How hot is too hot for the beach? Tips to avoid blisters, scorching your feet on hot sand

Lianna Norman, Palm Beach Post
·4 min read

Everyone that loves to go to the beach in the summer knows that hopping around on hot sand to reach the shore is a part of the experience. But how hot is too hot for a day at the beach?

Florida hasn’t stopped heating up this summer and is expected to continue experiencing extreme heat through August. In July, the state saw its second-hottest month ever recorded and record-breaking ocean surface temperatures in South Florida.

On one of the many recent days with extreme heat warnings, the sand temperature on South Beach in Miami reached a potentially scorching 137 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here’s how to protect your feet from burning on the beach during this summer’s heat wave.

How hot does sand get in 90 degree weather?

It only has to be 75 degrees outside for beach sand to be able to reach a piping hot 100 degrees, according to a study on sand-associated thermal injury to the soles of the feet, published by the National Library of Medicine.

This means that when the outside temperature reaches 90 degrees, sand can heat up to be over more than 120 degrees.

Human skin begins to feel pain at 111 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Institute for Standards and Technology. At 118 degrees, you could suffer first-degree burns and second-degree burns could be possible at just over 130 degrees.

Why is sand so hot at the beach?

The sand at the beach gets a lot hotter a lot faster than the water does because it has a much lower specific heat. This means that sand doesn't need a lot of energy from the sun to get really hot. And it stays hot for longer because of its high density.

How to protect your feet from hot sand at the beach

Here are some tips from Southwest Florida podiatry group the Foot and Ankle Group on how to protect your feet from burning on especially hot beach days:

  • Don’t grab your flip-flops. It may sound crazy because flip-flops and the beach seem to go hand-in-hand, but flip-flops tend to let a lot of sand into the sole of your shoe, trapping hot sand between the bottom of your foot and your flip-flop. On really hot days, try opting for shoes with plastic, rubber or foam soles, as they’ll provide a barrier from the hot sand for your soles. Crocs are the perfect example of a good shoe to wear to the beach during a heatwave.

  • Burrow your feet in the sand. If you’re being forced to cross hot sand with no shoes to save you, you can burrow your feet a few inches to the sand and shuffle through the sand this way. It will be slower than just walking, but you won’t burn your feet. You can thank volleyball players for this trick.

  • Wet your feet before walking on hot sand. Whether you’re walking out of the ocean and back up to your chair on the shore or walking from the parking lot to get to the beach, wetting your feet will help you withstand the hot sand for longer. If you aren’t getting out of the ocean with wet feet, splash some of your water bottle on them or run them under a spigot or beach shower. Your feet can withstand heat exposure for longer when they are wet because water cools the skin.

What are beach feet? Cause, symptoms

Beach feet is a term for thermal injury that some people get on the bottom of their feet after walking on hot sand for too long.

People who have diabetes and people who don’t often walk barefoot or haven’t been to the beach in a while are more likely to get beach feet after walking on hot sand.

Here are the signs of beach feet, according to the Foot and Ankle Group:

  • Redness

  • Blisters or skin peeling on feet

  • Foot pain

How do you treat beach feet?

If your feet are blistered or peeling after visiting the beach, you can soak your feet in cool water and apply soothing creams to help ease the pain. If you have beach feet, stay off your feet as much as possible to allow your skin to recover.

How to measure the surface temperature of beach sand for yourself

If you’d like to test the surface temperature of the sand at the beach, you’ll need an infrared thermometer. It sounds fancy, but it isn’t that expensive.

You could spend almost $800 for a top-of-the-line infrared thermometer, but Staples has one listed at a 76% discount right now, making it only $7. You can also find them at Home Depot, with options ranging from $15 to around $65, or on Amazon, with most prices ranging from $11 to around $30.

Lianna Norman covers trending news in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at lnorman@pbpost.com. You can follow her reporting on social media @LiannaNorman on X.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida beach sand, why it gets hot and how to protect your bare feet