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Coco Plum Beach

Florida Keys - Marathon · Monroe County · Marathon, Florida

also known as Cocoa Plum Beach

Part of Marathon, Florida Keys →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

beginner-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

Nov–May

Months riders and schools name

How windy

15-25 kt

Character: mixed · cross-shore

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

32 °C in summerOcean-side water: warm, clear, over sand

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

Key West International (EYW)

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.

Veterans Parkno page yet
Sombrero Beachno page yet
Curry Hammock State Parkno page yet
The Lagoon at Grassy Flatsno page yet

The spot

Coco Plum Beach is the public ocean-side beach in Marathon, off US-1 down Coco Plum Drive, and one of the few Middle Keys launches you can simply park at.

Water characteristics

It is not the shallow lagoon the photographs promise. The sand runs out fast and the water is deep close in, and that depth is exactly why the foil and wing riders come here instead of to the flats up the road.

Twin-tip days depend on direction and tide, and the chop builds harder than at the flatter Keys spots nearby.

Season

November through April is the season, on winter cold fronts and easterly trades, with the spring southwest days the smooth ones.

Turtles and crowds

Turtles nest on this beach and families use it, so keep the kites off the sand where people are and off the parking lot.

Skill level and hazards

Beginners can learn here with a school; anyone teaching themselves will meet current, chop, sea urchins and a long swim back.

Check the state water-quality status before you get in, since an advisory was posted for this beach on 2026-08-26.

The wind

locals call it Florida Keys easterly trades and winter cold-front/frontal winds

Direction

cross-shoreE to ESE

Dominant direction

E to ESE, with rideable local directions reported from ENE through S to SW depending on setup

Kite sizes

4567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

In the 15-25 kt season band a 75-85 kg rider wants 9-12 m: 12 m from 15 to 18 kt, 10 m around 20, 9 m above 22. Summer is the light season and the same rider is on 14-17 m, sometimes larger.Foil and wing riders, who are the main users here because of the depth off the beach, take 1-3 m off the twin-tip size. These bands are derived from weight-to-wind sizing against the published Keys wind range, not from a local quiver list.

Character

mixed

Average strength

8-12 kt as a climate mean around Marathon and Key West, which is the whole year folded together rather than the wind you would plan a trip on. Cold-front and spring sessions run well above it, and nobody has published a figure for those days at this beach.

Typical strength

15-25 kt is the working band through the Keys season from roughly October to May, and a cold front can push past 30 kt for a day behind the shift. Summer is the light half of the year: the regional mean drops to about 9 mph and days that hold 15 kt are the exception rather than the rule.

Smooth enough when the direction is right. Frontal wind and the state of the tide both change it, and the chop here builds faster than at the flatter beaches nearby.

November to April is the kite window, sitting inside a windier Marathon season that runs from about October 8 to May 4. Winter is cold-front wind. Summer is hotter and wetter, lighter on wind, and full of thunderstorms.

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.

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

mixed

Standing depth

Not dependable.The shoreline is sandy and shallow enough to walk out and launch, with more sand exposed at low tide, but the water gets deep close in - deep enough that foil and wing riders come here for it, and deep enough that a walk-back self-rescue is not available.The sand gives way to seagrass as it deepens.How far you can stand shifts with tide and with where along the beach you go in.

Tides

Small tide, and it matters more for the sand than for the depth. Mean range at the Vaca Key gauge is 0.71 ft with a diurnal range of 0.97 ft; the Atlantic-side gauge at Pigeon Key runs bigger at 1.11 ft mean and 1.48 ft diurnal. Low water hands back a strip of beach to rig on.

Temperature

32 °C summer · 22 °C winter

Wetsuit

Boardshorts or thin sun protection most of the year; bring a shorty for winter cold fronts.

Currents

Tidal current drifts riders along the coast, and the deeper water off the beach carries enough of it to make a swim home longer than it looks. There is also a busy boat channel in the area to stay clear of. No measured current speed has been published for this launch.

Conditions

Ocean-side water: warm, clear, over sand. What you get on the day runs from flat and shallow to moderate chop, depending on the direction, the state of the tide and how exposed the stretch you pick is. A water-quality advisory was listed for Coco Plum on 2026-08-26, so check the state status before you go in.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

It carries a learning-beach reputation from older local write-ups and an intermediate rating elsewhere, and both are defensible. The launch is easy enough; the water off it is deep, moves with the tide and is shared with beachgoers. A first-timer should be here with a school rather than alone.

The scene

What riders come here for

foilflat waterkite foilingwing foilingfreerideflat-to-choppy ocean waterspring southwest wind sessions

Who it suitsbeginner

A small Middle Keys public beach: a few visiting kiters, local foil and wing riders, dog walkers and families who got there first. Quieter in winter, still shared.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

5 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

5 spots nearby

All 5 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No lifeguard, no rescue boat, no kite-specific cover on call. The depth off this beach is what makes that matter: unlike the knee-deep Keys flats you cannot walk your gear back in, so the working rule is to ride only as far out as you would be willing to swim, and to assume tidal drift along the coast will decide where you land rather than the shortest line home.

