Mary McLeod Bethune Beach Park

My daughter and I go here often for sunrise, as it's only about 40 minutes from the house and parking is free before 8am. I've been taking my children here for years and we always have the best time, whether it's a cold day and we just want to enjoy a picnic and walk on the beach, or hot summer day and we want to swim. Lots of shells, cute little playground for the kiddos, an outdoor shower area and nice sized bathrooms for changing. Before my daughter left for college my girlfriend's and I took the girls for sunrise and Bible Study and it was breathtaking! A really great spot for the entire family 🤍

Every year we book a pavilion on the beach here! We had a wonderful time with our family reunion this time. Everyone was comfortable, the area was clean and easy to navigate to. The bathrooms are close and convenient for elderly guest and children. The beach is right in front of you. It was safe for our children to play in the area and the pavilion made it safe for us when it rained to continue our picnic and family reunion festivities. Definitely will continue to book the pavilions at this park for family events. My only concern was the $20 parking per car in certain areas of the park. This was not made clear, and signs were not in front of every parking space or area. It would’ve been helpful to inform my guests that although we as organizers are Volusia County residents, and also paid to rent out the pavilion, that every guest still has to pay for parking. One of our Illinois guests received a $70 ticket during our visit while sitting in their car facing the beach.

This is a nice beach area. The sand is more coarse than Daytona beaches. The surf is rougher as well. There is not a lot of beach area when the tide is up. It is beautiful here and a great place for surf fishing. There is off beach parking. There is paid parking available, or if you're a volusia county resident, it's free with a permit. There is a lot of fishing from this beach due to deeper waters and less beach area. Near the beach area are public restrooms and covered picnic tables

This is one of my favorite spots to see manatees and dolphins. Great launch for paddle/kayak. Close to JBs Fish Camp. Watch out for tourists. They can often be found encroaching on the spaces of endangered manatees and allowing their unruly children to splash about disrupting the serenity.

Nice park. Three good picnic areas. One very large. Grassy area which is nice to lay a blanket down or put your chair out. Several showers. Was very clean and not a lot of people. The beach area is great. Nice sand and lots of great shells.

This is a beautiful beach, pristine coastline, amazing place to walk. I went on a day it was sunny but also Mist and fog was coming in- it was still stunning. I loved watching the fisherman who was there, loved watching them catch bait and just enjoy the day. There's a ton of ground shells and sand- it feels wonderful to walk in but beware- I walked through my house with it on my shoes and the next morning a piece literally sliced my foot! Brush your shoes off before going home! Otherwise I was fine walking barefoot all day. Around 3 or 4ish the surfers came- it was fun watching them stretch and paddle out to catch waves. It's a beautiful site to watch them surfing, the waves coming in, and seeing people walk along the beach so they can enjoy the surf. The parking along the walkway is good, a few one way streets but the sand and wheels are probably 6- 12 inches deep. That's an actually parking lot at the park worth shaded places to sit- is really pretty too. We brought a pucnic lunch to eat, as did several others. I'm not too sure if there's a lot of restaurants but i did see quite a few on the other side driving out. If you want some rest and rekaxation, being a blanket or chairs and plan on exploring. It's a Great free way to spend the day at the beach!!

Has the feel of a quiet local spot as opposed to the beaches towards downtown. It also boasts plenty of shells. It has large well kept restrooms and outdoor showers. Currently you have to get to the sand via stairs as the handicap ramp is temporarily destroyed.

Very beautiful park! It made the perfect place for an amazing proposal for my client! Bluehazelphoto loves this park!

We held a family birthday party and rented a pavilion and it was an amazing experience! The park did a great job of making sure the pavilion was marked as reserved and guided us to where we needed to be. The pavilion was clean and had plenty of seating. There was beach access, bathrooms, and plenty of parking. We got the pavilion for the whole day and absolutely loved it. There was a playground and basketball court nearby as well. It wasn't too busy and it was the best place for a party. I highly recommend it!

