The municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico, has 40Las 1,200 playas de Puerto Rico. Primera Hora. 9 March 2015. Page/Photo 29 of 41. Accessed 9 March 2015. beaches including 28 on the mainland and 12 in its offshore islands, primarily at the deserted island of Caja de Muertos. This list of beaches in Ponce, Puerto Rico, consists of some of the most popular beaches in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Only natural salt-water beaches are listed.
All beaches in Ponce are public beaches and accessible to the general public at large, except for the beach at the Club Nautico de Ponce, which is accessible to members of that club only. Some public beaches are off-limits to the general public due to preservation or protection efforts. This is the case, for example, of beaches protected under the law by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. Playa Larga beach, in Caja de Muertos, falls in this latter category. None of the beaches in Ponce is among Puerto Rico's 10 most dangerous beaches in terms of the number of drownings.Ley 221 of 17 December 2015: A law to amend "Ley de la Junta Interagencial para el Manejo de las Playas de Puerto Rico." Puerto Rico 17th Legislative Assembly, 6th Session. Puerto Rico Department of State. 24 December 2015. Accessed 25 January 2017.
Among beaches in Ponce, a few of the most popularBest Beaches / Caribbean / Puerto Rico / Ponce / Ponce Beaches. BestBeaches.com. 2017. Accessed 20 January 2017. are El Tuque Beach in the El Tuque sector of Barrio Canas, near highway PR-2, west of the city; La Guancha Beach at the La Guancha complex south of the city; and four beaches in Caja de Muertos: Playa Pelícano beach, Playa Larga beach, Playa Carrucho beach, and Playa Blanca beach.Por algo le llaman 'El Edén del Caribe'. Carmen Cila Rodríguez. La Perla del Sur. 20 April 2011. Accessed 3 May 2011. Re-accessed January 2017. Playa Pelicano beach was the first beach in Puerto Rico - and the entire Caribbean Mi Puerto Rico Verde.com 18 December 2013. Accessed 23 January 2017. - to attain Blue Flag Beach status. El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 1 December 2010. Accessed 15 December 2010.Bandera azul para Caja de Muerto. El Sur a la Vista. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 1 December 2010. Accessed 24 January 2017. It is also the only beach in the world part of a nature reserve that holds this recognition.Playa Pelícano. Lionel Valentin Calderon. Directorio de Puerto Rico. 2017. Accessed 24 January 2017. Most beaches in Ponce are small secluded beaches known mostly to local people and accessed by dirt roads. They are part of a coastal stretch in southwestern Puerto Rico "filled with isolated sandy coves and virgin white beaches accessible only by dirt roads that only the locals seem to know about."Puerto Rico: The Best Beaches: The Best Beaches for Being Alone. Frommer's Puerto Rico 2017. Accessed 20 January 2017. While there are several family-oriented beaches, like La Guancha and El Tuque, there are also many beaches ideal for sunbathing and relaxation as well as many spots for just being alone. Some beaches are more apt for some types of activities, such as scuba diving, than other beaches. Beaches in Caja de Muertos can be reached via private boat or, during the weekends, via a daily ferry that leaves early in the mornings (reservations are required) from the La Guancha Boardwalk in Barrio Playa.
Ponce beaches are the result of mineral aggregate found in them, and this is, in turn, the result of silt carried by the Ponce river system from the mountains of Cordillera Central.The World's Coasts: Online - Puerto Rico: South Coast 1. Jack Morelock, Wilson Ramirez and Maritza Barreto. Geological Oceanography Program >> Coastal Morphology & the Coastline [Shoreline] of Puerto Rico >> Coastal Papers >> World Coastlines 2003 - Puerto Rico [The World's Coasts: Online - Puerto Rico] >> Page 3 [South Coast 1]. University of Puerto Rico, Recinto Universitario de Mayaguez. Department of Marine Sciences. Geological Oceanography Program. 1 Oct 2002. Accessed 1 February 2017. In this manner the composition of its beaches are determined by the geological regions through which the nearby rivers flow. Beaches west of Ponce (El Tuque, Las Salinas, Matilde, etc.) exhibit sand that is mostly white, resulting from its calcareous content, and primarily composed of coral fragments and marine shells. Beaches east of Ponce (La Guancha, Club Nautico, Hilton, Cabuyon, Vayas, etc.) exhibit sand that is mostly dark sand with magnetite, and composed of fragments of volcanic rock, quartz, and calcareous detritus.Leovigildo Vázquez Iñigo. Clases de arenas en Puerto Rico. 1983.Plan de Uso de Terrenos de Puerto Rico: Perfil Regional - Region Sur. (Borrador Preliminar.) Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. Junta de Planificacion. Oficina del Plan de Uso de Terrenos. San Juan, Puerto Rico. February 2006. Page 15. Accessed 31 January 2017.Coastline and Beach Analysis: Tallaboa to Salinas. Shoreline of Puerto Rico. University of Puerto Rico, Recinto Universitario de Mayaguez. Accessed 30 January 2017. Also, the sand at mainland Ponce beaches tends to be generally dark while in the offshore Ponce islands sand is white.
