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Vilano Beach

Pups are welcome to join you at Vilano Beach, a pet-friendly beach northeast of St. Augustine, FL on the A1A Scenic and historical byway. Dogs should be on a leash at all times. Owners are required to properly dispose of all pet waste immediately. Visit Website

Or call (904) 209-0331 for more information.

Reviews

BringFido Guest Rating
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Vilano Beach has received a rating of 4.8 out of 5 bones by 30 canine critics on BringFido and 4.5 out of 5 by 458 guests on TripAdvisor.


Visitors find Vilano Beach to be a clean, well-maintained, and dog-friendly destination. They appreciate the ample space for dogs to run and play, though some note the beach's soft, crushed shells can be harsh on their paws.

AI-generated from the text of reviews

  • Kirstin Meg
    Aug 21, 2024
    One of my favorite Florida beaches

    Perfect for dogs and people to enjoy. There’s a section on the beach where you can go off roading and park in the sand with your pup. Great for Fourth of July and other occasions to keep your dog on or off leash. I would say this beach would be great for those who can swim extremely well by also be close to the shoreline.

  • Haley
    Jun 20, 2024
    5/5 for a LEASHED beach

    This beach is really so beautiful. It’s really clean, there is a lot of room, the sand is soft, it’s easy to get to. However, it is really unfortunate that it’s a leash beach. It 100% gives human beach vibes.
    So 5/5 stars for the beach as a whole, but like 3/5 stars for it being a DOG beach. There were no trash cans to throw your doggie poop bags away, there is no rinse station to wash off the sand as you are leaving & as I said previously your dog must be on a leash. (And yes they do continuously patrol the beach)

  • Cindy
    May 28, 2024
    Lovely Beach

    This was a perfect beach to walk and let our Pup play and cool off in the gentle waves. Found a few shells too!

  • Stella
    Feb 13, 2024
    Great time!

    Had a great time with our 2 pups on the beach. Peaceful. Clean.

  • Jen
    Jan 25, 2024
    Great

    Wonderful beach dogs allowed. Very shell-ful? Wear your water shoes or flip flops!

  • Jennifer
    Jul 2, 2023
    Dog friendly

    our pup loved vilano!

  • Audrey
    Mar 27, 2023
    Beautiful beach, fur babies, nice people

    We had a bit of a gps problem finding this beach, but once we got there it was worth it! Mochi loved it so much we decided to extend our stay for another night. It was a bit more crowded than expected, but all were very accepting and he got a lot of hellos and he gave out smooches!

  • Bailey
    Jan 9, 2023
    Great dog friendly beach!

    super chill atmosphere and not busy at all! a great, safe location. my dog LOVED it! will be frequenting.

  • Chergi
    Aug 29, 2022
    Favorite Beach

    We love Vilano Beach and frequently visit with our Winston. There is a leash law, but with our retractable leash Winston has plenty of lead to run. The beach is clean, white sands, bathroom facilities and walking distance to few restaurants and Publix.

  • Melissa
    Aug 7, 2022
    Great beach to visit with dogs

    Great beach. Was never crowded. Sand is very clean. Can walk a good distance into the water before getting deep. All of the beach goers were quite welcoming to our corgi and GSD. Make sure to bring water and poop bags.

  • Nicole
    May 28, 2022
    Very dog friendly

    lots of dogs at this beach. it’s not too crowded even on a holiday weekend. great beach for shell hunting too. dogs allowed all year round at any time of day.

  • Paige
    Apr 10, 2022
    Perfect beach!

    We came to this beach 3 days in a row because it wasn’t too crowded, dog friendly, and overall a really nice beach. There were several other dogs so it seems to be a popular spot to bring them. You are supposed to have them on leash, but on a less crowded day you could let them go off leash. We saw several people playing fetch off leash and allowed our guys to be off on one of less busy days as well, nobody bothered us about it (just be smart).

  • Stacy
    Jul 11, 2020
    Weenies enjoyed the beach

    We walked around that whole area late afternoon and the dogs had a lot of fun. They weren't sure about the waves but they still splashed a bit. Even better, there was a rinse station outside so we could get the sand off. Another plus, it was free lol.

  • Brandon
    Jun 23, 2020
    Good time

    Good dog beach however is not off leash as some other comments stated. Was slightly disappointed by that however it was still a dog friendly beach.

  • Damyka
    Feb 20, 2020
    OFF LEASH BEACH!

    This was an amazing find. I found on our adventures in Florida this weekend that minimal beaches are even dog friendly. I found one near Daytona beach, that one you still had to have them on a leash.

    This beach is one of my favorites now.. we got to drive right down on the beach and my dogs were able to run and splash in the water!

  • Tina
    Nov 21, 2019
    Dog Friendly Fun

    It was too cold to go in the water, but my two fur babies had fun just running around.