Why 5 Stars??? Well 1st, Free Parking at Bethune Beach Park; 2nd, if you've been in the water, the public restrooms there also have showers so the ability to wash/rinse off before getting into your vehicle is a real selling point; 3rd, while I am Caucasian, I'm the proud uncle & great uncle of a handsome biracial nephew and 2 exceedingly beautiful great nieces so the Park's history was something I enjoyed sharing with my family. BTW, not all beaches are "pet friendly" which is something I learned when 1st visiting. Bethune Beach IS NOT a pet friendly beach so leave those furry family members home. I did witness a deputy politely remind a family dogs weren't allowed there.

Beautiful, well maintained beach and picnic area. Two roomy pavilions are available with plenty of tables. The bathroom is cleaner than most beach bathrooms, and there's an outdoor shower. Lots of free parking beach side. ADA access is currently unavailable due to last year's hurricane season. Great place to find shells.

This unassuming little beach in New Smyrna is a serious gem! The shoreline is really small at high tide but there is still room to set up your little spot for the day. Looks like a few surfers like this spot, although there isn't a lifeguard on duty. There is a lot of free parking available right up along the sea wall and in a couple lots near the attached park! The restrooms are very well maintained. There are several picnic tables. It is clear that they are doing what they can to encourage social distancing. I did notice that the ramp down to the beach is closed because of storm damage. Because of this you have to take stairs to get down to the beach (this may be limiting to some). Avoiding the crowds of the more popular beaches and going here instead is a really great option.

Our go-to parking spot! Free to park AND public bathrooms for the win also showers to get that sand off before you drive home. If you are looking to be on the No-drive part of the beach, this is the parking area for you! But shhhhh, don't tell everyone!

What on earth happened to the beaches on this coast recently?! I live in Orlando and was just here last week. YUCK. There is no sand, it is all sharp shells and bugs/gnats all over the place. We only stayed for 45 mins because the gnats were so bothersome. The shells stuck to our legs and arms, and were a pain to get off. We were in north New Smyrna Beach a few months back. We drove onto the beach and the sand was decent (of course nothing compared to the west coast sand). So I'm not sure why this area, just a few miles south, was so terrible. Also the public restrooms were closed and portable toilets were set up, gross. 0/10 do not recommend this stretch of beach!

This used to be my favorite beach before the hurricanes took much of the beach away, especially at high tide. Now with the social distancing restrictions the picnic areas are closed as are the public restrooms. The plus is parking for this beach is free and there are no cars on the beach.

This beach was a pleasant surprise! We were actually headed to New Smyrna Beach, but we were arriving mid afternoon on Saturday and a lot of the parking there was already full. We kept driving and found this place only a few miles down the road. There was still parking (although not a lot), and it was free. I also noticed a police offer patrolling the parking lot most of the day, so I wasn't worried about anyone snooping around the car. The beach itself was wonderful. It was busy but not too crowded, and we easily found an empty spot to set up. The beach is pretty shell-y and hot, so make sure you wear shoes. The water was a pretty blue/green and the temperature was great in July. I did see some reviews about bugs, but we did not experience any problems. I did see an ant or two, but nothing that bugged me. And I hate bugs. There were a lot of pelicans, and around 5 o'clock, they started diving into the water trying to catch some dinner. We watched them for a better part of an hour, and it was pretty entertaining! I would absolutely come to this beach over Cocoa Beach any day.

This 6 acre plot of land set aside for public use is named in honor of Mary McLeod Bethume and acknowledges a commitment by the county and city to ensure there are green spaces and access to the beautiful beaches here in NSB. Things to do: Basketball court, boardwalk, canoeing, community building, fishing, pavilion, picnic area, playground, restrooms, swimming, tennis court, volleyball court In Memory of Mary McLeod Bethune Biography Educator, Civil Rights Activist (1875-1955) Mary McLeod Bethune was an educator and activist, serving as president of the National Association of Colored Women and founding the National Council of Negro Women. Synopsis Born on July 10, 1875, in Mayesville, South Carolina, Mary McLeod Bethune was a child of former slaves. She graduated from the Scotia Seminary for Girls in 1893. Believing that education provided the key to racial advancement, Bethune founded the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute in 1904, which later became Bethune-Cookman College. She founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935. Bethune died in 1955.

