Enderts Beach and other Secluded Beaches

Public beaches in Florida?

I've seen a few different sources (from a YouTube video to an FSU law school webpage) that all say that pretty much all of the coastal beach in Florida is "public". Is this true? If so, how can this be, you can see people build houses right on the coast up to the sand. Does this mean the sand behind their homes is still regarded as "public" beach? I'm confused especially because I come from Long Island, NY, and beach land was treated pretty differently there....there were a few public state and county parks along the shore, but aside from that, there were definitely private access-restricted beaches and landowners that owned their own beaches...really unless you were in a "park" of some sort (Jones Beach SP, Robert Moses SP, etc...), it wasn't public land... The real reason I ask is because I'm just looking for a nice, preferably secluded/undeveloped beach in northeast FL to enjoy and I haven't really seen any established "parks" where you go to the beach, like I said, unlike how it was in my hometown...Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks for all the responses. So, does anyone know any beaches in northern Florida (but not the panhandle...I'm in Gainesville so preferably ~2 hours max from there) that are secluded, pretty, and natural? Preferably with a pier of some sort..

Public Comments

1. Holmes Beach!!!
2. The answer to your question is yes. I am an architect working on some houses on the south end of Lake Michigan in Michigan City, Indiana. Or what we call the third coast. :) Where I am working there is a 50-foot width of public beach. Once you get past 50 feet that becomes private property on which the owner can do retaining walls or fences, decks, etc. The 50 feet is from a designated water level/sea level at the time of the survey.
3. In most states, the beach is public. I know this isn't necessarily the case in some states. Like in New Jersey, the beach is publically owned, however the towns can charge fees for using the public's land. Some states also don't allow people in certain beach areas when sea birds or turtles nest there. Just know that much of the country is run very differently from the state of New York. With the exception of CT, NY, and NJ, I wouldn't have a problem laying out on any beach in the US.
4. I'm not sure, but I think all beaches should be public. I really liked Siesta Key while I was down in FL!