Things To Do in Cocoa Beach

The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the top visitor site in these parts and shouldn't be missed. But it's a complex endeavor to get everything you can out of a visit, so click on the link in the previous sentence to read our complete review of it.

Beaches & Wildlife Refuges

To the north of the Kennedy Space Center, Canaveral National Seashore is a protected 13-mile stretch of barrier-island beach backed by cabbage palms, sea grapes, palmettos, marshes, and Mosquito Lagoon. It also happens to be the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in Florida, which is a remarkable feat. This is a great area for watching herons, egrets, ibises, willets, sanderlings, turnstones, terns, and other birds. You might also glimpse dolphins and manatees in Mosquito Lagoon. Canoeists can paddle along a marked trail through the marshes of Shipyard Island, and backcountry camping is possible November through April (permits required; see below). It also happens to be the most popular spot for rocket launches.

The Apollo Visitor Center is at 7611 S. Atlantic Ave., New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169 (tel. 321/428-3384), on Apollo Beach, at the north end of the island. The southern access gate to the island is 8 miles east of Titusville on Florida 402, just east of Florida 3. A paved road leads from the gate to undeveloped Playalinda Beach, one of Florida’s most beautiful. Though illegal, nude sunbathing has long been a tradition here (at least, for those willing to walk a few miles to the more deserted areas). The beach has toilets, but no running water or other amenities, so bring everything you’ll need. There’s also a turtle-watch program.

For those looking for a little more history, The Eldora Statehouse  is a step back in time, a well-preserved example of earlier life along Mosquito Lagoon. It is in Canaveral National Seashore’s Apollo district, and is open year-round. The seashore is open daily from 6am to 8pm during daylight saving time, daily from 6am to 6pm during standard time. Entry fees are $25 per car, $20 per motorcycle, and $15 per pedestrian for a 7-day visit. National Park Service passports are accepted. Backcountry camping permits cost $20 per night and must be obtained from the New Smyrna Beach visitor center (see above). They also rent canoes for $25.  

Canaveral National Seashore’s neighbor to the south and west is the 140,000-acre Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, home to hundreds of species of shorebirds, waterfowl, reptiles, alligators, and mammals, many of them endangered. It’s also one of the most productive estuaries in the country. The refuge was established as an overlay of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s John F. Kennedy Space Center. According to the agreement with NASA, the lands and waters of the Kennedy Space Center are primarily to serve the space program and secondarily to serve as a wildlife refuge or park. Pick up a map and other information at the visitor center, on Florida 402 about 4 miles east of Titusville (it’s on the way to Playalinda Beach). The center has a quarter-mile boardwalk along the edge of the marsh. Displays show the animals you may spot from 6-mile Black Point Wildlife Drive or from one of the nature trails through the hammocks and marshes.

The visitor center is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8am to 4pm. A Refuge Pass is required to enter the Black Point Wildlife Drive and Bio Lab Road, and to launch a boat at Bair's Cove, Beacon 42, and Bio Lab boat ramps.

A variety of passes can be purchased in-person at the Visitor Center. Daily passes are $10 and can be purchased at self-pay stations with exact change. They can also be purchased online at Recreation.gov.

For more information and a schedule of programs and events, contact the refuge (tel. 321/861-0667).

Note: Parts of the national seashore near the Kennedy Space Center and all of the refuge close 4 days before a shuttle launch and usually reopen the day after.

Another good beach area is Lori Wilson Park, on Atlantic Avenue at Antigua Drive in Cocoa Beach (tel. 321/455-1380), which preserves a stretch of sand backed by a forest of live oaks. The park is open daily from sunrise to sunset.

The beach at the Westgate Cocoa Beach Pier, on Meade Avenue east of A1A (tel. 321/783-7549; ), is a popular spot with surfers, who consider it the East Coast’s surfing capital. The rustic pier was built in 1962 and has 842 feet of fishing, shopping, and dining overlooking a wide, sandy beach. Because this is not a public park, there are no restrooms other than the ones in restaurants on the pier.

Jetty Park, 400 E. Jetty Rd., at the south entry to Port Canaveral (tel. 321/783-7111), has lifeguards, a fishing pier with bait shop, a playground, a volleyball court, a horseshoe pit, picnic tables, a snack bar, a grocery store, restrooms, changing facilities, and the area’s only campground. From here, you can watch the big cruise ships as they enter and leave the port’s narrow passage. The park is open daily from 7:30am to dusk; the pier is open 24 hours for fishing. Admission is $15 per car for nonresidents of Brevard County. The 150 tent and RV campsites (some of them shady, most with hookups) cost $24 to $64 a night, depending on the location and time of year. There are also eight cabins, each with queen bed, twin bunk beds, half-bath, lighted porch, ceiling fan, mini fridge, and charcoal grill. Rates are $140 a night. Properly immunized pets are allowed in some areas of the park.

Located right next to Jetty Park is The Cove at Port Canaveral, 520 Glen Cheek Dr., Cape Canaveral, where there are restaurants, shops, bars, and charter boats.