Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
Overview
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is a small town on the Broward County coast, immediately north of Fort Lauderdale and separated from it by a stretch of residential barrier island. It has resisted the high-rise development on either side, and the result is a low, walkable village with a short commercial street running down to the sand.
Anglin's Fishing Pier, at the foot of that street, is the town's landmark, but it has been closed since a section collapsed during Hurricane Nicole in November 2022, and repairs are not expected to be finished before 2028. In 2025 the town also closed the water one block north and one block south of the pier to swimmers and fishing. The town has about 2.5 miles of beach, backed by low buildings rather than towers, which makes it feel considerably more open than the Fort Lauderdale strip a few minutes south.
The feature that sets it apart is underwater. A living coral reef lies about 100 yards from the beach, close enough that snorkellers and divers enter directly from the sand. The wreck of the SS Copenhagen, a British steamship that struck the reef in 1900, lies in about 25 feet of water and is a state underwater archaeological preserve. There are few places in South Florida where that is possible, and it defines what the town is for.
Our current condition score for this beach is .
Photo summary of last month
Each photograph is published unedited and in date order, and is replaced as newer submissions arrive, so what appears here is the most recent view of the beach rather than a promotional photograph.
Photographs are taken at different points along the town's beach, so note where each one was taken.
Position relative to the Atlantic sargassum belt
Off Broward County the Florida Current, which becomes the Gulf Stream, runs close to shore, so sargassum arrives indirectly, pushed inshore by the wind.
Arrivals on this coast tend to come on a particular wind and then clear, so conditions can change quickly from one week to the next.
The sargassum season
Because arrivals are driven by the wind, the practical question is not which month you are visiting but what has arrived in the past few days.
The Florida picture in full, including how the season has changed, is set out in our Florida sargassum season guide.
Swimming conditions and safety
This is an open Atlantic beach, so waves and rip currents are the real hazards. There are no lifeguards in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea: the town has never had them, and in 2024 the town commission voted not to add them, so swimmers are on their own.
The reef is close enough to swim to, which is the attraction, but it means rock and coral underfoot in places and boat traffic from dive operators working the same water. Divers and snorkellers should use a dive flag or surface marker, and calm mornings are usually the best time to snorkel.
On sargassum: fresh weed in the water is harmless, if unpleasant. The smell associated with it comes from material decomposing on hot sand over a day or more and releasing hydrogen sulphide, so a strong odour indicates old weed rather than a new arrival. Weed on the sand can hide small stinging organisms, which is the practical reason to walk around a fresh line rather than through it.
Choosing a hotel on this stretch
The town is mostly small hotels, motels and low-rise condominiums rather than resorts, and nearly all of it is within a few minutes of the beach on foot. That walkability is the main argument for staying here over Fort Lauderdale, along with the price and the quiet.
The trade is that there is comparatively little to do after dark, and no resort infrastructure. Fort Lauderdale is a short drive south for restaurants and nightlife, and Pompano Beach a similar distance north.
For divers and snorkellers the calculation is different: this is one of the few places on the Florida coast where a property puts a reef within swimming distance of the front door, and that is worth more than the amenities elsewhere.
Access and parking coordinates
Town Hall Lot (Lauderdale-by-the-Sea)
The town runs a pay-by-plate system, with about 820 parking spaces at 28 locations, and parking is enforced around the clock. The Town Hall lot at 4501 North Ocean Drive is free on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. only for people doing business at Town Hall; it becomes beach parking after 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and all day at weekends and on town holidays. The El Prado, El Mar, South Ocean and A1A lots and the beach district east of A1A are metered. El Prado Park, on the beach just east of Town Hall, has a shower, benches and shaded chairs, and the free Circuit electric shuttle runs around town.
4501 N Ocean Dr, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL 33308, USA
Without a car, Broward County Transit serves State Road A1A and the mainland towns, and the free town shuttle circulates locally.
Check live conditions before you go
Conditions on this coast change within days rather than weeks, and the reef offshore means the water and the sand can tell different stories on the same morning. On the live map we track Lauderdale-by-the-Sea with dated photographs and a current condition score, so you can compare it against Fort Lauderdale, Pompano and Deerfield.
See live conditions, photos & cams →