This past weekend I took my lever-drive beach chair out on the beach at Avalon State Park, near Ft. Pierce, on the eastern Atlantic coast of Florida. I’ll post more details about my chair soon, it’s still in final testing mode, but I’m very impressed with its ability to let me push myself up and down even the softest sand beach.
The reason I went to Avalon State Park is that it seems to be the most northern Florida beach with a straight, direct pathway on to the beach from the parking lot. From my recent explorations of public beaches on the east coast, they all have a parking area that is elevated above the sand dunes, with a winding ramp down on to the sand (if there is a ramp at all). While these ramps are better than stairs, they can also be rather steep, sometimes too narrow to make a turn on, and are often covered with a layer of soft sand. The ramps are also usually about 500 feet away from the water, making it a major chore to access.
This is compared to beaches in South Florida where the roadway is often at the same level as the beach, with the water only about 100 feet away.
I didn’t get a chance to take pictures, but an image from Wikipedia shows how relatively direct the access is at Avalon State Park:
Parking is free with a disabled placard, but is otherwise handled by a self-serve walk-up machine in the parking lot. I believe it was only $2/hour. This compares to beaches closer to Cocoa Beach that are anywhere from $15-$20 per day and are hit or miss when it comes to being free for the disabled.
The beach at Avalon is beautiful, the sand is relatively coarse, the water is aqua, and best of all, the beach was nearly empty. Outside of a few people jogging, I was the only one there. According to Google Maps, its about 240 feet from the parking lot to the water’s edge. There is a sand dune to overcome as you approach the water’s edge (or rather, when you’re trying to get back up!), but it’s of medium grade and I was able to maneuver it with some effort.