This weekend we got rained out of a planned Legoland trip, so on a last minute whim we decided on a beach trip to Blowing Rocks Nature Preserve. I've wanted to go for a few years now, and despite it's close location we've never made it up there! It's definitely one of the most unique beaches we've been to here on South Florida's east coast. Once you park you follow a short boardwalk where you pay your donation (suggested adult donation $2) and then you follow a path through the mangroves and saeagrapes until you end up in the sand!
Once you follow the stairs down by the water turn right and head south for a little ways until you see the big rocks. This is where you want to set up camp, as it's where the "blowing" occurs. You need to be there at high tide to see it happen, when the waves come in and shoot up in between the rocks like a geyser, but low tide is cool too as you can see tide pools and get down into the water easier.
It was super windy the day we went and the tide was coming in so no one went out past putting their toes in. Jacob was perfectly happy to play in the sand and watch the water. The sand here is super dark, almost black which I'm guessing is from the limestone, but it's unlike any sand I've ever seen down here. The whole beach is amazing and we're so glad we made the trip up. There's a nature center across the street too, but by the time we left we were all hungry for lunch, so we didn't stop in there. We'll definitely be back in the future and next time we'll aim for high or low tide, instead of in between!