5 Hidden Beaches Marathon, FL Locals Talk About (2026)

Most visitors to the Florida Keys head straight for Sombrero Beach, and we get it. The volleyball courts, the picnic shelters, the wide stretch of sand. It checks every box. But if you ask someone who actually lives in Marathon where they spend a Saturday morning, the answer is rarely Sombrero. The locals have their own spots, and most of them barely register on Google Maps.

These five beaches and shoreline parks sit within a short drive of Marathon’s main drag. None of them will be packed. A few don’t even have proper signage. That’s part of the appeal.

Quick Answer: The best hidden beaches Marathon FL include Coco Plum Beach, Curry Hammock State Park’s day-use shoreline, Sunset Park in Key Colony Beach, Sunset Bay Park on Grassy Key, and the sandbar flats accessible only by boat off the Seven Mile Bridge.

Where Do Locals Actually Go to the Beach in Marathon?

Marathon sits on a chain of islands in the Middle Keys, roughly halfway between Key Largo and Key West. The town is surrounded by water on all sides, but natural sand beaches are surprisingly rare here. Most of the shoreline is mangrove, coral rock, or seawall. The beaches that do exist tend to be small, tucked behind residential neighborhoods, or inside state parks that tourists drive right past.

That scarcity is exactly what makes these spots worth knowing. When you find a real beach in Marathon, it feels earned.

Here are five hidden beaches Marathon, FL that the locals keep to themselves.

1. Coco Plum Beach

Location: 1690 Coco Plum Drive, Marathon, FL 33050 (Mile Marker 54)
Best for: Dog owners, shelling, kayak launching, sunrise walks.
Parking: Free, approximately 20 spaces with overflow across the street Facilities: Restrooms, covered pavilion, outdoor shower

Turn south off US-1 onto Coco Plum Drive and follow it for about 1.4 miles. The beach entrance is on the right, and it’s easy to miss if you’re not looking.

Coco Plum is one of the few completely dog-friendly beaches in the Marathon area. While Sombrero Beach restricts pets during turtle nesting season (April through October), Coco Plum lets dogs run year-round. The beach itself is narrow and natural, backed by wetland and low scrub rather than manicured grass. The water is calm and shallow, better for wading and launching a kayak than for swimming laps.

What draws the regulars here is the quiet. On a Tuesday morning you might have the entire beach to yourself. Shelling is decent, especially at low tide, when you can find small conchs and hermit crabs picking their way across the flats. Birdwatchers will spot herons, ospreys, and the occasional roseate spoonbill working the adjacent wetland.

One thing to know: Coco Plum is a turtle nesting beach. Between April and October, loggerheads and other species come ashore at night to lay eggs. Respect the marked nest areas and keep lights off the beach after dark during nesting season.

Insider tip: The paved trail along Coco Plum Drive connects to the Overseas Heritage Trail, making it a solid starting point for a morning run or bike ride before hitting the beach.

Learn more: City of Marathon – Coco Plum Beach | Visit Florida Keys

2. Curry Hammock State Park Beach

Location: Mile Marker 56.2, Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL 33050
Best for: Families, kayaking, snorkeling, bird watching, camping
Parking: Inside the park (state park admission fee applies)
Facilities: Restrooms, showers, picnic pavilions with grills, playground, kayak rentals

Most tourists who’ve heard of Curry Hammock think of it as a campground. They don’t realize the day-use area has about 1,200 feet of sandy shoreline on the Atlantic side, with calm, shallow water and a playground right behind it.

The beach at Curry Hammock won’t remind you of Clearwater. The sand is coarse, the water is shallow for a long way out, and sargassum seaweed piles up along the tide line. But that’s the Florida Keys. What you get instead is water so calm that toddlers can wade without worry, and seagrass flats that function as a living aquarium. Snorkel slowly over the grass beds and you’ll see juvenile fish, sea stars, small rays, and the occasional seahorse.

