BEST BEACH TODAY
Best beach near Key West today
As of 12:23 AM ET on Friday, September 25, 2026. Scores move through the day as the weather does, so check again before you leave.
Today's best beach near Key West is Fort Zachary Taylor (Key West), with a ShoreScore of 89 out of 100: Definitely Go.
Warm air and water and calm surf.
Next: Key West (Smathers) at 88 and Higgs Beach (Key West) at 61.
See the full day and best window for Fort Zachary Taylor (Key West)
All 3 beaches within 25 miles of Key West, ranked
Highest ShoreScore first. The word is the call the app makes at that score.
- 1Fort Zachary Taylor (Key West)2 mi from Key West · official notice in effectDefinitely Go.89
- 2Key West (Smathers)2 mi from Key WestDefinitely Go.88
- 3Higgs Beach (Key West)1 mi from Key WestRoll the Dice?61
An official notice means the National Weather Service or the county has something posted for that beach; open the beach for the details.
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How this list works
Every beach near Key West gets one ShoreScore, a number from 0 to 100 that says how good a beach day it is. It comes from live weather, wind, surf, official water quality tests, the seaweed risk and rain radar, added up from now until sunset. Before sunrise and after dark it covers the whole day's light instead.
The words are the same call the app makes at each score: Definitely Go, Go, Roll the Dice, Maybe Not and Pass. When no beach reaches Go, this page says so instead of crowning a winner.
This list ranks the same numbers the live map shows, read at the time printed at the top. A beach with missing data is left out, never scored low: unknown is not bad. Open any beach for its hour by hour forecast and the best window to go.
Informational only, not for safety decisions. Lifeguards, beach flags and official notices come first at every beach, whatever the number says.