Keeping horses near St. Augustine: beach access and coastal horse country

Yes, you can keep horses near St. Augustine and still enjoy practical beach access, with one important distinction: the City of St. Augustine Beach prohibits horses on its public beach, while St. Johns County allows horseback riding on designated county beaches with a free special-use permit.

Most of the county's horse properties sit in the western farming communities of Hastings and Elkton, roughly 25 to 45 minutes from the coast. Beach riding from a St. Johns County farm is a trailering outing rather than a ride from the barn door, and planned that way, the coast and horse country fit together well.

The short answer is yes, on county beaches, with two conditions: a free permit and a designated access point. The City of St. Augustine Beach makes it unlawful for a horse to be present on its public beach at any time, under Chapter 5, Section 5-12 of its code of ordinances.

St. Johns County takes a different approach. Through its Special Use Beach Access Permits program, the county allows horseback riding on about 30 of its 41.1 miles of coastline, but only at designated access points and only with a free special-use permit issued under the county's Habitat Conservation Plan.

Designated riding accesses include Mickler's Landing Beachfront Park in Ponte Vedra; the Exxon Beach Access on Guana River Road, managed by the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, where riding is allowed only below the mean high water line; Surfside Beach Access on Coastal Highway; and the south beaches at Frank Butler Park East near Crescent Beach, accessed by the Mary Street Ramp.

The Crescent Beach access is the closest designated riding beach to St. Augustine, roughly 10 miles south of downtown. Riding is not permitted within Fort Matanzas National Monument, and access can close for erosion or spring break, so it is worth confirming current status before you trailer out.

The permit is free. It is issued under St. Johns County's Habitat Conservation Plan, which pairs beach riding with protections for the species that share the shore, including sea turtles, Anastasia Island beach mice, and shorebirds.

The application process is straightforward: review the protected-species training materials, complete the quiz, choose your permit level, and send a signed application to the county's Habitat Conservation Section, based at 3171 Coastal Hwy in St. Augustine. Processing can take up to two weeks, so riders plan ahead rather than for the same week.

Permit levels fit how you ride: a Class I General Equestrian Beach Guide for regular riders, a Class II General Equestrian Day Pass for occasional rides, and a Master Equestrian Beach Guide for experienced guides. Riding hours vary by access point and season, so the posted schedule for your chosen beach is part of the plan.

Horse country in St. Johns County centers on Hastings and Elkton, the historic farming communities west of the city, where I live on a horse farm myself. This is the landscape of the county's horse properties: vegetable fields, horse pastures, working family farms, and quiet country roads.

The St. Johns County Equestrian Center anchors the local scene at 8200 Smith Rd in Hastings, and the county maintains designated horseback riding trails across more than 120 acres. Practical drive times from farm country to the coast are the real trade-off: roughly 25 to 30 minutes from Hastings to downtown St. Augustine, 30 to 40 minutes to Vilano Beach, and 35 to 45 minutes to St. Augustine Beach, depending on traffic.

For a St. Johns County horse property, beach access is a trailering plan rather than a hack from the barn. The realistic question is how often you will load up and ride the beach, and whether the farm makes that outing easy.

I help buyers check the details that make the difference: trailer access that does not require backing into traffic, a place to park the truck and trailer, a route that stays reasonable on summer weekends, and awareness that every access point has seasonal rules and possible closures. The farm itself still has to support your horses day to day, which matters more than any weekend outing.

If beach riding is a priority, the search naturally focuses on the western corridor where the horse properties are, and then on drive times from each farm to the coast, the Equestrian Center, and equine veterinary services. Two farms in the same community can sit very different distances from the water.

The same working-property standards apply as anywhere in Florida horse country: usable acreage, drainage, pasture, fencing, barns, arenas, water and power at the barn, plus zoning and permitted use confirmed with the county. I evaluate the property for the life you plan, including the beach part, and I measure the real drive times rather than guessing.

For buyers weighing the coast against deeper equestrian infrastructure, my comparison of Ocala and St. Augustine covers the trade-offs. Ocala offers the densest horse country in Florida; St. Johns County offers horse country close to the ocean. They are genuinely different lifestyles, and the right one depends on how you keep and use your horses.

The questions below come up in most searches, and honest answers make the difference between a right fit and a costly mistake. If yours is not here, I would be glad to answer it directly.