MapUSALittle Duck Key, Florida KeysVeterans Memorial Park (Vets Beach)Little Duck Key, Florida Keys

Veterans Memorial Park (Vets Beach)

Florida Keys - Little Duck Key · Monroe County · Big Pine Key

also known as Vets Beach, Veterans Memorial Beach, Little Duck Key Veterans' Memorial Beach, Little Duck Key Beach

Part of Little Duck Key, Florida Keys →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

flat waterbeginner-friendlylow 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

15-20 kt

Character: mixed

Room to launch

access rules on record, below

Water

flat

32 °C in summerButtery flat and shallow over seagrass, with shells and the odd hard object on the bottom, so booties earn their place

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Beginner to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

low crowds · busy Dec Jan Feb Mar

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

West International Airport (EYW)

Transfer times under Getting there

When it fills in

No daily thermal to wait for: trade-wind and frontal days blow through rather than switching on at a set hour, so the tide rather than the clock usually decides the window.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

Smathers Beach
Curry Hammock State Parkno page yet
Anne's Beach
Key West / The Flatsno page yet

The spot

Location & conditions

Vets Beach is a free Monroe County park on Little Duck Key, at the west end of Seven Mile Bridge, and the flats in front of it are about as flat as the Keys get. The season is the Middle Keys winter and spring window, November through April, best in December and again from February to April, with most good days in the 15-20 kt band on an easterly.

Rigging & water

Park off U.S. 1, rig on the small beach or the grass behind it, and ride out; the water stays shallow far enough that a broken line ends in a walk rather than a phone call. Wear booties.

Bottom & hazards

The bottom is seagrass and shells with the odd hard object, and a low-tide crash costs fins. Locals ride the offshore angles here because the bridge blunts the shadow, which is not a reason for a visitor to copy them, and the current runs hardest between the bridge pilings, so stay off that line.

Park access

The park is open 7:30 a.m. to sunset with porta-potties standing in while the permanent block is renovated, and the beach is described both as bayside and as oceanfront, so check the rigging side and the wind angle with a local before a first session.

The wind

locals call it easterly trade winds and winter cold-front winds

Direction

cross-shoreoffshorewind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

Cross-shore on the prevailing easterly. North winds turn gusty and are avoided. The offshore angles are ridden here because the bridge blunts the wind shadow, but they are still offshore and still carry offshore consequences.

Dominant direction

E to NE, with north and east winds common in the main season

Kite sizes

7891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

Bigger kites than most visitors pack. A 75-85 kg rider spends most of the November-April season on a 12 m, moves to 14-15 m on the 12-15 kt days, and only reaches for 9-10 m when a front pushes past 22 kt.A 17 m is worth bringing if you want to ride the light days rather than watch them.

Character

mixed

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

8 kt annual mean at Florida Keys Marathon International Airport; 15-20 kt in the main season.

Typical strength

15-20 kt on good Middle Keys riding days in November-April; annual Marathon airport mean is 8 kt, so not every day is kiteable.

Clean and steady on easterly flow. The offshore angles get ridden here because the bridge blunts the shadow, which does not make them low consequence.

The Middle Keys season runs November through April, with a first peak in December and a second from February to April; the wider windy stretch is early October to early May. Most good days sit in the 15-20 kt band and the flats stay warm and smooth. Summer is hotter and lighter, and it comes with squalls.

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

flat

Standing depth

Shallow a long way out — reportedly around 500 ft of walkable bottom before continuous seagrass, measured in 2021 — and shallow enough overall that a rider with a broken line walks home instead of calling for help. Sharp shells and seagrass make booties sensible.

Tides

Small numbers that matter more than they look. Mean range at the East Bahia Honda station is 0.89 ft with a 1.38 ft diurnal range; the Ohio-Bahia Honda Channel station gives 1.08 ft and 1.46 ft. The flats are shallow enough that sand banks reportedly emerge at low water, and the current speeds up where it squeezes past the Seven Mile Bridge pilings.Riding the fuller half of the tide avoids turning a session into a walk.

Temperature

32 °C summer · 22 °C winter

Wetsuit

Boardshorts cover the Middle Keys season for most riders, but a shorty or a light wetsuit is worth having on a cold-front day in winter.

Currents

Little current over the flats themselves. Close to the Seven Mile Bridge the water accelerates between the pilings and is reported as dangerous; stay off the bridge line.

Conditions

Buttery flat and shallow over seagrass, with shells and the odd hard object on the bottom, so booties earn their place. Seven Mile Bridge fills the view from the water. Tide matters because the flats are so thin, but no spot-specific minimum has been published.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

The shallow flats and the walk-back make this a workable place to learn in onshore or cross-shore wind with someone watching. Independent beginners should skip offshore days and keep clear of the bridge, the road, the swimmers and the thinnest low-tide water.

Intermediates and advanced riders use the flats for freeride and for tricks. There is no rescue service here, formal or otherwise.

The scene

What riders come here for

flat waterfreerideprogressionlight-wind sessionswingfoil

Quiet and local, a free roadside beach and picnic stop rather than a built-up Keys launch, and a favourite with the riders who live down here.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

6 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: ok

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

4 spots nearby

All 4 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

No lifeguard, no chase boat, no organised kite rescue. The shallow flats are the rescue plan: a broken line or a lost upwind usually ends in a long walk back rather than a phone call. That stops being true in offshore wind, out past the flats, or anywhere near the bridge current, where the walk-back option disappears.