One of the few places in New Smyrna with free parking. I love that even on the weekends if you get here before noon you can find a close spot. What you need to know is that while there are a whole lot less tourists here, there are a couple big annoyances I've never noticed anywhere else in New Smyrna. As another reviewer said: bugs. I saw a few as we were putting down our umbrella and came home with a few bites. Pack some bug spray if you plan on coming here. The other big issue is the sand. While the other beaches in New Smyrna mostly still have the nice white sand, this beach has red sand (which is a fancy way of saying sand made of a bunch of broken shells). I read it's because the tides and hurricanes are pulling in sand from the north. It's much looser and harder to walk on. Lastly, while New Smyrna isn't known for bright blue water, the water here was brown rather than the gray-blue of the area. The only reason I could find for this was the area may be too close to an aquifer but there's no official statement on the water condition.

Incredible hidden gem in NSB. Spend a lot of time here both beachside and riverside. Wonderful little playground and walk round at the riverside. Excellent for sunsets and spotting dolphin and manatee.

I love this beach it's so nice and their are a lot less people here the up the road. Great place to watch the sunrise and a moon rise. Has showers and a bathroom and has covered places to eat and get out of the sun. Not a lot of parking so come early to get a good spot.

(May 2019) Oh my goodness! This was so fun! You could see probably two dozen manatees from the little boardwalk and from the shore of the west side of the park (along the waterway, across the road from the actual beach). We discovered this little park actually by kayaking over to the manatees from JP's Fish Camp. We weren't expecting to see manatees, as May seemed to be too late for their breeding season, but they were so active! Kayaking with them was a ton of fun, but even just standing on the boardwalk gave a great view of them.

Nude beach if that's your thing. Old people with all their junk out. Legs sprawled out for all to see. Must feel like freedom but, I'll pass.

Found this beach a few miles down from New Smyrna. Was looking for hourly rates but everywhere was $20 to park so I kept driving down. Not a bad beach, only thing I don't care for is the wet sand. Can't beat the free parking and there were plenty of spots when I came mid day!

My husband and I went here with his family on Mother's Day Weekend and although we've lived in Florida for over 15 years, we had never been to this particular beach park. So, we kept an open mind. First the positives. It's easy to find, it's technically New Smyrna Beach, using Google Maps we arrived from Altamonte Springs without issue in a decent amount of time. Second, there's plenty of FREE parking however, we suspect the reason for all the available parking was the upcoming rain. We were aware it was going to rain around 1pm but before leaving the house his mom decided we should chance it, but I don't think a lot of other people wanted to take the same chance. The beach was not very crowded. Third, the bathrooms were spacious and clean, and there are outdoor showers to rinse off. Last, there IS a Lifeguard on Duty. Now for the negative, since there's only one. Bug bites! I was covered in bug bites, a few days later my father-in-law told us he and his wife were covered in bug bites, he called his daughter and son-in-law and they said the same thing. I noticed them while we were there, they were these teeny tiny itty bitty golden insects. I only noticed them because while I was reading my book, I saw one on two separate occasions, crawling on the page of my book. I should've taken a photo. Never in my entire life have I experienced insects at the beach. My husband did once in Honduras and said that what he dealt with were sand fleas but that these were too small to be sand fleas. Thankfully, we were only there for 2 hours as it did eventually start raining, but I can't imagine having spent all day there. Regardless, they were enough of a nuisance for us not to return, why? There are too many beaches in Florida to deal with getting insect bites!

First time at the park and very impressed! It was easy to find, parking is FREE (major score!) they have clean bathrooms and easy access to the beach. Cant wait to return again.