Clarence S. Higgs Memorial Beach

Clarence S. Higgs Memorial Beach is Key West’s city-run Atlantic-side beach park, a 16-acre stretch of sand with a wooden pier and more room around it than a simple beach access. Come for a swim, a walk out over the water, or a longer break that mixes beach time with the park’s other facilities.

The shoreline can collect seaweed, and some parts have a rocky water entry. Conditions vary, so take a look before you settle in if swimming is the main point of your stop. The park also has restrooms, showers, two playgrounds, tennis and volleyball courts, a dog park, picnic tables and grills. Parking is available.

There’s also a restaurant and chair-and-umbrella rentals on site, though the restaurant’s menu and vendor details aren’t clear. Think of it as a convenient option, not a reason to plan around a particular dish.

The renovated pier reaches across the water and gives you an easy change of scene from the sand. From shore, use its long line as the foreground with open water behind it; walking out also gives you a broad look back toward the beach.

Higgs Beach is also a burial place. In 1860, the U.S. Navy intercepted three illegal slave ships and brought nearly 1,500 Africans to Key West; many died and were buried in this area. Ground-penetrating radar surveys in 2002 and 2010 located graves in more than one part of the park. The African Cemetery memorial is a sobering stop beside the beach, and the nearby AIDS Memorial adds another reason to pause before heading back to the water.