Smryna Dunes Park

Dog friendly beach that is beautiful in its own right!
Florida has hundreds of miles of beaches, but surprisingly few where dogs are welcome and encouraged. Smyrna Dunes Park is the exception. We brought our puppy to experience the beach here for the first time, and we were very impressed during our short stay.
It’s $ 10 per car to enter, which seems a bit steep. The park is huge, however, and it sports some beautiful, natural vistas. Weathered boardwalks meander through brush-​covered sand dunes along the inlet and down the coast, with the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse peaking through at regular intervals.
There’s a dog bath, poop bags in case you forgot to bring them, a decent human restroom, and some other basic amenities like grills and a soda machine. Even without a dog, I suggest you visit at least one time to check out the sunset views from the boardwalk.

This is the New Smyrna dog beach area at Dunes Park. It’s $ 10 to get in and you park close to the restrooms and boardwalk areas, but the walk to the beach is going to be a hike. To walk to the beach from the parking area takes about 20 – 30 minutes depending on your walking speed. Also there is sandy ground to walk on, so it’s makes you walk a bit slower. Since this is a dog beach there are some cleanup stations with baggies and trash cans visible a couple of times during the walk. Most people seem to clean up after their dogs, but still be careful walking that you don’t step into anything. The walk is very pleasant and lots of nature to observe.
Once you reach the beach area it’s a crescent shaped waterfront area that may have more dogs there. All dogs are required to stay on leash. The beach is very isolated and there are no vendors or accommodations there, so pack your own drinks and snacks. There are often boaters and jet skis that will go by on the water here. Also a cool part, pretty much every time I have visited I have seen a pod of Dolphins swim by, so fun to watch from the shore! This is a really natural area for sure. The walk back to the car is always a long one and my dog is always so sandy. There is an outdoor shower area and dog wash area close to the parking lot if you want to hose off or wash up yourself and your pet. Like this area a lot, but there is a rule about no dogs on the boardwalk after 10am. So be prepared to walk in the sand to and from the beach.

Checked this park out today and as it did leave me wanting more we did enjoy it. Yes the beach is narrow yes it has a swift current it’s an inlet! The cool part for us today was the swarm of jellyfish! They are cannonball jellyfish and not harmful to us or your furry friends! Pack very smart as it is a long long walk!

I really love the concept of a dog beach, and they’re kind of hard to come by, but this one left me wanting more.
The real issue I took was that though the parkland itself occupies the entire peninsula, the dog beach is on the inlet side, so that all you see is the land on the opposite side. I demand that my dog looks upon the majesty of the Atlantic Ocean!
Also at issue is the beach itself, which is short, narrow, and gets deep really quick, and plops you into a swift current moving out to the ocean.

What a fun and nice dog park!
For the most part everyone’s dog is on a leash… And seem pretty nice!
Parking takes a little while because the lot is small and you literally wait for a car to come out for a car to go in. It’s $ 5 per car.
Once parked just follow the signs towards animal access. There is one beach that is really close– but it’s more so on the inlet and not the ocean. To get to the ocean it’s about a mile walk further. Both are nice though!

Ever since I found out dogs are welcome at this beach park, I had been dying to go! I have two active dogs, and swimming is a great way for them to burn some energy. So hubby and I packed up the pups and headed out on a Sunday. The cost for entrance is $ 5. The line to get in to the park was long, but it was because there is limited parking. So if the lot is full, you literally have to wait until another car leaves. That can seem annoying at first, but it does ensure that things won’t get too crazy crowded. At the end of the parking lot, there is a dog washing area which is nice. Next time we will definitely bring some shampoo and extra towels. Not much can trash the car faster than muddy beach dogs! The trail from the lot to the beach is a little long, so bring everything in one trip if you can. The dog beach area was awesome! There is not a ton of sandy beach area (especially at high tide), but it was the perfect amount to set up our chairs and cooler. One of the things I liked best about this beach was the water… because it’s part of the inlet, the waves are WAY smaller than the normal beach. Quite honestly, waves scare the crap out of me, so I was in heaven. Plus this makes it easier for dogs to swim. You can’t go out too crazy deep because there are a lot of boats and jet skis that go by, but it makes for great scenery. And I don’t know if it was just because we came on the right day, but the other people that were there seemed particularly pleasant and laid back… a nice contrast from the regular beach were things can get hectic and noisy. It was also nice and clean there… no garbage or unpicked up poo to report. We will definitely be back!

