Ponce Inlet Beach

Shelling at Ponce Inlet Beach

• This Atlantic beach runs north from Ponce de Leon Inlet at the south end of the Town of Ponce Inlet. The paid parking noted here is in Lighthouse Point Park, the neighbouring Volusia County park at the inlet, which has its own BeachNut page.
• Use the tide times on this page (NOAA's Ponce de Leon Inlet station): arrive on a falling tide and work the fresh wrack line and patches of coarse shell hash between the inlet end and the open ocean beach.
• A February 2025 county notice closed the Lighthouse Point Park jetty deck for repairs, so confirm with Volusia County before planning around it.
• Smyrna Dunes Park, on the New Smyrna Beach side of the inlet, is a separate park with its own entrance.
• Leave any shell with a living animal inside. Under FWC rules, taking one needs a Florida recreational saltwater fishing license, even from shore, unless you're exempt (exemptions include children under 16 and Florida residents 65 or older). A license doesn't override closed areas, species limits or park rules. Check FWC's current shell-collecting rules and license exemptions at myfwc.com before taking anything alive.

Best tide

Low 6:38 PM

Parking

Paid lots at Lighthouse Point Park.

Restrooms

Yes

Fee

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Worth looking for here: Shark teeth, Shells.

Found something you can't place? Identify it free from a photo, or compare it in the shell identification guide.