The park spans over 1,000 acres and protects the largest undeveloped land parcel between Key Largo and Big Pine Key. A 1.5-mile nature trail winds through rockland tropical hammock, one of the rarest habitats in the state. The trailhead is actually on a separate parcel about a mile west of the main entrance on the bay side. Wear closed-toe shoes because the fossilized coral underfoot is uneven and sharp.

During fall migration (August through November), Curry Hammock hosts the Florida Keys Hawkwatch, where birders count hundreds of peregrine falcons, merlins, and other raptors passing overhead. It’s free to watch.

Insider tip: The kayak launch in the day-use area accesses a 1.5-mile paddling trail that loops around Little Crawl Key through a mangrove tunnel. Go at mid-tide or higher. At low tide the tunnel gets too shallow to navigate.

Learn more: Florida State Parks – Curry Hammock

3. Sunset Park at Key Colony Beach

Location: Southwest corner of Key Colony Beach (off West Ocean Drive)
Best for: Sunset watching, couples, photography, community atmosphere Parking: Limited street parking on West Ocean Drive
Facilities: Benches, tiki umbrellas, small dock, picnic tables

Key Colony Beach is a tiny municipality within Marathon, a quiet residential island accessed by a single-lane causeway off US-1 at Mile Marker 53.5. Drive slow when you enter because speed limits here are strictly enforced.

At the southwestern tip of the island sits Sunset Park, a small waterfront park that faces due west over the Gulf of Mexico. There’s no wave break, no surf, no lifeguard. What there is: unobstructed horizon views, a weathered dock stretching over the water, tiki-covered benches, and one of the best sunset rituals in the entire Keys.

Most evenings from roughly October through May, a group of locals gathers at the park as the sun drops. They bring lawn chairs, drinks, and sometimes guitars. The “Sunset Park Singers” are a loose, informal group that performs together most nights during season, rain or shine. Nobody organizes it. It just happens.

Swimming isn’t permitted at Sunset Park (crocodiles have been spotted in the area on rare occasions), but that’s not why people come. This is a watching spot. The light at golden hour turns the Gulf water from green to copper, and the sky does things you won’t see from the Atlantic side of the island.

Insider tip: After sunset, walk or bike to Burdines Waterfront nearby for their famous deep-fried key lime pie. The combination of sunset at the park followed by dessert at Burdines is a local tradition.

4. Sunset Bay Park on Grassy Key

Location: Morton Street and Kyle Avenue, Grassy Key (north end of Marathon, near MM 58)
Best for: Solitude, birding, fishing from the dock, golden hour photography Parking: Small lot, rarely full
Facilities: Minimal. No restrooms. Dogs allowed on leash.

This is the one that barely shows up on anyone’s radar. Sunset Bay Park sits on the Gulf side of Grassy Key, a low-key island at the northern end of the Marathon chain. The “park” consists of three residential lots that the City of Marathon maintains as open green space, with native vegetation, a short walking path, and Gulf-side shoreline access.

There’s no proper sand beach here. What you’ll find is a natural shoreline of sea grass and marl, edged with mangroves and palms. A small dock extends over the water and doubles as a fishing spot. Locals catch snapper, snook, and tarpon from the end of it.

The vegetation is worth a slow walk. The park has a surprising diversity of palms, flowering vines, and native hammock trees. White-crowned pigeons, ospreys, woodpeckers, cardinals, and hummingbirds all pass through. It’s not a nature preserve, but it has the feel of one.

The main draw, as the name suggests, is sunset. The park faces west with nothing between you and the horizon except water. On a clear evening the sky cycles through every shade of orange and pink you can imagine. Bring bug spray. The no-see-ums come out hard at dusk, especially during warmer months.

Insider tip: Combine this stop with a drive along the Overseas Heritage Trail section on Grassy Key. The paved path runs right through the area and makes a peaceful late-afternoon ride.

