weather. The beach is up a walking bridge and then a few yards down the sand to the ocean. read more

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Initially I wasn't too thrilled about a $25 entrance fee....... But what a lovely park! It is so beautiful and relaxing. I enjoyed several quiet hours on the beach with a book, and a nice walk. Children looked to love the playgrounds. There were also many groups having picnics and a great time! read more

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I like this beach, though there is no reef (buried, apparently) there is, however, a small jetty of rocky outcropping that fish congregate around for some kindergarten level, but still enjoyable, snorkeling fun for children (or children at heart)...pay-per-hour parking across the street at the golf course, nice boardwalk with a few open showers, lifeguards and sparse crowds... good quiet beach if you want to avoid any Jersey Shore themed beach scene (aka Deerfield). read more

Red Reef Park - Beaches Near Me - Boca Raton, Florida

The guy said that there was some parking spots and we went there was no parking it was 35$ and we didn't even get a refund

It turns out that the park is really strip along the beach. It is mostly shaded with benches along the way which is a treat for sunny Florida making It easy breezy walk that's more pleasant in the heat. It's picturesque and now one of my favs. read more

So the pros are that it's a short walk from the entrance to the water. Who wants to lug beach stuff far away? I don't! Where I go parking isn't bad, as I park at the public lot for the golf course. Weekends it's $3 an hour, less on weekdays and just across the road from a park entrance. At this spot, in the park before the beach, there are picnic tables, rest rooms, shower for the sand and I believe a couple of grills. It's not a huge area but this is just one section. Even on weekends I find parking and the beach isn't super crowded. The water is great and the beach clean. The only downside is there isn't anywhere to purchase food or beverages so plan to bring your own! You can drive to drop off on the park/beach side then exit to park across the road. It's where I always come for beach in Boca. read more

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Beautiful spot with the option to rent chairs and umbrellas. Not too crowded (but was on a Wednesday) and very clean. read more

Red Reef Park - Beach - Beaches Near Me - Boca Raton, Florida

Very nice park -- Note -- parking has now increased to $35. It's pretty clear that Boca is trying to keep the park uncrowded and keep away a certain element. In that respect, the parking fee is working great. read more

Let's start with the parking $16 weekday and $18 weekends. We read all the reviews and was so excited to try this out. Boy were we disappointed. As we arrived we asked the life guard about the reef. Well the reef was destroyed by hurricane Sandy a couple years back!!! Wish they told us at the guard shack were they took our parking money. So anything to see but the same beach ocean life all down the coast of Florida for cheaper parking any where else. No smoking no alcohol allowed. It was empty so not a lot of people I am guessing because the parking cost is so high. This park is a complete disappointment. They should definitely reduce the parking rates and clearly state at the entrance that the man made reefs are not there any more. All the reviews are not accurate. There was only one from 2015 that I found that was true. read more

Beautiful park! Little destroyed after hurricane but getting better every weekend! Best place for snorkeling in Boca! Thanx for keeping it clean :-) read more

My favorite boca beach I go about 2 times a week you have everything there.lifeguards ,great parking ,bathrooms ,easy beach access,barbecue grills and picnic tables and children play areas.But the best thing is the beach I think it's the nicest beach in the area very seldom busy and wheel chair friendly.sometimes I go there's only ten to fifteen other people on the beach read more

I was unimpressed...and Karl F really nailed it...it should be called "No Reef Park". I must admit I've become pretty spoiled when it comes to Boca beaches. My boyfriend lives on the west side of A1A, so I have free parking at his place, and a short walk across the street to get to a private beach, and there are even a few reefs there we can snorkel out to. I admit they're nothing breathtaking, but you do see a nice variety of sea life. Now Red Reef park. I met my boyfriend to go to the beach on Sunday. He wanted to try a little snorkeling and I mainly just wanted to sit and read, but he had seen a sign or something for Red Reef park and assumed that meant it had reefs...I probably should have researched first, but I was just going with the flow. We arrived and paid the $18 (?!?!?!) per car parking. I knew beach parking in Boca was expensive, most of the lots are at least $3 an hour...but $18? We walked down to the beach, and I do admit the park has a nice setup. There is a picnic area with grills as well as a bathrooms. The walkway to the beach is nice, but when we got down to the beach I kind of realized it probably wasn't going to be my favorite experience. Yes, I'm spoiled by the private beach we go to, but I just don't like my reading chair set up next to a family who brought their whole camper to the beach...and that was pretty much all this was...families who brought way too much stuff....a 10x10 tent? Really? My boyfriend headed up to talk to the lifeguard about the reefs, and the lifeguard pointed to the rocks in the water that we could see. It is a man made reef...which is somewhat common in this area...but then the lifeguard also noted that there aren't many fish there anymore. The reef was very close to shore and the water was quite rough, so I think the environment in this area has changed quite a bit since the reefs were initially put in, and the fish just aren't interested in it anymore, maybe there is a better time of year, but I wouldn't come here counting on any sort of reef experience. I will say the beach is clean, the facilities are nice, and the lifeguards were friendly, but for the price of parking this beach just isn't worth it...we have a whole coast to pick from, go somewhere else. read more

They should rename this - "No Reef Park" A year ago there was a really cool man made reef just off that beach that was full of schools of all sorts of fish and even some larger fish. Now the reefs are all but gone. However, the $16 parking remains. It's $18 per car on the weekends and "official" holidays. The park itself is fairly nice with decent facilities, but there are equally nice parks around that don't charge for parking or use. read more