Beach list summary table Beaches on the Ponce mainland No. Beach Name Length (m) Barrio Sector Coordinates Activities andServices Notes Image1 El Tuque;a.k.a., Balneario El Tuque 1100 Canas El Tuque, PR-2, at km 200.1Playa El Tuque: Ponce, Puerto Rico. DescubraPuertoRico.com 2017. Accessed 25 January 2017. ;Beaches in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Lindsay Nixon. USA Today. (US Travel » Puerto Rico Travel » Puerto Rico Beaches » Beaches in Ponce, Puerto Rico.) Accessed 20 January 2017.
; 2Punta SalineraListo el plan de seguridad de Ponce para el 4 de julio: A raíz de la festividad podrán disfrutar del Complejo Recreativo la Guancha, El Tuque, Playa Punta Salinera, el Río del Real Anón, Isla de Caja de Muerto e Isla de Cardona. CyberNews. 3 July 2019. Ponce, Puerto Rico: La Perla del Sur. Accessed 6 July 2019. unknown CanasListo el plan de seguridad de Ponce para el 4 de julio: A raíz de la festividad podrán disfrutar del Complejo Recreativo la Guancha, El Tuque, Playa Punta Salinera, el Río del Real Anón, Isla de Caja de Muerto e Isla de Cardona. CyberNews. 3 July 2019. Ponce, Puerto Rico: La Perla del Sur. Accessed 6 July 2019. Southwest of Laguna Las Salinas on PR-2, km 200.2; 3Las Salinas unknown Canas South of Laguna Las SalinasPREPA Geographic Response Plan Map: PR-59: GRP - Oil Spill Sensitive Site Report for Sector: San Juan - Laguna de las Salinas, Ponce. (Site ID: A42) State of Florida. Fish and Wildlife Commission. Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. 27 May 2011. Accessed 25 January 2017. on PR-2, km 200.2; Playa Las Salinas. Rafael Santiago Toro. Flickr. 22 October 2010. Accessed 28 January 2017.4Cañas 1100 Canas Between Punta Cucharas and the jetty just west of the Ponce water treatment plant.Punta Cuchara. University of Puerto Rico, Recinto Universitario de Mayaguez. Department of Marine Sciences. Geological Oceanography Program. Accessed 24 January 2017. Accessed from PR-2 & Ave. Punto Oro, south on the asphalt, gravel, and (then) dirt road to the end.
