3 Best Sights in Boca Raton, Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast

The ocean with its namesake reef that you can wade up to is just one draw: a fishing zone on the Intracoastal Waterway across the street, a 9-hole golf course next door, and the Gumbo Limbo Environmental Education Center at the northern end of the park can easily make a day at the beach into so much more. But if pure old-fashioned fun in the sun is your focus, there are tons of picnic tables and grills and two separate playgrounds. Pack snorkels and explore the reef at high tide, when fish are most abundant. Swimmers, be warned: once lifeguards leave at 5, anglers flock to the shores and stay well past dark. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; swimming; walking.

Perched high up on a dune, a large open-air pavilion at the east end of Palmetto Park Road offers a panoramic view of what's in store below on the sand that stretches up the coast. Serious beachgoers need to pull into the main lot a quarter mile north on the east side of A1A, but if a short-but-sweet visit is what you're after, the 15 or so one-hour spots with meters in the circle driveway will do (and not cost you the normal $15 parking fee). During the day, pretty young things blanket the shore and windsurfers practice tricks in the waves. Quiet quarters are farther north. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunset; swimming; walking; windsurfing.

At 76 acres and including extensive nature trails, this is by far one of the largest ocean parks in the southern half of Palm Beach County and a great pick for people who want more space and fewer crowds. Big groups, including family reunions, favor it because of the number of covered picnic areas for rent, but anyone can snag a free table (there are plenty) under the thick canopy of banyan trees. Even though the vast majority of the park is separated from the surf, you never actually have to cross A1A to reach the beach because tunnels run under it at several locations. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: solitude; swimming; walking.