Horseshoe Beach
Horseshoe Beach History
About Horseshoe Beach
Horseshoe Beach is an isolated, laid back, friendly fishing village located on the Gulf of Mexico west of the University town of Gainesville, Florida. Our city limits sign reads – Welcome to “Florida’s Last Frontier”. We are 18 miles to the closest major highway State Road 1998
The Horseshoe Beach area was settled in the early 1800s. The land was owned by lumber interests until 1935, when C.C. Douglas and Burton Butler purchsed the land for $324, since the lumber company was pressuring the residents to “move on”. The Butler/Douglas union made it possible for the settlers to own their occupied property. They offered each resident the lot he was living on for $10. The town was incorporated in 1963. The town now has a restaurant, full-service marina, ice cream shop, churches, a number of comfortable rental cabins, a waterfront park, and a general store.
Horseshoe Beach Location
Horseshoe sits squarely in the middle of the Big Bend area of Florida – half way between the Suwanee River and the Steinhatchee River on the Gulf Coast. It is a bit remote, sitting at the end of a 18 mile drive from Cross City, Florida. The village is strictly a fishing, boating and shrimping community. It has a mixture of permanent residents.
Horseshoe Beach Activities
From stalking pristine flats for big redfish to offshore trolling and bottom fishing, this place has it all. Kayaks paddle the extremely shallow areas. Flats skiffs are poled silently through the grass. Farther off the shoreline, fishing boats drift the grass flats in water from 2 to 7 feet deep looking for seatrout. Beyond 7 feet in depth, boats drift or anchor and chum for a variety of fish, including sand trout, redfish and flounder.