Playa Cañas. Jose Francisco Salgado. Flickr. 31 January 2013. Accessed 28 January 2017.5MatildeCoastal study sites south coast Puerto Rico: El Tuque Beach, Ponce. University of Puerto Rico, Recinto Universitario de Mayaguez. Department of Marine Sciences. Geological Oceanography Program. Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.While some sources may name this beach "Matilda", there is no Playa Matilda in Ponce; the correct spelling (and the one most authorities use) is "Matilde". unknown Canas South of the Ponce water treatment plant; just west of Río Matilde.Punta Cuchara. University of Puerto Rico, Recinto Universitario de Mayaguez. Accessed 24 January 2017.Matilda (sic) Beach, Ponce. University of Puerto Rico, Recinto Universitario de Mayaguez. Geological Oceanography Program. Accessed 24 January 2017. Accessed from PR-2 and PR-9, heading south, following the road leading to the Ponce water treatment plant. Playa Matilde Beach. University of Puerto Rico, Recinto Universitario de Mayaguez. Department of Marine Sciences. Geological Oceanography Program. Accessed 28 January 2017.6Chencha;a.k.a., "El Tubo" 500 Playa Between Río Matilde eastward to the breakwater at Ocean View Restaurant (Dorado St.)La Playa de Ponce Reverdece. Domingo Rodriguez. La Regata: El Periodico Nautico de Puerto Rico. Caguas, Puerto Rico: Editorial La Regata. Year 19. Issue 3 (March 2016). (ISUU Issue 1603) Page 28. March 2016. Accessed 27 January 2017. Accessed from PR-585, then Ave. Los Meros to the end. ; 7Los Meros Pedro A. Menéndez Sanabria. Voces del Sur. vocesdelsurpr.com. 10 August 2016. Accessed 26 January 2017. 500 Playa Between the breakwater at Ocean View Restaurant (Dorado St) and the Villa Pesquera fishing village piers (former mouth of Río Portugués) Accessed from PR-585, then Ave. Los Meros, then Ocean View Restaurant. ; Neysa Rodriguez Deynes. Brevario Sobre la Historia de Ponce.Gobierno Municipal de Ponce. Oficina de Cultura y Turismo. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2002. p. 113 8Playa de PoncePonce Beach. Caribya. IIWINC. 2017. Accessed 20 January 2017.Not to be confused with the populated neighborhood and municipal ward "Barrio Playa de Ponce". unknown Playa Between the Villa Pesquera fishing piers and the Ave. Hostos Final pier. At the southernmost tip of PR-585Plan de Uso de Terrenos de Puerto Rico: Perfil Regional - Region Sur. (Borrador Preliminar.) Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico. Junta de Planificacion. Oficina del Plan de Uso de Terrenos. San Juan, Puerto Rico. February 2006. Page 15. Accessed 2 December 2011.Map of Ponce Beach. Caribya. IIWINC. 2017. Accessed 20 January 2017. ; Playa de Ponce. Trazando Fronteras. 17 May 2010. Accessed 28 January 2017.9El Malecón unknown Playa At Parque Pasivo Enrique Gonzalez on Calle Bonaire,Nadadores Venezolanos: A defender su dominio en el Cruce a Nado Internacional. Junior Lugo Marrero. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 31. Issue 1552. Page 53. 28 August 2013. Accessed 23 January 2017. two blocks south of the southernmost tip of Avenida Hostos (PR-123) in barrio Playa de Ponce Regresa el Cruce a Nado a Ponce. Junior Lugo Marrero. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 32. Issue 1604. Page 51. 26 August 2014. Accessed 23 January 2017.Also the Finish site of Cruce a Nado InternacionalRegresa el Cruce a Nado Internacional, La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 31. Issue 1552. Page 53. 28 August 2013. Accessed 23 January 2017. 10Club Náutico de Ponce unknown Playa Isla de Gatas, within the Club Náutico de Ponce property, across from La Guancha Boardwalk, accessed via PR-12 ;This beach is within the area of Club Nautico de Ponce, a private club 11La Guancha;Inauguran Complejo de Recreación La Guancha. El Nuevo Día. 15 June 1998. (In Spanish.)a.k.a. Playa Carenero 850 PlayaChapter IX: Porto Rico. West Indies Pilot. Volume 1:The Bermuda Islands, Bahama Islands and the Greater Antilles. United States Hydrographic Office. United States Navy. Fourth Edition. 1922. Page 594. Accessed 22 January 2017. La Guancha Recreational and Cultural Complex, at the southernmost tip of PR-12 (Avenida Santiago de los Caballeros) ; La Guancha: Ponce, Puerto Rico. ZeePuertoRico.com 23 January 2017. ;Punta Carenero. Descubra Puerto Rico.com Accessed 22 January 2017.
La Guancha: A Fun Weekend Spot for the Whole Family. Gwen. Puerto Rico Day Trips. 28 June 2015. Accessed 30 January 2017. 12Playa del HiltonMonitoria de Playas. Junta de Calidad Ambiental de Puerto Rico. Programa de Monitoria de Playas y Notificacion Publica. "Notificacion Ambiental, Emitida el 20 de Enero de 2017." 20 January 2017. Accessed 24 January 2017. unknown Playa Hotel Ponce Hilton, west of Río Bucaná, accessible through Hilton Ponce Golf and Casino Resort, PR-12 South to Avenida Caribe