Vilano Beach is a tiny beach town located on the northeast coast of Florida. The town is just a couple miles north of St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. Situated on the north side of St. Augustine inlet, this little community started as a fishing village in the 1920’s. Up until 1995, you still had to take the original rickety drawbridge across the Tolomato River to get to Vilano Beach. In the past ten years, the area has grown into a little beach town with a budding tourist industry.

Vilano Beach is visited by people for one of three reasons mainly: to fish, to escape the crowded beaches of St. Augustine or to ride waves. Over the past decade, more and more skimboarders, surfers and bodyboarders have been finding their way to this beach for the amazing waves and unique atmosphere. The St. Augustine Inlet creates strong currents on the main beach access, making the water very deep right up to the steep coquina slopes, which is made up mostly of a mixture of ground down rocks, seashells and sand. Vilano beach is somewhat of an unintentional secret escape, meaning that unless you are actually looking for it, you would probably drive by and never know you were there.

Type of wave

Vilano is known for heavy A-frame waves and long lines from the south. The beach and waves are very rare for a break in Florida. The beach is very deep close to shore year-round, although still subject to changes from big storms, hurricanes, swells, etc. There are several spots in Vilano, but the most famous spot is Vilano Beach Access - the main beach access in the town. Also, you can actually drive your cars out onto the beach year-round, although it does close early in the summer because of turtle nests.

Vilano is a unique wave in Florida for a couple reasons. First, it is one of the most powerful shorebreaks in Florida. Through years and years of currents, tides, and storms moving the sand onto the beach in addition to the adjacent inlet, there are almost no outside sandbars. This allows any primary swell in the ocean to maintain its power and speed all the way to beach. Most other break have sandbars - whether they are 30 ft or 500ft out - that detract from the primary swell energy, and that energy is weakened by each sandbar the swell encounters.

When the beaches are perfectly formed, the beach is usually very steep - about 30 to 40 degree slope or so. The currents created by the inlet errode a very smooth transition from the slope of the beach into the water. The ocean floor itself at the shoreline is smooth and flat, which allows for waves to roll in cleanly and open up. The currents create certain variations in the sandbars that create an A-framing wave. This is not because of the tiny jetty on the main beach, but simply because of a combination of ocean floor contours and swell direction and winds (see more in Physics article). The break is best known for hollow A-frame barrels and

Food

Being a small town, there’s not a whole lot of variety in Vilano Beach. Toucan Terry’s is located on the northeast corner of the town main intersection and is within easy walking distance. Their menu has a wide selection of tasty and decently-priced food, like quesadillas, burgers, wraps, nachos, hot dogs, wings and fish tacos. Make sure you say hi to the owner, Terry, who usually has a good joke or two up his sleeve to tell customers.

Just 100 yards north or so is Benito’s Pizza, a local restaurant specializing in Italian food and –you guessed it – pizza. Their specials change year round, but the food is always good and the beer nice and cold. Other than that, there is a BP about half a mile north of Vilano Rd. to get some refreshments. For fancier fare, you can try The Reef restaurant or Caps waterfront restaurant. Both have good food, but are a little too pricey for most skimboarders on a budget. You can also go into St. Augustine for a greater choice in restaurants and food.

Lodging

There are four main hotels in Vilano Beach: Hampton Inn and Suites, Ocean Blue Motel, The Ocean Blue motel II, and the Magic Beach Motel. The nicest (and most expensive) is the Hampton Inn and Suites. This hotel is located on the Southeast corner of the town’s main intersection, right across from Toucan Terry’s. It has regular rooms as well as suites with ocean views, and a pool and a much need hot tub for those long days in the water.

The Ocean Blue Motel is next to the main beach access and has probably the best view in Vilano beach. It’s a little less expensive than the Hampton, but just as comfortable and close to the beach. The Ocean Blue Motel II is the exact same, except it is located just south of the Hampton Inn. The Ocean Blue II has a pool to relax in as well. The Magic Beach motel is located next to the Ocean Blue Motel on Vilano Rd. It also has a pool, but I’d recommend one of the other three hotels (or just somewhere else in general) than staying at the Magic Beach Motel

Nightlife

Basically, there isn’t much of one in Vilano Beach. Just drive over the bridge and head into downtown St. Augustine for some things to do at night. There are ghost tours and nighttime graveyard walks for the family, as well as an eclectic bar scene for some more adult fun. I’d suggest A1A Aleworks for the delicious food, great local beer and a nice showcase of the local talent. If you happen to be in town for the first Friday of the month, definitely check out the Art Walk, where all the local museums and art galleries open for free and provide free snacks and beverages.

Locals

There are really only a handful of true, live-on-the-beach skimboard locals at Vilano, but there are others that are at the beach almost daily from St. Augustine and Jacksonville. Everyone who skims Vilano on a regular basis knows each other, so if you’re not from around their, they’ll know. Most of the time, the locals skimboarders are more than happy to share waves with visitors. However, there is a line-up on the beach, especially when the waves are good. The local skimboarders will usually take the choicer sets, but as long as you are observant, respectful and - MOST IMPORTANTLY - don’t hit any of the tourists or other skimboarders, you’ll get plenty of good waves and board claps.

See ya on the slopes! – Tad Mask