Start where the town gathers: the colorful chairs and reef sculptures of Anglin's Square at the foot of Commercial Boulevard, then straight onto wide sand. Swim, walk the waterline north toward Pompano or south toward Fort Lauderdale, and let the afternoon set its own pace — this shoreline is the date, not the backdrop.
📍 Anglin's Square, Commercial Blvd at the ocean, Lauderdale-by-the-SeaFree — Public beach and town square; parking is metered streets and public lots nearby (see Practical).
The 876-foot pier, opened in 1963 and named for the town's first mayor, is still the postcard — you just cannot walk it right now. See it the way the town does: from the beach at sunrise, when the sky goes pink over the reef and the pier stands black against it. Some couples' photos need the pier in them, not under them.
📍 2 Commercial Blvd, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL 33308Free — Viewing from the beach and square is free. The pier itself is closed to the public.
CLOSED since a section collapsed during Hurricane Nicole in Nov 2022; the privately owned pier's replacement is in design and permitting, with no reopening expected before 2028 per current reporting. Check the town's pier updates before planning around any change.
About 100 yards offshore, in roughly 25 feet of water, lies the SS Copenhagen — a British steamship wrecked on the reef in 1900, now a Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve. The town's snorkel trail marks the reef just south of the pier: bring masks on a calm day and you are floating over a living reef and a piece of history, together, for free. It is the shared-adventure date this coast does best.
📍 Reef line off the beach, just south of Anglin's Pier, Lauderdale-by-the-SeaFree — Free with your own mask and snorkel, straight off the beach. The town is Florida's Beach Diving Capital — dive and rental shops line Commercial Blvd if you need gear; their prices are posted in-shop.
Go on a calm, clear morning for visibility; stay clear of the closed pier's safety zone.
The two blocks of Commercial Boulevard just west of the beach are the town's living room: cafés with sidewalk tables, ice-cream and coffee windows, and restaurants spilling toward the square. The strategy is to wander and follow your nose — split a coffee, split a pastry, people-watch the divers and the locals who never left.
📍 Commercial Blvd, west of El Mar Dr, Lauderdale-by-the-SeaFree — The stroll is free; café stops are pay-as-you-go with counter prices.
Directly on the ocean at the north side of the square: Caribbean-American plates, the famous Bimini bread, three bars and live music seven days a week, with the beach as the dining room's fourth wall. It is the town's celebration table — the place the free date graduates to when it has earned a dinner.
📍 1 Commercial Blvd, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL 33308
Live music daily per the venue; oceanside seating fills first at sunset — arrive early or expect a short wait.
The quiet oceanfront lawn a short walk south of the square: paved walkways, shade, picnic grass and the sea in front of you. In season (roughly December through May) it hosts the town's Sunday farmers market — go then, graze the stalls, and take your finds down to the sand.
📍 4500 El Mar Dr, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL 33308Free — Public oceanfront park; the seasonal Sunday market is free to browse.
El Mar Drive and the side streets are lined with mid-century modern motels and low-rise buildings from the town's 1950s heyday — an architecture walk nobody charges for, past the reef sculptures (a parrotfish, a green turtle, an eagle ray) the town plants in its plazas. Do it at golden hour and end at the square as the light goes.
📍 El Mar Dr, Lauderdale-by-the-SeaFree — Self-guided sidewalk walk through the town's historic motel row.
A few blocks south on the Intracoastal side, this is where residents escape the beach crowds: shade, water views, courts and a slower pace. It is the locals' second act — bring the picnic the beach was too windy for and watch the boats on the Intracoastal instead.
📍 4500 block, Intracoastal side, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea (south of Commercial Blvd)Free — Public town park.
