A Town-Sized Beach With a Reef at Its Feet
Slip north of Fort Lauderdale along A1A and, within minutes, the condo towers thin out. Lauderdale-by-the-Sea incorporated as a town in 1947 partly to keep itself from being absorbed by its bigger neighbor, and the stubborn logic of that decision is visible every time you walk down El Mar Drive to the water. No mega-hotels crowd the shoreline here. The buildings stay low, the streets stay quiet, and the reef stays close.
That reef is the real reason to come. A shallow coral formation runs parallel to the beach just offshore — close enough to reach by swimming from the sand, no boat required. Mask up, wade in, and within a few minutes you're hovering over living coral heads, parrotfish, angelfish and the occasional sea turtle. It is one of the most accessible shore-dive and snorkel reefs in Broward County, and the fact that it doesn't require a charter makes it rare in South Florida. Several small dive shops along Commercial Boulevard rent gear and run guided dives, but independent snorkelers are equally well served on a calm day.
Anchoring the beach at its northern end, Anglin's Fishing Pier stretches nearly 900 feet into the Atlantic. The pier has been a fixture of town life for decades — anglers cast for Spanish mackerel, pompano and kingfish while pelicans work the railing with practiced patience. There's an admission fee to fish, but the pier's seaward walkway offers one of the better views along this stretch of coast at no charge, especially at dusk when the light drops flat and copper over the water.
The town around the beach rewards a slow afternoon. The compact village center near the pier mixes dive shops, low-key seafood restaurants and ice cream counters without ever feeling like a manufactured "destination." The crowds it does draw tend to be families, serious divers and Broward residents who know what they're coming for. Spring break energy stays south.
Parking fills quickly on weekends — arrive before ten or plan on a walk. The beach itself is public, wide and well kept. If you're combining it with time in Fort Lauderdale proper, treat Lauderdale-by-the-Sea as the decompression chamber: less noise, less speed, and a reef at the end of the street that the city to the south never managed to pave over.