Earl Lifshey Ocean Park

"I've lived a 5 minute walk from this beach park for over 20 years, and jog to it daily. The good: Beautiful walkway, gorgeous native plants everywhere, and the beach directly in front of it. The book exchange is also extremely cute. The not so good: There is a small homeless community here that seems to live here semi permanently. This leads to a little corner of the park by the entrance to the beach to be rather dirty with alcohol bottles at times, as well as tons of peanuts (for the squirrels). With this said, any homeless person I've spoken to there has been extremely pleasant with me, and the squirrels not being scared of humans makes for some amazing squirrel viewing opportunities (check the photos). Lastly, the parking: I believe there are only 14 total spots, so during season if you want to park here, it's best to go before 10am, and before 9am on weekends. I'm the Summer, just like the rest of Ft. Lauderdale Beach, it's nice and quiet. I give it 4 stars because of the beauty, but I find both Vista Park and Loggerhead Park (two other small beach parking lots) right down the street to be much more welcoming, and less busy. Also the best places to launch if you paddleboard, kayak, kite-surf, foil, etc. Keep in mind there are no lifeguards on duty at Earl Lifshey, Loggerhead, or Vista. If you plan on going in the water and aren't a strong swimmer, keep driving South a few minutes (past 18th Street) where there is a lot more parking, and lifeguards on duty every day."

"A Paved trail to the white sand beach. Nice setting once the sun sets. Plenty of space to stretch.out. homes line the beach along with towers with with residential homes."

"I was in town for a concert and had to stop at the beach since we don't have any oceans in Indianapolis yet. While I was not prepared for the full size iguanas running around my hotel, I definitely didn't expect squirrels at the beach! I was also surprised how close the water was to the entrance, convenient since it started pouring about 20 minutes after I arrived. Maybe that's why no one was there as far as I could see. But I got my toes in the sand and surf as planned. I'm glad there's such easy public access to a beautiful stretch of beach."