Bathtub Reef Beach(Bathtub Beach)

Located near the southern end of South Hutchinson Island, Bathtub Reef Beach - also known as Bathtub Beach - is a popular curve-shaped beach with soft light brown sand. Many kinds of plants are present around this beach including dune grasses, sea oats, and palm trees. A reef named Bathtub Reef is present in the water near this beach. This reef has many small holes and tubes which are created by a sea worm named the sabellariid sea worm.  Bathtub Reef Beach gets its name from the calm and shallow bathtub-like water present near the beach during low tide in summers - this water condition occurs due to Bathtub Reef preventing the formation of aquatic waves and currents.  This beach has also been featured in the National Geographic magazine.  This beach frequently faces immense erosion during seasonal storms, which greatly reduces its size. 

Bathtub Reef Beach has many amenities including lifeguards (available between 10 am and 5 pm), restrooms, showers, boardwalks, picnic areas, benches, and a gazebo. 

Bathtub Reef Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, wildlife watching, picnicking, fishing, surfing, kitesurfing, windsurfing, snorkeling, scuba diving, boating, jet-skiing, parasailing, surf-skiing, kayaking, canoeing, wakeboarding and water-skiing.  The water near Bathtub Reef Beach is generally calm and shallow during summers, making it ideal for children and beginner swimmers.  A portion of the water near this beach also offers good waves for kitesurfers and windsurfers.  The water here is immensely popular among scuba divers and snorkelers, who enter it to explore the Bathtub Reef.  This reef is home to hundreds of aquatic creatures, and depending on the time of the year you can see many kinds of animals here including sea turtles and a large variety of fish including sergeant majors, sharks, and grouper. However, if you are planning to enter the water near Bathtub Reef Beach, we recommend being careful as the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents and dangerous waves, especially during autumn and winter. If you are planning to fish in the water near Bathtub Reef Beach, we recommend ensuring compliance with the local fishing regulations.

Getting to Bathtub Reef Beach is easy - the beach is present near 1585 SouthEast MacArthur Boulevard, where a free parking lot is also present. However, we recommend visiting this beach early as the parking lot here can fill up quickly.  You can call Martin County’s Beach information hotline at (772) 320-3112 before visiting Bathtub Reef Beach for more information about the prevalent water conditions, local weather reports, and lifeguard deployments.

There are many attractions near Bathtub Reef Beach.  House of Refuge Museum is set in a late 19th century building which was initially built to provide accommodation to stranded sailors - this house is a part of the United States’ National Register of Historic Places. The House of Refuge Museum now primarily showcases the evolution of naval life-saving equipment over the span of time. The Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center is a 57-acre center which is home to 4,300 species of plants and animals. The center also offers a 750,000-gallon Game Fish Lagoon, a touch tank, multiple nature trails, and informative educational programs. If you are looking for another attraction near Bathtub Reef Beach, Sandsprit Park is a waterfront recreational park that offers many amenities including a boardwalk, biking path, a boat ramp, a fishing pier, picnic areas, a playground, and restrooms.

If you get hungry, there are many great restaurants near Bathtub Reef Beach. Chef’s Table is an upscale restaurant which serves delicious Italian and New American dishes for lunch and dinner. Crawdaddy’s is a popular restaurant that serves excellent Cajun dishes for lunch and dinner including gumbo, jambalaya, and etouffee. The restaurant also hosts live music performances. If you are looking for another good and affordable restaurant near Bathtub Reef Beach, Alice’s Family Restaurant serves amazing dishes for breakfast and lunch including sandwiches, eggs, French toasts, pancakes, burgers, salads, seafood, pork dishes, poultry dishes, and hot dogs. 

If you are looking for a hotel near Bathtub Reef Beach, there are many great nearby options. The 4-Star Marriott Hutchinson Island Beach Resort, Golf & Marina offers many amenities including three pools, an exercise room, an 18-hole golf course, an American restaurant, and multiple tiki bars. A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star Home2 Suites by Hilton Stuart which is a 20-minute drive away and offers many amenities including combined fitness and laundry facilities, a lounge, and a pool. If you are looking for another good and affordable hotel near Bathtub Reef Beach, the 3-Star Quality Inn Downtown Stuart is also 20 minutes away by car and offers many amenities including a restaurant, a pool, guest laundry facilities, and complimentary breakfast.