Las Picuas Peninsula Beach

Location: Río Grande

Getting there: From San Juan, drive 45 minutes east to Río Grande, the same municipality as El Yunque National Forest. Make sure to use the pin above. There is a very large area of coastline referred to as “Las Picuas Beach”. The pin will take you down an uneven dirt road a short way. If there is room, park on the side of the road at the end of the road, if not, you can park where you first turn onto the road.

Things to do: Relax in the shallows – There is sea grass just a few feet from shore across most of the beach but you can find room to lay in the water. At the pin location there are several cement umbrella holders submerged in the shallow water you can use. Just pop an umbrella in and set up your beach chair halfway in the water (remember to rinse it off when you get home, found that out the hard way). Walk the beach – I think it’s nice to walk along the narrow strip of sand and look at all the beach houses that crowd the beach. Snorkel – If you want to see what a dead coral reef looks like, this is a good place to get an education. 

Heads up: High tide swallows up most or all of the beach. Which means timing your visit with low tide is very important, there is very little sand real estate as is. Don’t walk in the sea grass, it’s full of things you don’t want to step on like sea urchins and sting rays.