Riviera Beach (Singer Island)
Overview
Singer Island is a barrier island in northern Palm Beach County, and Riviera Beach occupies its southern end, across the Lake Worth Inlet from Palm Beach itself. The Atlantic shore runs the length of the island: firm pale sand, a low dune line, and a mix of condominium towers and county beach parks behind it.
The island is unusually well provided with public access. Riviera Beach Municipal Beach, Ocean Reef Park and John D. MacArthur Beach State Park at the northern end each serve a different part of it, which is uncommon on a Florida barrier island where private frontage is the norm.
Two features draw people specifically. There is reef close offshore at Ocean Reef Park, snorkellable from the beach; and Phil Foster Park, on the Intracoastal side under the Blue Heron Bridge, has a marked underwater snorkel trail in sheltered water that is among the best shore dives in the state.
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.
Note which side of the island a photograph shows. The Atlantic shore and the Intracoastal lagoon at Phil Foster are entirely different bodies of water and do not behave alike.
Position relative to the Atlantic sargassum belt
Sargassum reaching Florida's Atlantic coast is carried north by the Florida Current, which becomes the Gulf Stream, and arrives in scattered patches, so whether it lands depends on the wind on the day: an easterly pushes it ashore, a westerly holds it offshore.
Proximity is worth stating precisely, because it is easy to misread. The stream carries sargassum past this coast rather than onto it, so material still arrives indirectly, pushed inshore by wind and eddies. What the short distance changes is the speed: when an onshore wind sets in there is less water for weed to cross, so arrivals here can be abrupt rather than gradual.
The nearshore reef adds the same complication seen elsewhere on this coast: it holds floating material rather than letting it pass, so weed can sit offshore in the snorkelling zone while the sand looks clear.
The sargassum season
Within the season the wind matters more than the calendar, so the dated record is worth checking close to a visit.
The Florida picture in full, including how the season has changed, is set out in our Florida sargassum season guide.
Swimming conditions and safety
The Atlantic side is an open beach with a genuine surf zone, so waves and rip currents are the real hazards. Ocean Reef Park has a guarded 700-foot beach, and the flag system is used.
The Lake Worth Inlet deserves specific caution. Tidal flow through an inlet is strong and unforgiving regardless of swimming ability, and this one carries commercial traffic into the Port of Palm Beach, so the water at the inlet mouth is not a place to swim.
Phil Foster Park on the Intracoastal side is the opposite proposition: shallow, sheltered and marked for snorkelling. It is also a working waterway under a bridge, so dive flags and awareness of boat traffic matter there.
On sargassum: fresh weed in the water is harmless, if unpleasant. The smell 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.
Choosing a hotel on this stretch
Singer Island has a mix of oceanfront resorts and condominium rentals, most of them in towers along Ocean Drive, plus quieter options toward the state park at the north end. All sit on the same beach, so the differences that matter are how far a property is from the inlet and whether it has direct beach access.
The island is a short drive from West Palm Beach and Palm Beach for restaurants and shops, and Palm Beach International Airport is close. That combination of a quiet beach with a city ten minutes away is the main argument for staying here.
Access and parking coordinates
Ocean Reef Park (Singer Island)
Ocean Reef Park is a Palm Beach County park on Singer Island with a free on-site lot behind the dune. It is one of several county beach parks on the island; Phil Foster Park and the larger MacArthur Beach State Park are close by. As a county park it follows daytime hours.
3860 N Ocean Dr, Riviera Beach, FL 33404, USA
Without a car, Palm Tran buses serve Riviera Beach and the Singer Island causeway, and the Tri-Rail commuter line connects the mainland to West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
Check live conditions before you go
The Gulf Stream runs close inshore here, so arrivals can come on quickly, and the inlet at the island's southern end collects differently from the open shore. On the live map we track Singer Island with dated photographs and a current condition score, so you can compare it against Juno, Palm Beach and West Palm on the same morning.
See live conditions, photos & cams →