This weekend the CurbCrusher gang headed out to the beach at Sebastian Inlet SP. It was about a 2 hour drive for us and luckily we had good weather which is not always a guarantee in August in FL.
We arrived in the park which has several entrances and set up in site #14 which was just across from the channel. We only had the road to the boat ramp/picnic area between us and the water. The site consisted of a gravel base, shared water between sites#13 & #14, 30A power,a combo fire ring/grill and a picnic table. We had the end site so no one was on our curb side which gave us a little more privacy. The breeze off the channel was nice since it was so hot and there were few bugs at the campsite.
After setting up we loaded the bike stroller with all the goods needed for the beach and rode our bikes to the beach. We found out there are no bike racks and there is no rinse off at the beach entry from the office area. Later we found the shower but it was behind the Fishing Museum nowhere near the beach area. We wheeled our stuff out and set up on the beach. There was a lot of wind that afternoon and the waves were fierce. So were the no-see-ums. We waded out into the water and just a step beyond my waist I hit deeper water that was over my head. There seemed to be a steep drop off in that location. Also the beach had a shelf of sand that made it hard to see the water. If you had little ones I would not recommend this section of beach for them to play because the visibility of the water was hard to see from the beach since it was so much lower than the sand. We stayed about an hour an a half and then called it quits to go back and make dinner. First night is always a cookout so we made hamburgers and hot dogs that Preteen Curbcrusher likes. Later we walked around the marina area and near the office to check out the water. The ranger that checked us in said we would be able to see dolphins in the channel and we did as we walked along the water. We also saw wild bunnies in the campground near the bath houses.Then we went inside to watch one of the 2 movies that we brought with us for the weekend.
Saturday morning we are headed to the McLarty Museum down the road about 2 miles. Nowhere did it say on the website or in the paperwork I received that there was a cost to enter but there was a $2 pp charge. They have a movie about the 1715 Plate Voyage of the Spanish Crown that was lost at sea and how people have found some of the treasure including Mel Fisher. The museum is quite small and has an observation area outside of where the treasures have been found scattered on the coast.
After leaving the museum we head to the beach just up the road from it. We liked this section better since it was flatter and there was no drop off in the water. The water was cold to us, especially since we were in it the day before and it seemed warm then. We were only about a mile south of where we were yesterday. We stayed until about 1 pm then went back to the campsite for lunch and rest. CC and I spent our time reading and enjoying the breeze and PTCC napped. About 3 pm we headed over to the Fishing Museum to see what was in there. They have a movie also about cutting the channel and everything you ever wanted to know about fishing. I personally hate fishing, don’t eat fish, so this was not the highlight of my trip.
After the museum we drove over to the marina where they rent kayaks and motorboats to see what it looked like. Then drove to the cove area to see if we cold snorkel. It was too shallow and there were not a lot of fish to be seen there. Also a storm was coming in so we headed to the fishing pier to take a look before it got to us. It is a really nice pier but once again fishing doesn’t interest me and I was afraid someone would cast and hook me (it has happened before when I was young I got a hook in my eyelid from someone not paying attention to those around them). It also had the requisite fishy smell. The one good thing was we had a great view of the surfers at the beach north of the jetty. There seemed to be well over 100 that afternoon.We watched them surf for awhile but after the 3rd lightning flash we left to go back to our campsite.
We got dinner together and hung out at the campsite until it got dark then walked around. The night before when we walked it was steamy but since the storm blew in it was very comfortable for walking around. Then back to the RV again and to watch our 2nd movie we brought with us.
One thing I noted was this is a 24 hour park and if you get sites by the channel expect to hear road noise from fisherman coming and going at all hours. Probably not as much a problem if you book sites farther away from the road. Overall park was OK but I would give it a 5/10. Mostly because it is so spread out. There are 5 entrances we found: a beach side parking lot, McLarty Museum, Camping area/boat launch/fishing museum, Marina rentals, and main picnic area/surfing area/pier. So if you don’t bring a car it would be harder to get around. Especially since the bike paths do not go over the bridge- they stop just before it and it doesn’t seem safe to me to try it even though we saw bicyclists riding on the bridge. We would probably come back just not right away.
Photos are on Flickr.