Go out with someone watching from the beach. Emergencies go through 911.

Launch

Public beach at 109 Coco Plum Dr, reached from US-1 via Coco Plum Drive near mile marker 54, with a red brick access road, generous parking along the sides, a covered pavilion, restroom and a rinsing station.Size reads differently depending on who is describing it: spacious and easy by Keys standards on one account, a small setup area on a narrow but long beach on others, and it does shrink at high tide.Walking right along the shore opens a wider stretch of beach. Kites stay off the parking lot.

Hazards riders report 14 reported

Wind

Northerly wind is reported as offshore; avoid offshore wind without boat support.
Coral reef lies offshore; do not drift out over it on a dead kite.

Crowds and zones

Keep kites away from the parking lot and people on land.
A busy boat channel runs in this stretch - know where it is before you ride downwind of the launch.

Bottom

Shallow in spots - watch for the bottom on foil gear
Sharp rocks, shells, and scattered long-spined urchins reported; booties are recommended for beginners.

Waves and currents

Tidal current or deeper-water current can make a swim back difficult.
Check current Florida Healthy Beaches status; Coco Plum Beach had an elevated-bacteria advisory listed on 2026-08-26.
Chop here is stronger than at the flatter Keys spots nearby, so it is not the place to learn water starts on a windy day.

Protected areas and rules

Sea turtle nesting beach: avoid posted nests and wildlife areas and follow beach signage.

Other

Beachgoers and shared public beach use; give non-riders right of way and keep the launch clear.
Trees and driftwood/sea wood are reported near the narrow beach/shoreline.
Possible jellyfish and Portuguese man-o-war in summer.
Trees stand directly onshore, so a small onshore launch is worth asking for help with rather than doing alone.

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: the beach is open 7:30 a.m. until dusk under city rules, and it is a marked turtle nesting beach, so the posted nesting restrictions apply.
2026: no kite-specific permit, zoning line or seasonal ban is published for it.

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

Check the posted city hours at the gate and the state water-quality status before you get in; this beach carried an advisory on 2026-08-26.
Ask a local the first time. The direction window is wider than the beach looks, and tide, longshore current and beach traffic all move it.
Do not ride a northerly here. It is offshore, and no boat is coming after you.
Wear booties if you are learning or wading around: sharp rock, broken shells and long-spined urchins are all reported.
Keep kites and lines off the parking lot, away from the marked turtle nests, and clear of dog walkers and anyone who is not riding.
If Coco Plum is choppy, Veterans Park up the road is usually the smoother option that day.
Ride only as far out as you would be willing to swim back. The water is deep close in and there is no walk-in exit.
Take the spring southwest days if you get to choose. They are the smooth ones, and warm enough that nobody bothers with neoprene.
Bring the foil or the wing. The depth right off this beach is the reason to pick it over the shallower flats up the road.

Getting there

Airport

Key West International (EYW) is the nearest airport with scheduled service. Florida Keys Marathon International (MTH) is right there but carries no scheduled passenger flights. Miami International (MIA) is the long-haul gateway.

Route

Drive the Overseas Highway/US-1 to Marathon, turn ocean-side onto Coco Plum Drive near mile marker 54-54.5, then continue roughly 1-1.4 miles to the public beach entrance on the right.

Transfer

About 75 minutes by car from Key West airport, and 140-180 minutes from Miami depending on traffic.

Cost level

mid

Staying

Marathon has hotels, resorts, marinas, RV/cottage options, and vacation rentals, including Grassy Flats Resort & Beach Club, Yacht Haven, Coconut Cay Marina & RV Park, Hampton Inn Marathon, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Isla Bella, Faro Blanco, and rental homes.

No-wind days

Snorkel or dive, paddle, or take a fishing charter. On land there is the Turtle Hospital, the Dolphin Research Center, Aquarium Encounters and Crane Point, plus Sombrero Beach and the old Seven Mile Bridge out to Pigeon Key.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite at Coco Plum Beach?

Best months are November through April, matching the Florida Keys' windier season, with easterly trades and winter cold fronts as the main wind sources.

Is Coco Plum Beach suitable for beginners?

It is listed as suitable for any level, but because the water can be choppy, tidal, and current-affected close to shore, true beginners should use a local school rather than self-launch.

What is the water like at Coco Plum Beach?

Sources conflict: some describe a large shallow area, others note water deepening gradually from shore, and one local operator says deeper water close to shore suits hydrofoils and wings.

Are there rules at Coco Plum Beach?

As of 2026, the beach is open 7:30 a.m. until dusk and is a turtle nesting beach subject to posted wildlife restrictions; no kite-specific permit or ban was found.

Are there kite schools near Coco Plum Beach?

Yes, including Florida Keys Kiteboarding in Marathon and Otherside Boardsports in Islamorada.

The bigger pictureEverything about Florida Keys - Marathon

Last updated: August 2026