Beach & Tourism

Seaweed Shock: Piles of Sargassum Leaves Boca Inlet Beach Empty

by
Daniel Nee
May 22, 2026

While some local beaches saw a slight respite in the ongoing pileup of sargassum by the end of the week, the currents have trapped a gigantic amount of the nuisance seaweed against the jetty at South Inlet Park Beach in Boca Raton.

The accumulation is so significant that the Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Department printed and posted signs at the entrance to the parking lot advising would-be swimmers of the presence of sargassum in the water. The parking lot was barely a quarter full when a reporter visited Friday around 12 noon – typically a time when the usual issue at the park is that the lot is full, especially on a sunny day heading into a holiday weekend.

Sargassum shuts down swimming at South Inlet Park Beach, Boca Raton, FL, May 22, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

“It’s all seaweed, don’t bother,” said Carlos Aldana, of West Boca, who drove from the opposite side of town to find that his beach day wouldn’t happen. “There’s no way you can swim in that.”

Another two men traded fishing tips as they stood near the inlet jetty, casting into the inlet itself rather than into the sargassum-topped water on the south side of the south jetty. The sheets of sargassum were so thick in the water column that waves were being attenuated before they reached the usual drop at the end of the beach berm. What would normally be a small swell of tropical colors was a brown-ish bubble of seaweed rising from the shallow depths next to the rocks. To the north of the inlet – closer to The Boca Raton’s beach resort property – there was significantly less sargassum in the water column, and the ocean generally maintained its typical aqua-blue coloration. At South Beach Park, there was a semi-significant presence in the water, however, and it became even more pronounced to the south in Deerfield Beach near the city’s fishing pier.

Sargassum shuts down swimming at South Inlet Park Beach, Boca Raton, FL, May 22, 2026. (Photo: Boca Daily News)

The National Weather Service’s daily sargassum report on Friday showed Palm Beach County in the “Medium” inundation category, though portions of Broward and Miami-Dade were in the “High” category, with the prevailing current flowing south-to-north, meaning more seaweed could be on the way if winds and weather systems don’t change in the next few days.