Cortez Beach

Coquina Beach, Cortez Beach and Manatee Public Beach are the only beaches in Manatee County that provide beachgoers with professional lifeguard and medical rescue services. Although the lifeguards are stationed at these two beaches, they are dispatched by 911 operators to water and land emergencies along our waterways and beaches, so you will see them at various locations on and off the sand.

The Gulf of Mexico is a normally calm body of water, but caution must be used should adverse conditions arise. Mother Nature can whip up high winds or storms, thereby causing fast moving currents, wave action, and rip currents. So remember to "swim near a lifeguard." According to the United States Lifesaving Association, the chances of drowning on a beach manned by lifeguards is 1 in 18 million.