Horseshoe Beach

February 13-16, 2022

Photos below…click a photo to open the photo gallery.

Horseshoe Beach is an isolated, laid back, friendly fishing village located on the Gulf west of Gainesville. It’s known for scalloping in the summer months. The city limits sign reads “Welcome to Florida’s Last Frontier.” It’s situated 20 miles west of the closest major highway. The town had one opened restaurant, the Shrimp Boat, and not much else, and we love it!

Favorites: We stayed at the Horseshoe Marina and it was a great place. Dennis and Lois own the marina and people we met there have names like “Buckwheat.” Everyone has a simple easy-going way about them. Surprisingly, many of the locals are extremely successful, wealthy people, for example the guy who started and owns the Discover Card company.

The Marina was a block off the Gulf and Cary discovered a sweet trout hole just off the beach. We canoed a lot looking for red fish but didn’t find any. There are many surrounding islands that we went to, but most were just a bit too far for the canoe (due to wind), so we’re considering trailering a motorized boat next year. Yup! I think a little motorized John boat is all we need, but Cary’s wants a bit more comfort. Lolly Cove by Butler Island is on our radar for Redfish next time.

Fish we caught: Cary caught 9 trout and I caught 3, but lost one…the BIG one.