One mile of public sand, properly explained.
Where to get on, where to park, when the light is best and which stretch is quietest. The stuff hotels won't tell you because it's free.
Three access points along Collins. The 96th Street one is the quiet one — no hotel crowds, and the path comes out by the best sandbar.
Hotel cabanas rent to non-guests on slow days — call after 10am. Or bring a chair; the sand is public below the tide line and gloriously free.
Sunrise is the show here — the beach faces east. Low tide mid-morning means a wide, firm walking strand. Sunset happens behind you; go to the inlet for it.
The beach path — a mile of jogging, gossip and golden retrievers.
The paved path runs the full length of the village between the dunes and the towers. Walk it at 7am and you'll pass half the neighborhood; rent a bike at the inlet end and do it properly.