Sargassum at Crandon Park Beach (Key Biscayne): today's conditions
First bulletin for this beach lands with tomorrow morning’s update.
Crandon Park Beach runs along the east side of Key Biscayne, the barrier island south of downtown Miami reached by the Rickenbacker Causeway. This page tracks sargassum at Crandon Park Beach so you know what the sea has left on the sand before you load the car.
You get today's rating, from 0 for a clear shoreline to 5 for a heavy landing, a map that sets this beach alongside the rest of the Miami-Dade coast, and a short read on why this stretch behaves the way it does. The reading is refreshed every morning, so the call you make rests on today rather than on last week's photos.
Crandon Park Beach on the sargassum map
What to know about this beach
This is an Atlantic beach squared up to the east. Trade winds and open-ocean swell reach it head on, and the Florida Current runs north along this shore, so drifting rafts of weed are carried toward the sand instead of away from it. The beach is broad, the slope gentle and the water shallow well offshore: that flat profile tends to hold sargassum in the swash zone once it has landed.
Key Biscayne is a barrier island, and on this flank nothing stands between the shore and open water. The island itself shows the difference, since its western edge opens onto Biscayne Bay behind the land mass and is not exposed to the same ocean drift. How much turns up on a given day comes down to the strength of the easterly wind and to the season, as the Atlantic sargassum belt moves toward Florida in spring and summer.
Frequently asked questions
Why does sargassum reach Crandon Park Beach?
The beach faces due east with no island or reef in front of it. Easterly winds and the north-flowing Florida Current push floating rafts onto this side of Key Biscayne, and the shallow, gently sloping sand keeps them close in.
How do I check conditions before driving out?
Open the FanGass map on the morning of your visit. Crandon Park Beach carries a 0 to 5 rating refreshed each morning, and the map shows at a glance how the neighbouring Miami-Dade beaches are doing.
When is sargassum most likely on this coast?
Landings cluster from spring through late summer, when the Atlantic sargassum belt drifts across the Caribbean and up along Florida. Outside that window arrivals still happen, though they tend to be smaller and further apart.
Is the bay side of Key Biscayne an option?
The western shore of the island opens onto Biscayne Bay, sheltered from Atlantic swell, with flat calm water. Check the daily rating first: on a light day the ocean side may need no detour at all.