From Amelia Island to Clearwater, these Florida beach destinations have something for everyone in the family.

As a 35-year resident, Ive visited all the nooks and crannies.

Read on for 18 of the best family beaches in Florida.

The coastline along South Florida in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Credit:Art Wager/Getty Images

The enormous live oaks with Spanish moss lend a retreat-style seclusion to the island.

Once youve had your fill of cultural attractions,St.

Augustine Beachoffers beaches with gentle waves.

A row of chairs and umbrellas on Panama City Beach, Florida

Michael Warren/Getty Images

Hollywood Beach

Christine944/Getty Images

There’s something about a boardwalk that makes a beach particularly attractive.

Two parks offer a little respite for families.

Its common to catch sea turtles nesting at dawn on the 22 miles of serene beach in early summer.

Sign for a pier

Sign for the Cocoa Beach Pier.Valerie de Leon/Travel + Leisure

This 400-acre state park features quartz-laden sand that doesn’t get hot and rare coastal dune lakes to paddle.

you’re able to camp in the state park or take advantage of the nearbyWaterColor Inn & Resort.

There’s plenty of space for building sandcastles, playing beach volleyball, and jumping in gentle waves.

Empty beach

Buildings along the beach on Amelia Island.Valerie de Leon/Travel + Leisure

The nearby Sandpearl Resort offers panoramic views of Clearwater, Mandalay Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Siesta Beach

A beach that has its own dedicated sand-sculpting competition?

TheSiesta Key Crystal Classichappens every November on the eight miles of quartz-laden, sugar-soft sand ofthis beach destination.

Aerial view of Pensacola Beach

Art Wager/Getty Images

Yellow cabanas on St Pete Beach

Michela Sieman/Travel + Leisure

Colorful buildings

Colorful buildings around St. Augustine, Florida.Valerie de Leon/Travel + Leisure

Sunset on a beach

Sunset on Hollywood, Beach.Christine944/Getty Images

A pier leading to a lighthouse

A lighthouse on St. George Island.Courtesy of Visit Florida

Aerial view of an island

Aerial view of Grayton State Park.Courtesy of Visit Florida

Umbrellas on a beach

Beach umbrellas in Destin, Florida.Tessa Desjardins/Travel + Leisure

Long extension beaches and calmed sea at Marco Island Beach, Gulf of Mexico, Florida, USA. Palm thatch at the beach in a summer sunny day.

White sand beach on Marco Island.Pola Damonte/Getty Images

Aerial view of a beach

A road by a beach in Fort Lauderdale.Kelsey Glennon/Travel + Leisure

Buildings around the water

Harbor of Clearwater, Florida.Michela Sieman/Travel + Leisure

A beach

A beach in New Smyrna, Florida.Valerie de Leon/Travel + Leisure

Paradise beach at Fort Zachary Taylor Park, Florida

Simon Dannhauer/Getty Images

A lifeguard tower at an idyllic beach in a sunny summer day. Siesta Key beach at Sarasota, Florida, USA in the Gulf of Mexico. Emerald water and white sand with a national american flag in the wind.

Lifeguard stand on Siesta Key.Pola Damonte/Getty Images

Aerial photo of Pompano Beach FL summer scene

Aerial view of Pompano Beach pier.felixmizioznikov/Getty Images

Pier in Naples, Florida

D E N N I S A X E R Photography/Getty Images