This park has a boardwalk, dog trail, picnic pavilions, guided nature tours, bird-​watching areas, and plenty of dog-​friendly beach. The first beach entrance leads to a rather dingy section, so I recommend taking the trail or boardwalk to the entrance near the observation deck for soft white sand and beautiful views. It costs $ 5 per car to enter the park, but they also have an annual pass for $ 30 if you plan on frequenting the park. The beach is part of the inlet, so it does not have the rough waves that other local beaches have.

This is the «other» dog beach talk about when they say to visit Lighthouse Park from the the Smyrna side.
Lighthouse Point Park is only accesible via the bridge in Port Orange (road 421), whereas Smyrna Dunes Park is only accesible via the bridges from the New Smyrna Beach bridges. So double check which one you’re aiming for as both are in Volusia county, have dog beaches but are 30 min apart.
This is a state park, so there’s a $ 5 charge to enter… but you can reuse that ticket to enter other Volusia County Parks. The dog beach area is just a nice perk, but your money is helping fund and maintain the park as a whole. So ignore the reviews that were all up in a tizzy over paying $ 5 to enter a dog beach. This is a state park, you pay to enter. Suck it up buttercups and help our state out with these amazing parks.
Theres a small parking lot, but the layout of the dunes is that of a spoke wheel — parking/​restroom is at the 6-​o-​clock region, the dog beach is the 7 to 11-​o-​clock region and the rest is human beach. Dogs enter through the left of the parking lot, where there is a dog wash/​rinse area and water bowls. Dogs must walk on the sand path just beside the pedestrian boardwalk… which means humans sans canine can take the elevated boardwalk to their beach destination.
I chose the first off-​shoot since my dog is small and long walks piss him off quick when sand is involved. There was a walk, I’d say about half mile or so from my car to the water. The beach was small since the tide was high and we were essentially 10 ft from the dunes. Setting up my chair seemed so silly. I decided to «try» to go further north to where I heard the beaches were wider, but my dog gave up and carrying the 15 lb dead weight dog whilst getting bitten by mosquitos sucked. So I turned around and enjoyed the first beach a bit more. We saw turtles as well, but it’s egg laying season (June).
There were a mix of responsible and irresponsible dog owners. There was a duo of dogs not on a leash that came running full force at my dog… who dislikes big dogs running at him — Awesome. The owners tried to apologize, but I had serious stink eye action as the park states dogs must be on leashes. Other times there were tons of dogs on leashes and one dog off but she was all about her owner and no one but her owner.
Positive things to note, the beach and water is sandy in that unlike Lighthouse Point Park, your footsies are competing with rocks. Maintenance was always there and always cleaning the trash out. There’s a dog rinse off station — seriously, this is amazing!
Negatives though is that this would not be an ideal repeat beach with my current duo of dogs as the long walk would not suit my dogs right now. The secluded sensation also opens the door to unleashed dogs, but could have you being alone enjoying some bonding time with the pooch. The narrow beach is also a downfall since I’m driving and hour from Orlando to amuse my dog, so I hope I could also relax after the hours of play with the dog (ya know, to rest up before I drive his sleepy self home).
I say check out both parks, see which one fits your style. Me? I’m a Lighthouse Point Park fan, but this park had more perks (larger dog area, dog rinse, and lack of rocks) that really make it a contender :)

Bring your pup!!!
Yes, for $ 5 you can hand out on the inlet and bring your puppy on the beach. Just keep them leashed and there are walking areas plus they can go in the water.
Not a huge amount of area to lay out of course, but it was a nice area that was well taken care of and if you have a pup to tag along, this is your spot.
There are a ton of boats, jet skis etc so it’s not the best place to swim but great for a quick dip or laying right on the edge of the water.

Awesome beach to take your dog. We came for the first time couple weeks ago and were very impress about how clean the beach was. Were were wondering because it was on the inlet area, but it was a great day and our puppy had a great time. People were very friendly. The area has places to wash your dog and cold him off. The entrance is $ 5.00.

Nice county park to take your dog. The fee is $ 3.50 to enter and there is a path for animals. If you want to walk your dog on boardwalk, you must do this before 10:30 a.m. — afterwards they are not allowed on the boardwalk and must use the sandy doggy trail. At the beginning of trail there is a doggy wash which is good to get a drink and rinse off sandy paws. Make sure sand isn’t to hot, because it can burn their paws. Note: Although the stroll is nice, I would not walk the trail by myself in the early morning hours — it seemed isolated in spots and running on sand could slow your getaway (if you know what I mean). I did see a police cruising the parking lot, but that was when I returned from the long sandy walk. They could have cameras to watch the whole park, but better to be safe.