Nudist Beach: Boca Chica Beach In The Florida Keys
BeoWolf
Boca Chica Nude Beach
Just south of Mile Marker 11 on U.S. 1 in the Florida Keys, turn
east on Boca Chica Road and go to the end, about 3 miles. Walk
past the barrier; immediately south of the culvert, the nude
area begins and stretches for two miles. Trails to the right
lead to tidal pools, ideal for nude sunning/exploring. Use
footgear or extreme care when walking on the coral.
Boca Chica nude beach was something we'd spent years looking for
in the Florida Keys and we didn't actually find it ourselves.
We've John Gaston of Key West, long time Naturist and nude
charter boat pilot to thank for it. Boca Chica Beach has
virtually all the qualities we look for - plenty of parking, a long
established tradition of
nude use, well balanced attendance, hassle free and accepted by
the community, out of public view, and if possible, gawker free,
all of which Boca Chica is, and then some. There are two added
bonuses; Boca Chica is a fisherpeoples' and bird watcher's
paradise! Several times, we've seen The Great White Heron, The
Snowy Egret, The Lesser Blue Heron, The Reddish Heron, and a
very large Osprey overseeing the fishing activity of the other
birds, possibly waiting to steal someone else's catch, all at
the same time! Two bald eagle nests can be seen in the trees.
Add the usual pelicans, seagulls, and sandpipers, and one can
look forward to a real treat at Boca Chica, watching so many of
Mother Nature's beautiful creatures at work. And at night, of
course, the raccoons come out to visit and investigate anything
in sight.
Another big advantage is that Boca Chica is more than two miles
long, but the BIG negative is it's by far the most incredibly
trashy beach we've EVER seen. It's not trash brought in by beach
goers though; as one would expect, the nekkists are a clean lot,
bringing out more than they bring in. The trash comes
compliments of our seagoing sisters and brothers who jettison
it, rather than disposing of it properly; subsequently, it's
washed ashore on the high tide, remaining there, except for
small areas cleaned up by natural folk. Let us add, in all
fairness, that we're purists, and if we see three or more pieces
of litter on 100 ft. of beach, we consider it trashy. Some might
consider Boca Chica only mildly trashy; others might consider it
normal.
Another disadvantage of Boca Chica is for the first hundred feet
into the water, the bottom, though made mostly of ground up
white coral, can't support one's weight, resulting in ankle deep
ooze until one reaches solid sand a few feet offshore. Many wear
shoes or use a small float to reach the breathtakingly beautiful
warm and shallow azure waters of this calm Atlantic side
beach.
Back to the positive, Boca Chica offers free RV parking; locals
tell us on VERY rare occasions RV's are asked to move, but
aren't ticketed for overnight parking, the case on U.S. 1, the
ONLY road through the Keys. At the dead end where the beach
begins, we were able to turn around our 27' motor home with ease
after unhooking the car, and park for several nights. A 40' foot
rig could also turn around if the pilot was really clever. Those
towing trailers are advised to leave them at any of many dozen
legal daytime turnoffs on U.S. 1 and go explore with the tow
vehicle; it's a very short drive on a good road. All other
vehicles can turn around and park normally.
There's no tent camping north of the barrier at Boca Chica, but
south of it exists two miles of spots--just pick yours. In the
memory of all the locals, no conventional vehicle has ever been
asked to move or been ticketed for parking overnight. On the
Keys, the big thing is to force RV's into the many campgrounds
to pay exorbitant fees, like $50.00 to park, with NO hookups! We
stayed for a week and paid $00.00. Look around; they're plenty
of options. For instance, if you belong to The Elks, Moose,
V.F.W., or American Legion, all these fraternal organizations
have grounds in various cities down the length of the Keys. Bill
is a 27 year member of The Elks, and we spent one night at the
Tavernier Elks in the upper Keys, and two non successive nights
at the Marathon Elks in the lower Keys, after asking ahead of
time. If tent camping or parking an RV is your choice of
overnight lodging at Boca Chica (or any other site near water),
BE SURE to have good screening! From just before dusk and for
the next 90 minutes, the bugs are brutal. After the heat of the
day goes down, so do the bugs.