Learn more: City of Marathon – Sunset Bay Park

5. The Sandbar Flats off the Seven Mile Bridge

Location: Accessible by boat only, approximately 1 mile west of the Old Seven Mile Bridge (near MM 47)
Best for: Snorkeling, shallow wading, private picnic, boat anchoring
Parking: Boat launch at Knight’s Key (MM 47)
Facilities: None. Bring everything you need.

This one requires a boat, which is why it stays off the tourist radar. West of the Seven Mile Bridge, a series of shallow sandbar flats emerge at low tide in the turquoise water between Marathon and Bahia Honda. Local boaters anchor up, wade out, and spend the afternoon in knee-deep water that looks like a screensaver.

The sandbars shift with storms and seasons, so their exact location changes. That’s half the adventure. Most locals with a center-console or flats boat know where to find them, and several local charter companies run sandbar excursion trips if you don’t have your own vessel.

The water is clear enough to spot starfish and small sharks cruising the grass flats nearby. At low tide, the bars rise above the surface and give you a few hundred square feet of sand surrounded by nothing but open ocean. You can snorkel the edges where the sand drops off into grass, or just float and watch pelicans dive.

There’s no shade, no freshwater, and no cell service in some spots. Pack a cooler, sunscreen, and a pop-up canopy if you plan to stay. And watch the tide charts. The bars disappear entirely at high tide.

Insider tip: The best conditions are on calm days with an outgoing tide during a new or full moon (when tidal range is greatest). Check the NOAA tide predictions for Vaca Key, Marathon before you head out.

What Makes Marathon’s Beaches Different from Key West?

Key West draws visitors with Smathers Beach and Fort Zachary Taylor, both accessible on foot from Duval Street. Marathon’s beaches are a different animal. They’re smaller, quieter, and spread across multiple islands that require a car (or a boat) to reach. The tradeoff: you’ll rarely share them with a crowd.

Marathon also sits closer to Sombrero Reef, one of the best snorkeling reefs in the entire Florida Keys. Several of the beaches on this list put you within a short boat ride of the reef, which means you can pair a morning at a hidden beach with an afternoon snorkeling trip.

Where to Stay Near These Beaches

All five of these spots sit within 15 minutes of our Marathon and Key Colony Beach vacation rentals. A few of our properties put you especially close.

If Coco Plum Beach appeals to you, Blue Pearl is a waterfront rental with a 70-foot dock and heated pool on the Coco Plum side of Marathon. Dog owners heading to Coco Plum will also appreciate Emerald Oasis, which comes with its own kayaks for launching right from the property.

For sunset chasers drawn to Key Colony Beach, Seabreeze Cove sits directly on the island with Cabana Club access and a 38-foot dock.

Guests who want to be close to the Seven Mile Bridge sandbars should look at Sunset Harbor, with harbor views and easy access to the Knight’s Key boat ramp.

Browse all of our Marathon vacation rentals to find the right fit. Use code DIRECT15 for 15% off your first direct booking or DIRECT5 as a returning guest.

Pro Tips for Visiting Marathon’s Hidden Beaches

A few things worth knowing before you go:

Tide matters more than weather. Most of these beaches (especially Coco Plum and the sandbars) expand dramatically at low tide. Check the NOAA tide charts for Marathon before heading out.

Bring reef-safe sunscreen. Monroe County banned sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate in 2021 to protect the coral reef. You can find reef-safe options at most Marathon pharmacies and grocery stores.

Bug spray is not optional. No-see-ums and mosquitoes are a fact of life in the Keys, especially at parks with mangroves. They’re worst at dawn, dusk, and after rain. A DEET-based or picaridin repellent works best.

Turtle nesting season runs April through October. Several of these beaches are active nesting sites. Stay off marked nest areas, fill in any holes you dig, and keep lights off the beach after dark.

Pack your own shade. Most of these spots have limited or no tree cover. A pop-up canopy or beach umbrella makes all the difference on a July afternoon.

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