Smathers Beach STINKS

[Westbank is bestbank]

Went to Key West over Labor Day Weekend. Smathers Beach had the worst sewer smell ever. I literally could not breathe. Is it always like that or bad timing on my visit? I was very disappointed.

[thinfool]

KW is not a place to go for a nice beach experience.

Harry Truman had to have the govt haul sand in to make a beach for him. If you want a nice beach, try try the Gulf coast.

 

 

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[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

I don't know the prevailing conditions at Smathers Beach on Labor Day, but I can say that some Key West beaches are quite prone to heavy seaweed "infestation" when there have been storms or heavy rain. That seaweed, when piled up, can indeed smell very bad. It burns my eyes. That may have been what you experienced. It is not a condition that exists every day, but it does take awhile for the seaweed to wash away or be taken away.

[jaga04]

I lived across the street from Smathers Beach for two winters/springs and both times, the smell was pretty consistently there starting in May. One year it wasn't too bad, the other was worse. We left during June, so don't know how long it lasted. Never smelled it in Dec/Jan when we're usually in Key West. I assumed it was the seaweed in combo with the high temperatures.

[Herfnerd]

KW is not a place to go for a nice beach experience.

Harry Truman had to have the govt haul sand in to make a beach for him. If you want a nice beach, try try the Gulf coast.

 

 

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This

 

 

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[CDSMIA]

You don't go to KW for the beaches.

 

 

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[bouhunter]

I literally could not breathe. .

 

In that case you would be dead:D

[Aquahound]

Went to Key West over Labor Day Weekend. Smathers Beach had the worst sewer smell ever. I literally could not breathe. Is it always like that or bad timing on my visit? I was very disappointed.

 

Having just moved to New Orleans from Key West, I find it VERY ironic for anyone here to complain about smells, etc in the Keys. This place is a dump compared to Key West.

 

Off my soapbox...

 

Smathers Beach is on a mud flat and is susceptible to sea grass wash up when the winds are out of the South. The stench was rotting sea grass. Fort Zachary Taylor tends to be better, but the best beaches are offshore on small islands....but those are mostly locals secrets.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Having just moved to New Orleans from Key West, I find it VERY ironic for anyone here to complain about smells, etc in the Keys. This place is a dump compared to Key West.

 

 

I agree with you 100% on that one. Hubby and I call Key West "New Orleans South", but KW is the cleaner version of NOLA.

[keywester33]

The saddest thing about the bad smell on our beaches in the summer is watching all the beach weddings. These people bought into the advertising, tourism industry hype and it's a shame to watch their guests breath through handkerchiefs trying not to be sick.

 

As I have often posted here, Key West is not a beach destination. Even Fort Zachary can smell in the summer. Enjoy our historic Old Town and save the beach for another port.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Luckily, my son and daughter-in-law married at Fort Zachary Taylor in late October and it was such a beautiful time just before sunset. It is too bad that Key West beaches can have such an unpleasant aroma in the summer, but I would think an even bigger concern for summer beach weddings would be the intense heat and humidity. Another issue is that summer is the rainy season.

[AdoraBelle]

I've been to NOLA several times to visit. I was just in NYC this past weekend for the first time and noticed that the Times Square area reminded me a bit of the French Quarter, but without the smell of sewage. :)

 

Anyway. My parents bought into that Keys hype and moved there (then left). Can't stand the place--it's kind of stuck in the 70s, and (no offense to those who like a drink or two), seemingly full of seriously dedicated alcoholics.

 

 

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[Hlitner]

We love Key West and are also fanatical beach goers. The two simply do not mix and when we make are oft annual trek to KW....it is with no beach in mind. That being said, one safe option is to stay at the Pier House which has their own postage stamp beach (a stone throw from Mallory Square) which does not stink. But this beach is private and only available to those staying at the Pier House.

 

Hank

[jaga04]

I'm chiming back in to say, for those of you who will be going to KW for the first time, that there are definitely people, like me, who go there partly because of the beaches. Or, maybe I'm the only one - not fully sure :confused:.

 

Maybe they're not the best, most beautiful, pristine beaches in the world, but they have sand, ocean, and sun, which many of us in the country don't have access to on a regular basis. Ok, not necessarily the most perfect white sand, but the beaches are wonderfully quirky, like KW in general.

 

So, of course, explore KW, as there's lots to do and see, but if you're someone who likes to hang out at a beach on your vacation, I recommend checking out Ft. Zachary Taylor - small; sand is a bit rocky (I started with the negative for full disclosure and balance); picnic tables and trees behind the beach for shade and beauty; the harbor is to the right, so you get to watch lots of boats going by; there is some snorkeling (though if you really want to snorkel, you should go to the reef instead); it's in a park with a fort. If you read through the posts about it, you'd see that some people love it and some don't, so you'd have to go for yourself to decide....

[Hlitner]

I'm chiming back in to say, for those of you who will be going to KW for the first time, that there are definitely people, like me, who go there partly because of the beaches. Or, maybe I'm the only one - not fully sure :confused:.

 

Maybe they're not the best, most beautiful, pristine beaches in the world, but they have sand, ocean, and sun, which many of us in the country don't have access to on a regular basis. Ok, not necessarily the most perfect white sand, but the beaches are wonderfully quirky, like KW in general.

 

So, of course, explore KW, as there's lots to do and see, but if you're someone who likes to hang out at a beach on your vacation, I recommend checking out Ft. Zachary Taylor - small; sand is a bit rocky (I started with the negative for full disclosure and balance); picnic tables and trees behind the beach for shade and beauty; the harbor is to the right, so you get to watch lots of boats going by; there is some snorkeling (though if you really want to snorkel, you should go to the reef instead); it's in a park with a fort. If you read through the posts about it, you'd see that some people love it and some don't, so you'd have to go for yourself to decide....

 

Yep, You are the ONLY ONE (who goes to KW for the beach) :). So we will admit to loving KW and we try to drive down either before or after any cruise we take from Miami of Ft Lauderdale. Will be there again,...next month for 3 nights. And for anyone who does go there for a few nights we can give a strong recommendation to "Danger Cruises" full day excursion (snorkel and Kayak),

 

Hank

Edited October 23, 2016 by Hlitner

[jaga04]

Yep, You are the ONLY ONE (who goes to KW for the beach) :).

 

In defense of my unique opinion, I did write, "partly" for the beach :).

[keywester33]

Certainly the beaches are ok for a couple hours of sun, but people come here expecting the beautiful beaches of the Caribbean or Hawaii and ours are not even close. I like to be sure people understand what they are getting into. Especially people planning beach weddings in the summer. Not a good idea. I also think spending your only day on a cruise ship stop at the beach is not that special since cruises typically have much better beach stops at other ports. Key West's attraction is our historic Old Town in my opinion.

 

It's been a long time since they added sand to the Fort Zachary beach so it is way more than little rocky. It is a little sandy! :-) Still, it is a pleasant place. Just bring water shoes so you can walk and swim. Higg's Beach is also decent and has much more sand than Fort Zachary and good snorkeling around the remains of the old ruined pier.

 

Luckily the hot summer weather seems to have broke, so the worst of the smell and seagrass is going away.

[Aquahound]

I understand the vast majority of people reading this board are visiting KW on a cruise ship but for anyone driving down and staying a few days who are looking for a beach, it's worth it to make the drive up to Bahia Honda State Park. It's 37 miles away but with the typical slow moving traffic, takes about an hour to get there.