Sombrero Beach

Marathon has one of the nicest beaches in the Keys, Sombrero Beach. It’s a whole two miles off of Highway One, for starters, so you don’t get drive-by traffic as you do on some of the beach spots in the Upper Keys, or even on the main Key West beaches. This gives it a more relaxing, remote and escapist feel than any other beach.

It’s free, there’s plenty of parking, and the facilities are new, spotless, and beautiful. The beach too is spotless and pleasant, and the swimming is good. The sand is deep and soft and invites you do dig in your toes and stay all day long. There are picnic benches, shade areas, a park next door, nice bathrooms, and beautiful views, since it’s on the ocean side.

The beach juts out so it’s surrounded on two sides by water: the south side and the west side. The west side is great for catching the famous Florida Keys Sunsets. To get here, just take a left on Sombrero Beach Road at mile marker 50 and follow it to the end. This beach couldn’t be any prettier, cleaner, or easier to get to. The two-mile drive off the Overseas Highway to the beach is a pleasant journey through a dreamland of mansions the neighborhood is as spotless and perfect-looking as the immaculate beach.

If you’re riding a bicycle, there’s a wide sidewalk/bikepath the whole way from the Overseas Highway to the beach. What could be easier? Bring lunch, bring your dog, your kids, whatever you want for the beach…there is even a playground. The beach is long enough that you can go beach-walking up and down and not get bored or feel like you’re walking the same patch of sand over and over. Sombrero Beach curls inward on iteself, east to west, which in the morning and late afternoon makes for fantastic beach pictures when the sun is low.