Things to do / Travel Guide
Address:Cocoa Beach, Florida
This 6-mile stretch on Florida's Space Coast is probably the only place you'll ever be able to see a shuttle launch into space while simultaneously sipping a cocktail on the beach. You may even be lucky enough to see some friendly dolphins frolicking in the waves! Cocoa Beach claimed its fame in the 1960s with the development of NASA's space program." Today its known best for its flawless blue skies, soft sand beach, and highly charged atmosphere. It's also the closest beach to Orlando, located just 45minutes away, so come on down if you're looking to spend a day lounging around in the sand. Cocoa Beach is an active and exciting beach, so if you're looking for some fun in the sun, you've come to the right place!
Whether it's whale-watching, fishing or enjoying a lazy day in the sun, Cocoa Beach can provide them all. The beach has many beautiful parks of varying size right on the ocean complete with picnic areas. Surfers will enjoy themselves here, whatever their skill level. Newbie surfers will appreciate Cherie Down Park with its smaller and easier to tackle waves, while more experienced board buffs can head for the Beach at 13th Street, with its great bowl that creates two different breaks within about 100 feet of each other.
The Cocoa Beach complex is composed of 16 beaches and parks, each of which has lots of activities to offer for a fun day out. Canaveral National Seashore at the Playalinda Beach and Jetty Park at Cape Canaveral are both wheelchair accessible. Jetty Beach is family oriented with campsites, picnic spots, restrooms, and changing areas all close to the water's edge. Kids will have a great time on the playground, and there are nets set up for beachside volleyball. Those who like fishing should definitely bring their rods and feel free to settle in for a long relaxing day as the Beach remains open from 7am-10pm. Canaveral National Seashore is still pretty undeveloped, so be sure to bring along a picnic and anything else you might need for your day at the beach there. It's an excellent place to come for a quiet, relaxing afternoon. Take a nap in a hammock or just soak up its natural beauty. This is Cocoa Beach's own little pocket of tranquility. There are dunes and green pine groves overlooking the Atlantic, and it attracts fewer crowds than the other Cocoa Beach shorelines.
For more action, Cocoa Beach's Coconut Point Park takes up 36 acres of beachfront which houses a seasonal turtle nesting area on the beach, and boasts visitor accommodations. It's also got ideal waves for surf-fishing and surfing. Cocoa Beach Pier on Meade Avenue stretches 840 feet over the ocean. Take a leisurely stroll and enjoy the gorgeous ocean view. The pier has great restaurants for when you get hungry, plus lively bars which sometimes feature live music. There's also some good free entertainment along the length of the pier. Kids will love Ricky's Ice Cream Parlor and Arcade, located next to the pier, for its gooey ice cream sundaes and the enormous, 3D sea-creatures decorating its interior. Fishermen come to Cocoa Beach Pier with their beach chairs and ice cold beers, and settle themselves in for the afternoon to see what they come up with - you don't even need a fishing license to cast your line here! Another note that will interest surf fans is that the legendary Ron Jon's Surf Shop hosts the Easter Surf Festival every April at the Cocoa Beach Pier, which draws a crowd of over 100,000 surfing enthusiasts from around the globe. This is an exciting event that is definitely worth seeing for yourself.
The consistently beautiful weather is definitely one of the area's best selling points, with temperatures never dropping below 50, even in the winter. The beach owes its year round pleasant temperatures to the fact that it's situated precisely where two climatic zones (temperate and sub-tropic) meet head on, so pretty much anytime is a good time to come to Cocoa Beach.
Besides its weather and good-time beach atmosphere, Cocoa Beach is famous for being the setting for the classic 1960s TV show, I Dream of Jeannie, starring Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman. However, it's a little known fact that only one episode, the one with Jeannie's wedding to Captain Anthony Nelson, was actually filmed on location. It's easy to see why they decided to come all the way to Cocoa Beach to film this specific episode, with its natural romance, sultry sea air, sunset strolls on soft sands under swaying palms. Romance, water sports, days in the sun, and a fun, exciting atmosphere; these are what attract visitors from all over the world to the shores of Cocoa Beach.