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Anne's Beach

Florida Keys - Islamorada · Monroe County

also known as Matecumbe Key / Anne's Beach, Anne's Beach Park

Part of Islamorada, Florida Keys →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

flat waterbeginner-friendlymedium crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Oct–May

Months riders and schools name

How windy

15-25 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

tight

access rules on record, below

Water

flat

30 °C in summerOcean-side Keys sand flats with next to no wave in them

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Dec Jan Feb Mar

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

Miami International Airport (MIA)

Transfer times under Getting there

When it fills in

No onset time is published for this spot.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Curry Hammock State Park / Long Point Keyno page yet
Veteran's Memorial Park / Veterans Beach
Islamorada Flatsno page yet
Horseshoe / south beach access for west wind, as noted by Elite Watersportsno page yet

The spot

Anne's Beach sits oceanside at MM 73.5 on Lower Matecumbe Key, and the reason riders stop here is the flats: warm knee-deep water over sand and grass, with a deeper channel just south of the launch for foiling or winging.

Season and wind

The season is the Keys winter, roughly October or November through May, and ENE to E is the direction it likes; S and SW work too.

Rigging challenge

The catch is the beach itself. Rigging space is two small pockets of sand along the boardwalk, it shrinks at high tide until line setup happens in the water or on the tarmac, and the water's edge is less than 20 m from US-1.

Launch and riding conditions

Beginners love the standing depth and get caught out by the launch, so come with a school or with somebody who will land your kite. North in the wind makes it gusty. West does not work from this beach at all.

Park rules

Park hours are sunrise to sunset, with no motor boats, no grills, no fishing, and no kite-specific rule that anyone has published; expect the weekends to belong to swimmers rather than to you.

The wind

locals call it Florida Keys winter easterlies / trade-wind season

Direction

cross-on

Direction to shore

cross-on

Dominant direction

ENE to E in the prime season; workable directions reported as ENE, E, S and SW

Kite sizes

4567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

The 15-25 kt October-May band puts a 75-85 kg rider on 9-12 m: 12 m from 15 to 18 kt, 10 m around 20 kt, 9 m above 22.Summer is the light season on the same beach and the usual answer there is 14-17 m, occasionally larger.Foil and wing riders drop 1-3 m off the twin-tip number. The flats are shallow enough that an oversized kite is punished on landings rather than rewarded.

Character

mixed

Average strength

6 kt from the east with 12 kt gusts, averaged over 2008-2013 at the Islamorada/Plantation Key station. That is every calm summer night folded in with the winter fronts, not the wind you come for; the season figure is 15-25 kt.

Typical strength

15-25 kt during the October-May Florida Keys season; South Florida winter/spring easterlies often produce 18-22 kt for several days.

Smooth enough in the ENE to E season winds. North is the gusty direction, and the mangroves throw a wind shadow across the small launch, so the first stretch off the sand is worse than the water outside it.

The Keys season runs roughly October to May and that is when the easterlies stack up. Summer still gets wind, but it is light: 14-17 m weather unless a tropical system is passing. South and southwest are the uncommon directions here and they belong mostly to spring.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

riding season from the spot record · no wind series here is trusted enough to name a season

No month-by-month share of windy days is held for this spot. The months riders and schools name are Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct.

About these figuresno series

Nothing usable has been measured or modelled for this place. The months come from what riders say, or from nothing at all.

Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

The water

Type

flat

Standing depth

Yes, over almost the whole riding area. The flats run ankle to waist deep and you can wade a long way out and still be at knee height.The exception is the large channel between the two flats south of the launch - that is real depth with current in it, useful for foiling and no place to be without a kite.

Tides

Tide runs the launch here.Tidal changesAt high water there is almost no dry room to lay out lines or land a kite, and setup moves into the water or the parking lot; low water gives back the sand but leaves the flats thin enough that a hard landing finds the bottom.Wind effectsThe moving water also changes the feel of the wind: flow running with the wind takes power out of the kite, flow running against it adds some.Nearest tide station is Matecumbe Harbor on Lower Matecumbe, about 1 km WSW, and conditions at the beach can diverge from it.

Temperature

30 °C summer · 23 °C winter

Wetsuit

Boardshorts most of the year. Winter water sits in the mid-70s F, and a shorty or a light 3/2 is enough on the cold-front days.

Currents

The flats barely move. The deeper channel south of the launch does: go down in it in light wind and the current sets you toward the bridge and then under it.

Conditions

Ocean-side Keys sand flats with next to no wave in them. Sea grass over much of the bottom and, reportedly, sharp objects in it, so booties are a good idea without being compulsory. The channel south of the launch holds the deep water, and that is where the wings and the foils go.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

The water is about as forgiving as flat water gets, which is why lessons happen here. The launch is not: it is small, it sits against the parking lot, the road and the mangroves, and at high tide you lay your lines out in the water.

Learn here with an instructor or with somebody who can land your kite.

