From the first time you step onto the uncrowded Atlantic sands of AIP, you’ll know you picked the perfect place to call home. Learn more about ways to reach the beach, as well how the community and county work together to make sure our beloved beach remains a pristine habitat for ourselves and the birds and sea turtles who rely on it.
Community Access Points
AIPCA provides walkovers for community access to the beach at six locations. Three have limited parking available.
Nassau County also has beach access points with parking to the north and south of Amelia Island Plantation — Burney Park, 95570 Burney Road, and the South End Walkover, 8014 First Coast Highway.
Burney Park has showers, restrooms and picnic tables, and is staffed with lifeguards daily from Memorial Day in May through Labor Day in September.
Beach conditions/alerts
AIPCA owns the beach contiguous to our property, but regulations regarding permitted activities and uses are set by Nassau County. There are no lifeguards on duty or beach flag conditions posted along the beach within AIP.
The City of Fernandina Beach for has a beach safety dashboard at safebeachday.com/fernandina-city/ with real-time information on surf safety conditions including rip currents, water temperature and wave height. You can also see where manned lifeguard stands are located from the city’s beaches on the north end, down to the Nassau County beaches on the south end. It also offers text alerts on current beach flag conditions. Click the “Subscribe to Alerts” button and enter your phone number.
Leave No Trace
Be aware that Nassau County Ordinance No. 2016-06 prohibits personal property being left unattended on the beach overnight within the unincorporated areas of Amelia Island. This includes the beach within AIP. Personal items left on the beach between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. daily are subject to be removed and destroyed by contractors engaged by Nassau County.
Only your footprints should remain on the beach when you depart. By Nassau County ordinance, any belongings left unattended on the beach after 8 p.m. daily will be removed and discarded. This includes tents, tent poles, cabanas, coolers and any other personal effects.
- Sand
- Sandcastles are fun by day, but holes can be dangerous for other beachgoers, sea turtles and even birds, so fill in holes before you depart the beach.
- Four-Legged Friends
- For the comfort and safety of all, pets must be leashed at all times on Amelia Island’s beaches; pet guardians are responsible for removing their animal’s waste.
- Ordinance
- To maintain respect for nature and others around us, we like to abide by the rules. Click here to review our local ordinance.
SAISSA
AIPCA appoints a majority of the board of the South Amelia Island Shore Stabilization Association (SAISSA). Incorporated in 2000, SAISSA is a Florida not-for-profit corporation created to manage beach renourishment projects on the south end of Amelia Island. Through an agreement with Nassau County, SAISSA administers the projects of the South Amelia Island Municipal Services Benefit Unit (MSBU) which undertakes and finances beach renourishment within the boundaries of the MSBU.
This MSBU service area is comprised of oceanfront boundaries that extend from the southern limit of Burney Park on the north to the northern limit of the Amelia Island State Park on the south and encompasses all of AIP (except for Osprey Village); the Amelia and Seaside Retreats; the Residence and Residence Commons; the Sanctuary; and the undeveloped tract between the state park and the Sanctuary. Both developed and undeveloped properties are included.
SAISSA’s most recent beach renourishment was completed in early 2022, adding an average of 8 to 10 feet of sand to the elevation of the beach and widening the beach up to 200 feet. For more information, go to www.saissa.com.