Loggerhead Beach sits on the Atlantic side of Bahia Honda State Park, separated from the park's busier Sandspur by a low forested ridge. You'll park near the nature center and follow a short paved path through buttonwood hammock, emerging onto a crescent of fine-grained sand that slopes so gradually the tide seems to hesitate before deciding whether to advance or retreat. Families plant umbrellas near the tree line, where Australian pines drop cool shade across picnic blankets, and toddlers chase hermit crabs in tidal pools that hold yesterday's warmth well into evening.
“The shallowest extended tidal flat in the Florida Keys, warm enough for extended wading even in January and sheltered from Atlantic chop.”
Credit: FlickrUnder the Waves at Costa Maya
The water here stays bathtub-shallow for an improbable distance, bottoming out in turtle grass beds that shimmer green beneath the surface. On calm mornings you'll spot nurse sharks threading through the shallows and stingrays gliding over sand ripples like dinner plates on glass. The eastern exposure means sunrise light turns the water bronze, and by late afternoon the offshore breeze picks up just enough to keep no-see-ums at bay.
Unlike the park's ocean-facing beaches, Loggerhead faces the tidal channel between Big Pine and the uninhabited keys to the east. That orientation delivers softer waves, warmer water, and spectacular sunsets that silhouette the old Bahia Honda Rail Bridge in burnt orange. Arrive before ten to claim a spot near the scattered driftwood logs that double as benches when the sand gets too hot underfoot.
