Sombrero Beach in Marathon - The Best Beach in the Florida Keys?

On our weekend camping trip to the Florida Keys, my family discovered a new beach in the Florida Keys. Sombrero Beach in Marathon looked quite a bit like a paradise beach, and it is clearly a contender to the best beach in the Florida Keys award.

We stayed at Key Largo Kampground in Key Largo, but the weather was dim and overcast with rain clouds continuing to move over Key Largo, so we decided to drive towards sunshine. We were looking for a nice beach, but Long Key Beach, which we intended on going to was muddy according to the park rangers. They sent us about 18 miles further south to Marathon, and they certainly knew what they were doing.

Sombrero Beach in Marathon is located on Sombrero Boulevard in Marathon (turn right at the light after Publix/Kmart).

The narrow beach stretch was pristine, with no muggy water, mangroves or big rocks, as we are used to finding in the Florida Keys.

The adjacent park includes a top notch play ground, with new play equipment for all ages, and my sons spent a lot of time enjoying themselves after our beach adventure.

There are volleyball fields, several picnic huts and tables, and park and beach access is free. Parking was free as well when we were there, but they were still doing construction, and I suspect that parking meters will soon be up to pay for this fantastic project. The park is handicap accessible, there are showers everywhere, and the restroom facilities are clean and updated.

Unlike the rest of Florida’s beaches, Sombrero Beach is not in a state park, and it is not surrounded by hotels either. It is in fact located in a residential area close to Marathon High School. It is not the place you would expect to find one of Florida’s best beaches, and despite numerous visits to the Florida Keys, we had never heard of Sombrero beach before our weekend trip.

According to the city of Marathon Sombrero beach was redeveloped in 2001 to be handicap accessible. It is a turtle nesting beach, and from April to October Loggerhead turtles come to the beach at night to lay eggs.

If you are on bike, there is a bike path all the way from Overseas Highway and to Sombrero beach.

Location:

Sombrero Beach in Marathon is located on Sombrero Boulevard in Marathon (turn right at the light after Publix/Kmart). MM50

For more information about Sombrero Beach see the city of Marathon website.