Smathers vs. Higgs vs. Fort Zachary Taylor: three Key West beaches, compared with receipts

Ask three people in Key West where to swim and you may hear three names: Smathers, Higgs and Fort Zachary Taylor. They are run by different operators and built for different days, and the useful comparison is not which one photographs better. It is what each one charges, when it opens and closes, and what is on site when you arrive. We read each operator’s page on October 24, 2026 and linked every figure below to the page it came from.

The receipts, side by side

• Smathers Beach, City of Key West, as posted October 24, 2026: open sunrise to sunset; restrooms 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; no beach entry fee posted; parking $5 an hour, Monday to Saturday 8:00 a.m. to midnight and Sunday noon to midnight; no overnight parking.
• Clarence S. Higgs Memorial Beach, City of Key West, as posted October 24, 2026: open 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily; no fee posted on the facility page.
• Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, Florida State Parks, as posted October 24, 2026: open 8 a.m. until sundown, with the fort itself closing at 5 p.m.; $6 per vehicle for up to eight people plus a 50-cent Monroe County surcharge per person; $4.50 for a single-occupant vehicle or motorcycle; $2.50 for pedestrians and bicyclists.

By our arithmetic, a car of four pays $8 at the Fort Zachary Taylor gate and a full car of eight pays $10, on the fees Florida State Parks posted October 24, 2026. Three hours on the Smathers meter comes to $15 at the City of Key West rate posted the same day. For a carload, the state park is not automatically the expensive choice. Higgs’ facility page posts no parking rate, so we cannot price a Higgs afternoon.

• Smathers Beach (South Roosevelt Boulevard, Key West) is open sunrise to sunset, with restrooms open 7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. City of Key West: Smathers Beach
• Smathers Beach amenities: beach volleyball nets, restrooms, shower facilities. Parking is $5 per hour Monday-Saturday 8:00 a.m. to midnight and Sunday noon to midnight; residential permits are valid 4 hours once per day; no overnight parking. City of Key West: Smathers Beach
• Clarence S. Higgs Memorial Beach, 1040 Atlantic Boulevard, Key West, is open 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily and operated by the City of Key West. City of Key West: Clarence S. Higgs Memorial Beach
• Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park is open 8 a.m. until sundown, 365 days a year; the fort closes at 5 p.m. Florida State Parks: Fort Zachary Taylor hours & fees
• Fort Zachary Taylor admission: $6 per vehicle (up to eight people) plus a 50-cent Monroe County surcharge per person; $4.50 single-occupant vehicle or motorcycle (surcharge included); $2.50 pedestrians, bicyclists and extra passengers (surcharge included). Florida State Parks: Fort Zachary Taylor hours & fees

Smathers: the long one

The City calls Smathers the largest public beach in Key West, approximately half a mile on the island’s south side along the Atlantic and State Road A1A, hosting approximately 150,000 patrons a year. The amenity list on the City’s Smathers page is short: beach volleyball nets, restrooms and showers. That is the trade. You get room to spread out and walk, and little else on site.

Two parking details are easy to miss. Residential permits are good for four hours once per day, and overnight parking is not allowed. On Sundays the posted paid hours start at noon rather than 8:00 a.m., per the City of Key West, as posted October 24, 2026.

• The City of Key West calls Smathers Beach the largest public beach in Key West, approximately half a mile long on the island's south side along the Atlantic and State Road A1A, hosting approximately 150,000 patrons annually. City of Key West: Smathers Beach

Higgs: the late one, with a pier and a dog park

Higgs posts clock hours, 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily, where the other two close at sunset or sundown, per the City of Key West, as posted October 24, 2026. The City lists more than 16 acres of oceanfront beside the historic Casa Marina at the end of Reynolds Street, with a wide sandy beach, calm shallow water and a newly renovated wooden pier.

The on-site list runs long: two children’s playgrounds, a dog park, tennis and volleyball courts, 14 picnic tables, 17 barbecues, six tiki huts, showers, restrooms, chair, umbrella and sailboat concessions, and a restaurant. Next door, the Edward B. Knight White Street Pier reaches into the Atlantic, and the City points visitors to the Key West AIDS Memorial and the historic Key West African Cemetery.

The dog park is the City’s published dog facility in Key West. A separate off-leash dog beach that circulates in older guides is not confirmed on any City facility page we checked, so we do not list it. Our dog-friendly beaches page tracks that question.

