Sebastian Inlet Jetties — Sebastian, Florida

The Sebastian Inlet jetties are two structures that reach from either side of Sebastian Inlet into the Atlantic Ocean, on the Brevard and Indian River county line east of the City of Sebastian. According to the Sebastian Inlet District, the north jetty is 1,000 feet long and the south jetty is 575 feet long. The north jetty is the larger and more visited of the pair, built as a stilted concrete deck with an elevated cap, handrails and a grate system.

The jetties have two jobs at Sebastian Inlet. The District states that the main purpose of the jetties is to provide safe navigation within Sebastian Inlet, where tide flows between the Indian River Lagoon and the ocean. Both structures also sit inside Sebastian Inlet State Park, and Florida State Parks describes both jetties as ADA accessible platforms used by anglers. The jetties are one piece of the larger inlet system covered on separate Digital Towns pages for the state park and the inlet itself.

The jetties are as old as the modern inlet. The Sebastian Inlet District history records that the District was formed on May 23, 1919, with a charter of maintaining the navigational channel connecting the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean. The inlet was opened at its current location in June of 1923, and small jetties were completed using coquina rock carried on barges. After the cut closed and reopened several times, it was blasted open in 1948 using surplus U.S. Navy demolitions and has remained open ever since.

Each later decade added to the Sebastian Inlet structures. The District history states that throughout the 1950s new construction extended both the north and south jetties. In 1968 to 1969, Cleary Brothers Construction Co. of West Palm Beach carried out a complete overhaul and 500-foot extension of the north jetty that incorporated the crib structure still seen at Sebastian Inlet, followed by an extension and concrete cap for the south jetty, with work extending into 1970.

The current north jetty deck dates to the early 2000s. In March 2002 a major north jetty renovation and extension added an elevated concrete cap, handrails and a grate system, and the jetty reopened in August 2003. The District credits that renovation with helping both jetties survive Hurricane Frances and Hurricane Jeanne, which made landfall on Hutchinson Island in September 2004. A Vero News report from December 2024 describes the landward section near the Surfside Grill as an accretion of materials and methods that started as a low coquina seawall more than 100 years ago.

Fishing is the most common daily use of the Sebastian Inlet jetties. Florida State Parks states that impressive catches are often made from the two jetties extending into the Atlantic Ocean, and that both jetties are ADA accessible. Information on fishing regulations is available at both entrance stations of Sebastian Inlet State Park, and spear fishing is prohibited within the park. The park lists county tax collectors' offices and the toll free line 888-FISH-FLORIDA among the places to obtain a saltwater fishing license.

The Sebastian Inlet District describes the appeal in practical terms. In its article on jetty inspections, the District writes that the jetties give people something akin to the ocean fishing experience without the expense of owning a boat, and that the jetties let people interact with the Atlantic in a way that is not possible from the shoreline. The same article notes that anglers who frequent the jetties are affected whenever public access closes for inspection or repairs at Sebastian Inlet.

The structures also carry instruments. The District history records that in 1997 Florida Institute of Technology installed a meteorological and wave station at the tip of the north jetty to provide real time weather data for public access, and that in 2007 the popular Sebastian Inlet District webcam and weather station were installed on the north jetty with live images, current weather conditions and tide charts.

The north jetty shaped one of the best known surf breaks in Florida. The Sebastian Inlet District history states that the 1968 to 1970 north jetty extension created what some argue was one of the best waves on the East Coast, dubbed First Peak by the surfing community. Florida State Parks describes Sebastian Inlet's first peak, located next to the north jetty, as one of the most consistent surf breaks in Florida.

The extension also produced a long running dispute at Sebastian Inlet. The District history records that fishermen and surfers clashed for months over use of the water beside the north jetty until signing a peace pact in April 1970, and that the feud between the two groups continued in practice. On the other side of the channel, Florida State Parks lists Monster Hole, a shoal about a third of a mile off the beach on the south side of Sebastian Inlet, as another surf spot where waves form long lines when the surf is big.

The north jetty has been under phased reconstruction since late 2024. The District project FAQ states that contractor Shoreline Foundation, Inc. began staging the Phase 1 North Jetty Revetment Improvements Project in November 2024. The work rehabilitated approximately 210 linear feet of revetment structure with four-foot diameter granite and built a steel sheet pile seawall with a concrete sidewalk deck along portions of the Sebastian Inlet north jetty that were impacted by storms. Design and construction costs were approximately $2.5 million.

Phase 1 ended with a public reopening. According to the Sebastian Inlet District, scores of people came to Sebastian Inlet on June 30, 2025, to mark the reopening of the north jetty after an eight-month repair and improvement project, and the jetty was soon packed with anglers and sightseers. Vero News reported in December 2024 that the District raised its tax rate and doubled its budget for that year, from $10.8 million to nearly $22 million, to pay for the jetty repair, sand trap dredging and other expenses.

The seaward deck of the Sebastian Inlet north jetty is next. The District's Phases 2 and 3 project page states that the most recent jetty inspection, conducted in April 2026, recommended major structural repairs. Phases 2 and 3 include installation of 48 pre-stressed concrete piles, placement of concrete beams, construction of new jetty decking and supplemental four-foot diameter granite armor stone. As of October 2026 the District lists the bid opening as complete on September 4, 2026, award of the bid anticipated on October 14, 2026, and construction beginning in late 2026 or early 2027.

Two public bodies share responsibility at Sebastian Inlet. The Sebastian Inlet District FAQ states that the District maintains inlet infrastructure, including the north and south jetties and the armoring of shorelines on either side of the inlet. Park access, fishing piers and catwalks, park regulations, boat launches and campground reservations are directed by the Florida Park Service under the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which operates Sebastian Inlet State Park.

Inspection is routine. The District writes that every couple of years the Sebastian Inlet north and south jetties undergo a structural assessment; in one such review its consultant, Environmental Science Associates, and subcontractor Wantman Group, Inc. examined the 1,000-foot north jetty and the 575-foot south jetty over three days. Crews removed many of the 59 aluminum grates from the north jetty to check the concrete framework, and public access to the jetties was closed while the work was done.