Sea Turtle Season in Florida: Nesting, Hatching & Turtle Walks

Quick answer: Sea turtles nest on Florida’s beaches from March, when the leatherbacks arrive, to September, and the hatchlings emerge about two months after the eggs are laid, into November. Pick your beach county and month to see which turtles nest or hatch there, how many nests it had in 2025, and the public turtle walks nearby.

How to use it

Pick the county of the beach you are going to (each one lists a few of its beach towns) and the month you go, or leave “Any month” for the whole season. The answer says which sea turtles nest there that month and whose hatchlings are coming out. Below it: each species’ 2025 nest count in that county, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s permitted public turtle walks, hatchling releases and nest digs in the county and the nearest others, and the rules for the beach at night.

When each turtle nests, and when the eggs hatch

Three species nest in Florida, each in its own months. FWC: “Loggerheads typically nest in Florida from April to September”; “Green turtle nesting in Florida occurs primarily from June through late September”; “Leatherback nesting in Florida occurs primarily from March through July.” NOAA Fisheries puts the eggs at “about two months incubating in the warm sand” before they hatch, so the hatchlings come out roughly two months behind the nesting: loggerheads from about June to November, green turtles from August to November, leatherbacks from May to September.

Where you go matters as much as when. FWC’s 2025 survey counted 100,951 loggerhead, 66,476 green turtle and 2,012 leatherback nests, and “the majority of this nesting takes place in five counties on the east coast of Florida (Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties)”. Brevard alone had 53,276 nests; Escambia, at the far end of the Panhandle, had 114. Leatherbacks nest almost only on the Atlantic side: the whole Gulf coast counted 1 leatherback nest in 2025.

Turtle walks, hatchling releases and nest digs

On your own, FWC asks you to keep your distance from a nesting turtle; but it permits groups to take the public along. On a turtle walk or a hatchling release, they “first present an interpretive program” off the beach, then lead you out at night “to observe a nesting loggerhead turtle depositing eggs or to observe the release of hatchlings”. A nest dig (a hatch success evaluation) comes after a nest has hatched: the group digs it up and counts the eggs (Coastal Connections’ start at 7:45 in the morning). FWC’s list has 34 groups: 18 run turtle walks, 9 hatchling releases and 23 nest digs. Walks fill up: Sebastian Inlet State Park’s run “only during June and July”, for 20 people a night, and Coastal Connections’ registration “opens on May 1st each year”.

Every county’s nests in 2025

From FWC’s 2025 Statewide Nesting Beach Survey, which covers about 835 miles of beach. Hillsborough County, with no surveyed beach, is left out.

Worked examples

Brevard County in July. Loggerheads, green turtles and leatherbacks are all nesting, and loggerhead and leatherback hatchlings are coming out. Four groups on FWC’s list run programs in the county, among them the Sea Turtle Preservation Society’s walks in Melbourne Beach.

Palm Beach County in March. Only the leatherbacks: FWC says about half of Florida’s leatherback nesting is in Palm Beach County. Six groups run programs there, the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach among them.

Escambia County in January. No turtle nests or hatches. Nesting there runs April to September, and the last hatchlings come out around November.

Pinellas County in June. Loggerheads and green turtles nest, and the first loggerhead hatchlings come out. No group on FWC’s list is in the county; the nearest is Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, 43 miles away.

The Keys (Monroe County) in August. Loggerheads and green turtles nest and hatch, 619 nests in 2025. The nearest public program is Miami-Dade’s, 54 miles away.

Common mistakes

• Using a flashlight or a phone on the beach at night. FWC asks you to “keep all lights off (including cell phones, flashlights, flash photography, and video equipment)”.
• Expecting loggerhead hatchlings in May. Loggerheads start nesting in April, so their hatchlings come out from about June.
• Expecting to walk up to a turtle on your own. Join a permitted walk, and book early: spaces are few and registration often opens in May.
• Leaving holes and sandcastles on the beach. NOAA asks you to “fill in holes and knock down sandcastles before you leave”.
• Helping a hatchling to the water. Leave it alone and call Wildlife Alert at 888-404-FWCC (3922) if it is headed the wrong way.

Plan the rest of the trip

Read our guides to Cocoa Beach against Melbourne Beach, Florida’s east and west coasts, Turtle Beach against Siesta Key and car camping on Florida beaches. In winter, see where to see manatees, and check the tides for a night walk with the Florida Tide Times.