• Higgs Beach offers more than 16 acres of oceanfront beside the historic Casa Marina at the end of Reynolds Street: a wide sandy beach, calm shallow waters, a newly renovated wooden pier, two children's playgrounds, a dog park, restrooms, tennis and volleyball courts, 14 picnic tables, 17 barbecues, six tiki huts, showers, beach chair/umbrella and sailboat concessions and a restaurant. City of Key West: Clarence S. Higgs Memorial Beach
• Beside Higgs Beach, the Edward B. Knight White Street Pier stretches into the Atlantic, and visitors can explore the Key West AIDS Memorial and the historic Key West African Cemetery. City of Key West: Clarence S. Higgs Memorial Beach
• ?Not confirmed: We have not yet confirmed a separate off-leash Dog Beach with the City; Higgs Beach's dog park is the city-published dog facility.

Fort Zachary Taylor: a state park with a fort attached

Florida State Parks calls the beach at the park’s southern end Key West’s favorite beach. That is the park’s phrase, not ours. What it lists there: picnicking, swimming, snorkeling, paddling and fishing, plus a concession and restaurant, restrooms and a shower station. The fort predates the Civil War, and the park says it houses the largest cache of Civil War armament in the world.

The park address is 601 Howard England Way, and the City of Key West locates the fort at the end of Southard Street through the Truman Annex. The City adds that guided tours of the fort run daily and that re-enactors give historic demonstrations on the third weekend of each month. Plan around the clock: the grounds stay open until sundown, but the fort closes at 5 p.m., as Florida State Parks posted it October 24, 2026.

• The park's southern end holds what Florida State Parks calls Key West's favorite beach, with picnicking, swimming, snorkeling, paddling and fishing, plus a concession and restaurant, restroom facilities and a shower station. Florida State Parks: Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park
• Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park: 601 Howard England Way, Key West, FL 33040; 305-292-6713. The City of Key West locates the fort at the end of Southard Street through the Truman Annex. Florida State Parks and City of Key West facilities page
• Fort Zachary Taylor predates the Civil War and is a National Historic Monument the park says houses the largest cache of Civil War armament in the world; the City of Key West says guided tours of the fort are available daily, and re-enactors conduct historic demonstrations the third weekend of each month. Florida State Parks and City of Key West facilities page

Which one fits your day

• A long walk and room for a group: Smathers, with the meter in mind.
• An early start, a late finish, a pier, or a dog along for the walk: Higgs.
• Snorkel gear, a picnic and an hour inside a fort: Fort Zachary Taylor, with the fort’s earlier closing in mind.
• Four or more people in one car: run the arithmetic above before assuming the city beach costs less.

The other City beaches

The City’s Smathers page describes Smathers as one of the four beaches within the City, yet the City publishes separate facility pages for five places: Smathers, Higgs, South Beach, Rest Beach / C.B. Harvey Park and Simonton Street Beach. We do not count them for the City; we name them.

South Beach sits at the southern end of Duval Street, with warm shallow water and the Emma Carrero Cates Pier, open sunrise to sunset. Rest Beach / C.B. Harvey Park, at White Street and Atlantic Boulevard, is open 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., with soft sand for wading and plenty of shade. Simonton Street Beach is a small beach with a recreational boat ramp, open 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., with parking at $6 an hour and a 10-hour maximum. All of those hours and the rate are as posted October 24, 2026 by the City of Key West.

• The City of Key West describes Smathers as one of the four beaches within the City. City of Key West: Smathers Beach
• South Beach is at the southern end of Duval Street, Key West (ocean side), open sunrise to sunset, with warm shallow waters and the Emma Carrero Cates Pier; the City notes it is said playwright Tennessee Williams came to South Beach for a swim almost every day he lived in Key West. City of Key West: South Beach
• Rest Beach / C.B. Harvey Park (White Street and Atlantic Boulevard, Key West) is open 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.; it features soft sand for wading and shell searching, picnic tables and plenty of shade, with the Key West AIDS Memorial a few yards away at the Edward B. Knight Pier entrance. City of Key West: Rest Beach / C.B. Harvey Park
• Simonton Street Beach (0 Simonton Street, Key West) is a small downtown beach with a recreational boat ramp, open 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.; restrooms open 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; parking $6 per hour with a 10-hour maximum and limited boat-trailer parking. City of Key West resource directory: Simonton Street Beach & Parking Lot

All five City beaches and the state park are on our Key West beaches page, and every fee in the inventory, in its operator’s wording, is on the beach fees page.

Key West beach questions

Written by the Florida Keys Beaches Editorial Team. Some content may be AI-generated. People check every fact before it publishes.

Dates, rules and hours can change. The organisers have the final word: Florida State Parks (official site)