Sea Turtle Nesting Season: When Thousands of Ancient Travelers Choose Florida’s Beaches

Every summer, under cover of darkness, a 300-pound loggerhead sea turtle hauls herself out of the Atlantic, digs a nest in the sand with her back flippers, and deposits around 100 leathery, ping-pong-sized eggs. She does this three to five times in a single season, then disappears back into the ocean. Two months later, the hatchlings erupt from the sand and scramble toward the water. It has been happening on Florida beaches for millions of years.

The Biggest Nesting Ground in the Western Hemisphere

Florida hosts more loggerhead sea turtle nests than anywhere else in the world. Statewide loggerhead counts swing hard from year to year, and 2023 set the record at 133,941 nests. Three species nest on Florida’s shores: loggerheads (the most common), green turtles, and the massive leatherbacks, which can weigh over 1,000 pounds. Nesting season runs from March through October, with peak activity from May to July. The eggs incubate for 45 to 70 days, depending on species and sand temperature, and hatching peaks between July and September.

Watching It Happen

Dozens of organizations along Florida’s Atlantic coast offer guided turtle walks during nesting season. Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, and the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge on Melbourne Beach are among the most popular. Walks typically run in June and July, begin after dark, and reservations fill fast (most open on May 1). Guides lead small groups to the beach, where you wait quietly until a nesting mother is spotted. Watching a 200-pound turtle lay her eggs by moonlight is one of those Florida experiences that stays with you.

How to Help

If you live near or visit a nesting beach, the rules are simple: keep lights off or shielded at night (artificial light disorients hatchlings headed for the sea), fill in holes and flatten sandcastles before you leave the beach, and never disturb a nest or a nesting turtle. Many coastal communities have lighting ordinances during nesting season for exactly this reason. You can also volunteer with local sea turtle patrol groups that monitor nests each morning from May through October.