PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Memorial Day in Palm Beach County usually means sun, sand, surf and a kickoff to the summer season where families flock to the shore, coolers in tow.
WATCH BELOW: 'I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a lot more throughout the summer,' Daniel Thomas tells WPTV's Joel Lopez
But this year, something else is riding the waves: sargassum.
It's a type of seaweed that has been washing ashore, and WPTV’s Joel Lopez hit the sand to see just how much is piling up. The brown, floating seaweed has been washing up in thick clumps along stretches of shoreline from Jupiter to Lake Worth Beach.
The sheer amount has beachgoers talking and in some cases, thinking twice before laying down their towels.
And so began a Memorial Day tour of the county’s coastal spots, where no two beaches looked quite the same, but all had one thing in common: seaweed, in varying degrees, carpeting the shoreline.
Lake Worth Beach: Searching for a Seaweed-Free Patch
On Lake Worth Beach, the sun blazed and families set up umbrellas against a bright blue sky. Amid that picture-perfect backdrop, Daniel Thomas was working hard to enjoy it.
“I’m just out with my family enjoying the good Florida weather,” Thomas said, surrounded by clumps of seaweed both near the waterline and further up on the sand.
Lopez noticed Thomas’ towel lay in a relatively clear spot.
Region Martin County
'IT'S A LOT': Sargassum blankets Martin County beaches on Memorial Day weekend
“It seems like you found a nice little spot without any seaweed, was that intentional?” asked Lopez.
“Yes, it was,” Thomas replied. “If there’s this much already, I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a lot more throughout the summer. I don’t like it.”
Even before Thomas set down his beach gear, the warnings were there: signs posted near entrances cautioning about “heavy accumulation of seaweed” and advising children not to play in it.
People with respiratory issues are encouraged to avoid decomposed seaweed altogether.
Experts said sargassum in large amounts can release toxins on land that affect breathing and swimming through it could cause rashes or itching.
Singer Island: The Smell, the Splash, and the Surprise
Over on Singer Island, Cheryl Goler was spending the day off with her son and grandson when she encountered her own version of the seaweed situation.
“It stinks, it’s smelly, I don’t like to touch it, there’s a lot of it in the water too,” Goler said frankly.
Her grandson, however, saw a game where she saw a nuisance.
“He likes it, to him it’s fun. He throws it at me when we’re in the water. I bug out, because I’m thinking it’s a fish or something and I don’t want to get bitten,” she said with a laugh.
Goler lives in the Town of Palm Beach but had headed north, because dredging on the island made Singer Island seem like the better option. Halfway through her day, she reconsidered.
“If I just came here (for the first time) I would never come to this beach again, usually it’s better than this but I’m going to stick it out for another half an hour and go to the pool,” she said.
Singer Island’s wider beach did offer more room to spread out and avoid the seaweed, but down by the water, piles of sargassum still lined the surf.
WATCH BELOW: Sargassum takes over Martin County beaches for Memorial Day
Jupiter’s Marcinski Beach: A Dog’s Playground
At the pet-friendly Marcinski Beach in Jupiter, even four-legged visitors were affected though not necessarily bothered. Warning signs here alert both people and their pets to avoid the seaweed.
Marcos Oliva purposely chose Marcinski because he said beaches farther south had much heavier accumulation.
His German Shepherd-Husky mix, Luna, had her own opinion.
“She loves to come here and play with the seaweed,” Oliva said. “Seaweed for me it’s a problem. Not for her, she doesn’t really mind.”
Watching Luna bound along the shore, with other dogs that were focused on fun.
A Wider Florida Story
WPTV has spotted sargassum up into the Treasure Coast and down into Miami, underscoring that this isn’t just a Palm Beach County issue.
The seasonal influx is part of a larger trend scientists have been studying for years, one that can vary dramatically depending on winds, currents, and ocean temperatures.
For some beachgoers, the seaweed is a minor inconvenience, a smelly strip to step over before reaching open water. For others, it’s enough to change their plans, leaving them searching for clearer shores or heading to the pool instead.
And for at least one dog named Luna, it’s the highlight of the holiday.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
