The beach at Historic Virginia Key Beach Park is a constantly eroding beach due to the current off our shores. To keep the beach intact, this park uses a groin system. These wooden extensions called groins are a low tech form of erosion control. As the current constantly shifts sand, the groins help keep the sand in place to establish a beach. Replica groins were installed to create the historic look of the park in addition to help preserve the beach. Without the groins and the coastal dune foliage, there would not be a shoreline today. You can still see some of the original groins that existed in the 1950's once you reach the southern part of the shoreline.