Intermediates use it for twin-tip flatwater and freestyle, and the channel to the south for foiling.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat watertwin-tipfreestylebeginner lessonswingfoil with walk/body-drag to deeper channelwarm-water winter sessions

Who it suitsbeginner

A public family beach park with a kite scene inside it. Weekends and the winter high season fill the sand, though the launch is so small that the number of kites rigged at once stays low whatever the beach is doing.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: tight

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

4 spots nearby

All 4 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No lifeguard, no patrol, no kite-rescue service. Over the flats the rescue is your own legs: the water is ankle to waist deep across the riding area, so a dead kite means packing down and walking the gear back to the beach.

Channel and bridge

The deep channel south of the launch is where that stops working - go down there in light wind and the current pushes you toward and under the bridge, so cross it only with a working kite or somebody watching. Nearest shop help is Otherside Boardsports in Islamorada on 305-853-9728; emergencies go through 911.

Launch

Public Islamorada beach park at MM 73.5 oceanside, with two parking areas - a small lot at the beach and a large overflow lot across US-1 - plus boardwalk, six pavilions, covered picnic tables, a restroom at the north parking lot and an outdoor shower.Most kiters use the farther-south second entrance and the sand to the left of that parking lot; there are two small pockets of beach along the boardwalk for rigging, and at high tide line setup happens in the water or on the tarmac. There is no lifeguard.

Hazards riders report 11 reported

Wind

Mangroves and wind shadow near shore
North wind can be gusty and challenging

Crowds and zones

Popular public park - watch for swimmers
Parking lot, Overseas Highway and spectators are close to the water; the water's edge is less than 20 m from the highway
Public beach users, swimmers, dogs and families share the area

Bottom

Shallow, grassy bottom in places - watch fins/board on the way in and out
Very shallow flats; watch fins, foils, tricks and hard landings
Sea grass bottom with possible sharp objects; booties recommended by kite guides

Waves and currents

Very small launch and setup area, especially at high tide
Current in the deeper southern channel can sweep a disabled rider toward/under the bridge in light wind

Other

No lifeguard on this beach, and the park's own line is that you swim at your own risk

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: Islamorada's official parks page lists Anne's Beach hours as sunrise to sunset; dogs permitted only leashed; swim at your own risk; no motor boats or PWC; no open flame or grill; no fishing.

2026: Monroe County parks page states no commercial activity may be conducted on any county beach or park without a county lease or license and county-owned parks/beaches are no-smoking except for an unfiltered cigar.

No kite-specific permit, zoning map or seasonal kite restriction is published.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Set up at the farther-south second entrance, on the sand to the left of that parking lot. That is where the kiters go.
Check the tide before you commit: high water takes away most of the dry sand, and very low water leaves the flats thin enough to find the bottom on a hard landing.
Walk out before launching when the wind has onshore in it, so the kite stays off the cars, the mangroves and the highway.
Rig one kite at a time, wrap your lines as soon as you land, and stack your gear. Two small pockets of sand is all there is.
If there is much north in the wind, drive on to another Keys spot. It goes gusty here.
When the beach is full, launch off the water: the shallows make a drift launch straightforward and keep the lines off the boardwalk.
Stay about 300 feet clear of swimmers and kayakers, and never fly a kite over the parking lot.
Plan the walk or the body-drag out before you foil or wing, and respect the current in the southern channel.
West wind is a write-off here. Drive to the Horseshoe / south beach access instead.

Getting there

Airport

Miami International Airport (MIA) is the nearest major airport cited by Travelmath; Key West International Airport (EYW) is another major airport at a similar distance from Islamorada.

Route

Drive the Florida Turnpike south from Miami or Fort Lauderdale to Florida City, then follow US-1/Overseas Highway into the Keys; Anne's Beach is at MM 73.5 oceanside on Lower Matecumbe/Islamorada.

Transfer

About 120-180 minutes by road from Miami depending on traffic: roughly 77 miles, with airport shuttles quoting around 2h55 to Islamorada.

Cost level

high

Staying

Islamorada has resort, hotel, vacation-rental and marina-style lodging; no kite-specific accommodation at Anne's Beach.

No-wind days

Snorkel or dive the reef, fish, paddle, or walk the boardwalk at the beach itself. In Islamorada there is the History of Diving Museum, Theater of the Sea and Robbie's, plus the food and drink stops along US-1.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Anne's Beach?

The reliable Florida Keys season runs roughly October through May with ENE to E wind producing 15-25 knots; summer wind is lighter.

Is Anne's Beach suitable for beginners?

The knee-deep, mostly flat water supports lessons and beginner progression, but the sandy launch is small and close to parking and the highway, so instruction or local help is recommended.

What is the water like at Anne's Beach?

The flats are shallow and mostly flat, with a deeper channel south of the launch used for foiling or winging.

Are there rules for kiting at Anne's Beach?

The park is open sunrise to sunset, dogs must be leashed, and motor boats, open flames, and fishing are prohibited; no kite-specific permit or restriction was found.

Are there kite schools near Anne's Beach?

Otherside Boardsports in Islamorada and Elite Watersports, a Tampa-based school offering Keys destination lessons, both serve the area.

The bigger pictureEverything about Florida Keys - Islamorada

Last updated: August 2026