Boca Raton’s Beachfront ‘Cliffs’ Get Smaller As Beach Gets Larger

The “cliffs” at Boca Raton’s South Inlet Park beach have largely disappeared as the city’s dredge boat roared back to action and got right to work over the last week.

A series of cold weather fronts, strong winds and powerful tides led to shoaling near the inlet’s north jetty and severe erosion to the beach below the south jetty. In some spots, a “cliff” of sand had formed that measured more than 10-feet in height, and access was mostly blocked to the south jetty itself – a popular fishing spot.

Dredging and beach restoration in Boca Raton, FL at South Inlet Beach, March 1, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

As we previous reported, Boca Raton is one of the few cities in America to operate a municipal dredge boat with the ability to deepen an inlet and replenish nearby beaches on a local scale. As part of the city’s system, the dredge boat scrapes sand accumulated in the inlet into its hull, where it is then propelled through pipes to an outfall location on the south side. Dredging serves the dual purpose of keeping the inlet deep while pumping sand onto the erosion-prone beach. The dredge, however, was recently undergoing maintenance and returned to service in late February.

By last week, the dredge crew was busy working all day, and the results were practically immediate. The shoal within the inlet disappeared quickly, and the beachfront incrementally began to get larger as sand started to flow from the dredge pipe onto the berm south of the jetty.

Dredging and beach restoration in Boca Raton, FL at South Inlet Beach, March 1, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

The temporary dearth of sand was a natural “feature” of some particularly chilly weeks in South Florida, city officials said.

“The recent cold fronts have affected more than the iguanas,” said city spokesperson Ileana Olmsted at the time. “There has been increased wave energy along our coastline causing sand to migrate along the beaches.”

Dredging and beach restoration in Boca Raton, FL at South Inlet Beach, March 1, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

Typically, sand is deposited with more shoaling in certain areas dictated by the geometry and water speeds in the inlet, said Olmsted. The city monitored depths in the inlet while the dredge boat was undergoing maintenance, and placed barriers and signage at the beach where it was dangerous to walk.

But now, as March begins, boaters were navigating the inlet unimpeded and sun-worshipers had returned.