St. Augustine Beach (St. Johns County Ocean and Inlet Recreation Area)

Five miles southeast of one of the oldest cities in the country, St. Augustine Beach occupies the northern end of Anastasia Island on the Atlantic. St. Johns County built a public pier here in the mid-1930s to draw visitors, and that pier — now the St. Johns County Ocean and Fishing Pier — remains the anchor of the recreation area today. The beach is wide, the sand hard-packed, and the county manages the surrounding park facilities. Come for the water; the history is just up the road.