Ponte Vedra Beach is an unincorporated seaside village 18 miles south east of downtown Jacksonville, Florida, near St. Augustine, Florida in St. Johns County, Florida. It is an upmarket tourist resort best known for its association with golf. It is the home of the ATP Tour, the PGA TOUR, and THE PLAYERS Championship is played at "The Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass". An area known for its resorts including Ponte Vedra Inn and Club (five diamond resort), The Lodge and Club, and the Marriott at Sawgrass. Most of the beaches have limited public access, with the exception of Mickler's Landing and Guana River State Park. Tennis and surfing are other popular activities.
Ponte Vedra Beach was 50th on the list of 100 finalists for CNN and Money magazine's 2005 list of the best places to live. It was the first place in Florida to be named this year and one of only four areas in the state to make the cut.
Ponte Vedra Beach may have been first sighted by Juan Ponce de Leon on his search for the Fountain of Youth in 1513.
Though a fact unknown by most who live there, the village was the site of a German submarine landing during the failed Operation Pastorius. On the night of June 16, 1942, four German soldiers from a German submarine came ashore carrying explosives and American money. Five days earlier, another submarine came ashore in Amagansett, New York on Long Island The German spies were captured before they could do any damage. All were tried and six were executed.
Ponte Vedra Beach is also the site of the Guana River State Park, a large nature preserve that includes miles of protected beaches, wetlands, and near-pristine woods.
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