Spanish River Park and Bark Beach, Boca Raton
The only stretch of Boca Raton sand where dogs are legal, and only inside a marked window. Get the window wrong and you are turned away at the tower.
The part people get wrong
Spanish River Park is a city park, and the city code keeps pets out of Boca Raton parks and beaches. Bark Beach is the carved-out exception: a marked run of sand between lifeguard towers 18 and 20, open to dogs only during posted hours and only with a permit bought per dog.
Two permits, not one. The dog permit lets the dog on the sand. It does not park your car. Beach parking is a separate Annual Beach Vehicle Entry Permit, and people find this out at the gate with a dog already in the back seat.
When the light is worth the drive
The dog window is 7 to 9 in the morning and from 3 pm to sunset, which happens to be the two stretches a camera wants anyway. Midday here is flat, white and hot; the same dog photographed at 8 am and at 1 pm looks like two different animals.
The late window is the better one for dark coats. Sunset over the dune line puts the light behind you and takes the squint out of the shot.
What we do here
We run free dog photo sessions in the parks we work in, and everything we publish is dog-only: we frame owners and bystanders out, and any frame with a recognisable person is cropped or dropped at review. Owners get their dog's files for personal use, free.
Before you go
Hours and permit prices change with the season and with the city budget. Check the official page the morning you go, not the week before.
- Where dogs are allowed
- Bark Beach only, between lifeguard towers 18 and 20
- Dog hours
- 7 to 9 am, then 3 pm to sunset (5 pm to sunset on daylight saving time), seven days a week
- Dog permit
- Required, per dog. Resident $35 a year, non-resident $210 a year, three-day $15
- Parking
- Not included. A separate Annual Beach Vehicle Entry Permit is needed to park in the park
- Leash
- Off leash inside the marked area during dog hours. Leashed going in and coming out
- Address
- 3001 N Ocean Blvd, Boca Raton, FL 33431
Park details from the official park page, checked September 4, 2026. Hours and rules change: check before you go.
Leave an email and we'll tell you about the next free session near you. One short note per session - nothing else.