Crescent Beach, Sarasota — Attraction in Siesta Key

Running south from Siesta Key Beach, Crescent Beach is a popular spot for those staying in the many nearby hotels and vacation rentals. (some count it as part of siesta key beach only). It’s not a local favorite, it’s one of the quieter destinations in the area for visitors looking for peace on their trips to one of the most popular islands in the U.S.

With its sweeping coastline carves out a huge “C” where it meets the Atlantic Ocean (the crescent shape, of course, giving the area its name). it maintains an “old Florida” vibe as a quieter beach with white sand and is primarily residential.

If you’re staying along Crescent Beach, your accommodation may provide roped-off sections of glorious white sand for your enjoyment.

beautiful crescent moon-shaped beach, just right for laying out on or for strolling the strand. Soft gulf breezes. Breathtaking sunsets. It gets no better.

Parking: We used public beach access # 12 (I guess there is just one public access road, Midnight Pass Rd, and it's very easy to miss). it’s a cramp, one-way alley and only suitable for compact cars. to go back, drive forward, take a K-turn, and merge into the main street. yup as it’s one way you can find yourself stuck when someone comes from the same side. see the pic and you...

Small parking lot only room for 18 cars. Narrow place to turn around at the end. You need a shorter car, a few rude uninformed, non reader of signs that are posted, No Backing out into traffic. Must drive forward to turn around at the narrow end, making it extremely difficult to turn around safely to not hit the people that walk, plus to not dent your car on the walls. I've seen pick up trucks try to park there and it's not safe for the paint, not safe for the other small cars to leave, people get angry when they get blocked due to a rude selfish driver who blocks them with a larger car. My car is 179", and it's ok to park there, but I've Kissed the wall, too, and scraped a bike rack, mounted very low that was attached to a longer vehicle, very rude for then to park there!!! Selfish rude drivers in Florida. Makes for a bad situation. a Word to The Wise! Follow the posted rules! Be Kind and Thoughtful of others. "Do into others as you'd have...

I've been coming to this beach since I was 2 years old, and no other beach that I've been to even compares to the beautiful white sands here. My only gripe is that since it has come to the attention of so many due to its ratings as the #1 beach in America, the amount of traffic has increased so much, making the key way too congested and finding parking that was already difficult into a nightmare. The renovation to the pavilion is nice, though the additional parking added isn't nearly enough. But, I must say I miss the old pavilion, as it held sentimental value for me...