  • Jeanette
    Oct 6, 2019
    Peaceful Beach!

    This beach was very peaceful and clean. It was my dog’s first time at the beach and it was a nice experience. It is pet friendly, but very clean. I live in Miami and most pet friendly beaches are gross, but not this one. Thanks Fido for the recommendation!

  • Kayla
    Jul 18, 2019
    More Water Plz

    Great beach not over crowded and no e and clean. Only reason for 4 bones is it needed water stations at entrances for pups. With it being hot pups went through the water pretty quick. Other then that great beach

  • Andrea
    Jun 10, 2019
    It's Closed!

    The stretch of the beach to drive on and being the dogs us closed and has been for over a year. They have not opened since the last hurricane and do not plan on oppwnin any time soon 😭😭 surrounding beach is dog friendly but not much space to park

  • Cynthia
    Jul 31, 2018
    Awesome beach

    This is an awesome beach to bring the dogs to. It was very pet friendly, clean, and my dogs loved it. The beach is mostly crushed up shells which is kinda harsh on your feet but its not too terrible. The address is very wrong for the beach it takes you through a neighborhood to a small clearing in between some houses. When you follow the GPS it will tell you to make a right by the publix, do not make a right, instead make a left it will take you to some parking spots and you have to walk down to the beach you cant park on the beach.

  • Katrina
    More than a year ago
    Awesome

    Great beach and super dog friendly. Very clean beach..I love that I can walk with my dogs with no hour restrictions, that is being pet friendly. Beaches is my fav restaurant because u get the most bang for ur buck and food is good and drinks are just right. Plus I can bring my dogs...I have 4 dogs I always board 2 and take 2 ...so I am grateful I actually found a dog friendly relaxing beach where I need not worry about beach patrol approaching me because I have a dog and I can have a mixed drink before I walk the beach line back for sun down with my dogs...now that's a vacation...I am really sick of sham dog friendly beaches where I have to use a doggie day camp cause of hour restrictions, that is posing to be dog friendly. Those beaches should be excluded from Fido cause in reality hour restrictions for dogs on a beach is not pet friendly, and I have to weed through those places..I can afford a thousand dollar boarding at home per dog in a ritzy place for them , so I have been mislead by dog friendly places on Fido and come to find out the dog friendly area is an acre or less or hour restrictedblah so I will spend it in communities that welcome my behaved trained dogs like Vilano beach...and yes my dogs r professionally trained even therapy dogs. So I get pissed and posing dog friendly beaches when I have to deal with other people's yelling crying sand throwing kids. this is absolutely they most dog friendly place I have ever been . I can even go to several museums with my dog and It is so peaceful.

  • Heather
    More than a year ago
    Nice beach

    This beach is quiet, family friendly and clean. My only complaint is its suppose to be doggie friendly, right? So where were the trash cans to throw away dog poop? Add some of those along the beach accesses and I will give you 5 stars when I return next year.

  • Kiera
    More than a year ago
    great day!!

    Spent all day here with my field spaniel. It was really nice to have the car right on the beach. Lots of dogs, ALL on leashes! Everyone was well behaved!!

  • Natalia
    More than a year ago
    Great beach!

    The beach is amazing. You can park your car on the beach. The address is incorrect. Look for the Publix Super Market at Vilano Beach Town Center

  • Alex
    More than a year ago
    Leashed Beach is a plus!

    After living near the Gulf it was awesome to have my pup experience some Atlantic Ocean waves (low tide only)! I loved the beaches - not crowded clean with security and life guard on duty. Most people would think the leash a negative and while sometimes it did get in the way I prefer the leash when visiting new places with new dogs. All of the dog owners and dogs were very respectful and It made for a great evening! Only down side is the added orange sand (very hot and Shelly)

  • Emily
    More than a year ago
    Rough on the feet

    From all the reviews I was so excited to go, however I was disappointed when I could barley run around with my pups because the sand was not sand, it was all crushed up shells and it hurt to walk on. The city of saint augustine however was beautiful and walking around the town with the dogs was much more fun.

  • Ann
    More than a year ago
    Lovely Beach

    Park on beach. Dog and family friendly. Keep dog on leash. Fun afternoon!

  • Diane
    More than a year ago
    Great Beach

    This is a super beach for dogs. Lots of space for running and a little sea refuse for sniffing. There is even a water shower at the entrance to clean any sand of everyone's feet.

  • Michelle
    More than a year ago
    beach

    Fantastic for dogs and people!

  • Sheila
    More than a year ago
    dog friendly beach

    Favorite dog beach in St Augustine, FL. can drive on the beach. 2nd favorite dog beach is the beach next to MarineLand.

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Area Info

Vilano Beach