Bathtub Reef Beach

Bathtub Reef is the beach on the postcards. A reef built by tiny sabellariid worms runs parallel to the shore a few yards out, and at low tide it closes off a pool of knee-deep water that is as calm as a bath while the surf breaks on the far side. Small children wade it, snorkellers float over the reef looking at the sergeant majors and parrotfish, and everyone else stands in it to cool off.

The reef is alive and fragile. Do not stand on it, and wear reef shoes if you walk near it, because the rock is sharp and the worms are what keep it standing. At high tide the pool disappears and the beach is an ordinary, lovely stretch of sand with a lifeguard in season.

The beach closes after storms when the sea takes the sand away, sometimes for a few weeks and sometimes for a season while the county rebuilds it. The closure is posted at the gate and on the county’s beach page; check before you drive to the end of the island on a winter morning.

Good to know

• Low tide is the whole point; look up the tide for the St. Lucie Inlet before you go.
• The lot has about a hundred spaces and is full by 10 am on winter weekends.
• Reef shoes, not bare feet, anywhere near the rock.
• Lifeguards are on duty in season from 9 am to 5 pm; outside it, swim at your own risk.
• No shade: bring an umbrella and water.