Cortez Beach

Bradenton Beach, Florida

This public beach access is located in the City of Bradenton Beach, along the sandy shores of the Gulf of Mexico. This is a unique "Old Florida" style beach encompassing a long, vast stretch of sand, located on the southwest side of Anna Maria Island, Florida. Cortez Beach is picturesque as it is lined with tall trees, filled in with native grasses, speckled with sand dunes and sea oats. This lush terrestrial habitat in combination with beautiful gulf waters make it a wonderful place to spend an easy day under the sun!

This beach does not offer access to amenities. There are no lifeguard towers, picnic areas, playgrounds or beach rentals. It is again what one would consider "Old Florida style" as it offers the basic and beautiful essentials; sun, sea, and sand! Fishing regulation/licenses may apply.

Photo by: Rick Schwartz

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COVID-19

Keep your distance from other people.

Practicing social distancing is still essential. Only go to the beach if you are able to keep 6 feet or 2 meters away from others. Follow the instructions provided by your local health authorities. If your community has asked that you remain indoors and away from others, do so. Spending a day in any crowded place is the worst thing we can do for our most vulnerable right now and will counter our efforts to curb the virus’s spread.

Water Quality

Passed water quality tests at least 95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on November 17th, 2022. The Swim Guide - Florida updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on November 17th, 2022 at 12:39 PM.

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

The Florida Department of Health (DOH) adopted new water quality criteria January 2016 for the Healthy Beaches program. They reflect the most current recommendations and water quality grant requirements in the 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Manatee County beaches are monitored by the Florida Healthy Beaches Program, and are tested bi-weekly. Monitoring results are collected on Monday and results are posted to the Florida Healthy beaches website on Wednesday. Samples are collected year round, however the peak season is from March to November. Swim Guide checks for the latest information daily, Monday - Friday.
The Florida Healthy Beaches Program Categories are:

Good = 0-35 Enterococci / 100 mL of marine water;
Moderate = 36-70 Enterococci / 100 mL of marine water, and;
Poor = 71 or greater Enterococci / 100 mL of marine water.

The 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria recommends using 70 CFU per 100 mL as the Beach Action Value (BAV) to guide public health advisories. A Single Sample Maximum (SSM) at 70 CFU per 100 ml and a BAV are functionally the same. If the sample result is above the indicated value, the beach is resampled and tested the following day or a beach advisory is issued with the first test result. The Healthy Beaches program no longer uses geometric means to represent recreational water quality data.

On Swim Guide a beach is marked Green when it has a Good or Moderate standing meaning the SSM test results show Enterococci counts between 0- 70 cfu (colony forming units) / 100ml.
Swim Guide marks a beach Red when it has a Poor standing. This means the SSM test results show Enterococci counts exceeds the BAV of 70 cfu/100ml. These conservative advisories better inform vulnerable people (children, elderly, and the immunocompromised) who have elevated health risks due to water quality at the beach.
A beach is marked Grey when no current or reliable monitoring information is available.

Please note: Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, also called flesh eating disease, is a naturally occurring bacteria in some of Florida's waters. This bacteria can be lethal, especially when contracted by individuals with compromised immune systems. Concentrations of the bacteria are higher in the mouths of rivers near oceans. The bacteria is most dangerous when ingested in raw seafood but recent deaths are attributed to individuals who have waded in water with broken skin. Beach goers are urged to use caution and consult a physician if you suspect you have come in contact with the bacteria.

Water Quality Graph