Launch

Free county beach park at 39900 Overseas Highway on Little Duck Key, at the west end of the Seven Mile Bridge. Small beach, parking right at it, room to rig, a grassy patch for packing kites, and toilets — the permanent block has been down for renovation with porta-potties standing in.Beach access and a beach wheelchair are provided. The flats open out in front; the bridge is the landmark and the thing to stay away from.

Hazards riders report 15 reported

Wind

Offshore wind: riders do it here because the bridge reduces wind-shadow effects, but offshore wind is not recommended.
Offshore wind is ridden here because the bridge softens the shadow, but it is still offshore and still not recommended
North wind turns gusty here

Crowds and zones

Bridge, road, parking, swimmers, beach users, kayaks, and picnic traffic close to launch.
Nobody is watching the water: no lifeguard, no chase boat, no kite rescue.
Small park with road, parking, swimmers, picnickers and kayakers close to the rigging area
Limited launch space and limited parking on busy days

Bottom

Sharp shells and hard objects in the shallow seagrass; wear booties.
Sharp shells and hard objects in the shallow seagrass; booties recommended

Waves and currents

Very shallow flats and seagrass can make low-tide riding or crashes hard on fins, foils, knees, and habitat.
Tidal current accelerates between the Seven Mile Bridge pilings and is reported as dangerous close in

Protected areas and rules

Very shallow flats punish fins, foils and knees at low water, and the seagrass is protected habitat

Other

Marine life in the surrounding waters (rays, barracuda, occasional small nurse sharks reported near nearby Bahia Honda)
Stingrays reported over the seagrass
No lifeguard and no formal kite rescue

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: Veterans Memorial Park is free and open 7:30 a.m. to sunset. Leashed pets are allowed and owners must clean up.

Rules

No commercial activity of any type may be conducted on a county beach or park without a county lease or licence, which is what leaves paid instruction here in a grey area. All county-owned parks and beaches are no-smoking, with an exemption for an unfiltered cigar. Shelter reservations are recommended for groups of eight or more.

Kite status

No kite-specific permit, zone or seasonal restriction appears in county rules — and kiteboarding does not appear as a named authorised use either.

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 tide before you commit: shallow is the whole appeal here until there is too little water, and then it is a walk or a broken fin.
Stay well off the Seven Mile Bridge line, where the current runs hardest between the pilings.
Wear booties for the seagrass, the shells and the long shallow walks.
Shuffle your feet in the seagrass rather than stepping down; rays sit on the bottom.
Treat beachgoers and kayakers as the priority users at this small public park.
Pack a 12 m as your main kite and something bigger for the light days; the small kites sit unused here most of the season.
Read the live wind at Bahia Honda, at Marathon and at Little Duck Key rather than trusting a regional forecast.
Do not copy the locals into offshore wind unless you have a realistic self-rescue and a walk-back plan.
Boardshorts cover most of the season; pack a 2-3 mm shorty or a neo top for the cold-front days.

Getting there

Airport

Key West International Airport (EYW) is the nearest commercial airport; Florida Keys Marathon International Airport (MTH) is closer but primarily serves general aviation; Miami International Airport (MIA) is the common mainland gateway.

Route

Drive U.S. 1, the Overseas Highway, to Mile Marker 40 at the west end of Seven Mile Bridge. Coming from Miami or Fort Lauderdale, the usual line is the Florida Turnpike onto U.S. 1 and then south through the Keys.

Transfer

About 60-80 minutes by car from Key West International Airport and roughly 150-180 minutes from Miami International Airport, traffic depending. Both figures are derived from published drive times for Marathon and Duck Key rather than measured to the park itself.

Cost level

budget

Staying

Stay in Marathon, Big Pine Key, Duck Key, or Key West; nearby Bahia Honda State Park has campsites and cabins, and Grassy Flats in Marathon offers rider-oriented accommodation and watersports infrastructure.

No-wind days

Bahia Honda State Park is the default no-wind beach. Otherwise: snorkelling or fishing trips, kayaking, the Key deer refuge on Big Pine, the Seven Mile Bridge walk, or cable wakeboarding and eFoil at The Lagoon at Grassy Flats.

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kitesurf at Vets Beach?

The Middle Keys season runs November through April, with December and February through April as peak, and many good days in the 15-20 knot range on easterly wind.

Is Vets Beach suitable for beginners?

The shallow, buttery flats and walk-back shallows are beginner-friendly in onshore or cross-shore wind with supervision. Independent beginners should avoid offshore wind, the bridge and road corridor, and very shallow low-tide areas.

What is the wind like at Vets Beach?

Wind is dominantly easterly to northeasterly, described as 15-20 knots on good Middle Keys riding days, though the nearby Marathon airport's annual average is only about 8 knots so not every day is kiteable.

Are there kite schools or rental near Vets Beach?

Grassy Flats Resort & Beach Club in Marathon offers kiteboarding lessons and cable progression, and Florida Keys Kiteboarding in Marathon offers instruction, tours, rentals and gear sales.

Are there rules for kiting at Vets Beach?

As of 2026 the county park is open 7:30 a.m. to sunset, leashed pets are allowed with cleanup required, and no commercial activity may be conducted without a county lease or license. No kite-specific permit or seasonal restriction was found.

The bigger pictureEverything about Florida Keys - Little Duck Key

Last updated: August 2026