Things to do / Travel Guide
Address:Titusville, Florida
"Playalinda" means pretty beach in Spanish, but Playalinda Beach at the southern end of Florida's Canaveral National Seashore is far more than just the average pretty place. Playalinda Beach is located near Titusville, just an hour's drive from Orlando. At Playalinda Beach, space shuttles meet hundreds of shorebirds, and state-of-the-art technology hangs out with undeveloped wildlife. Somehow, everything and everyone gets along. Just beyond Playalinda's sandy dunes, salt marshes, lagoons, and pine flatlands, around the corner from the largest sea turtle nesting grounds in the U.S., is the famous NASA launch pad and Kennedy Space Center Assembly Building. On an average day, bottlenose dolphins and manatee frolic in the salty lagoons, peregrine falcons and bald eagles wheel overhead, and the sun kisses the wide Atlantic Ocean. Only on Playalinda Beach do astronauts hang out with sunbathers, surf fishermen, and bird watchers! And when it comes to the water, Playalinda waves are also legendary among surfers worldwide. Tucked away on the far, northern end of Playalinda Beach is a famous, clothing-optional stretch of shoreline. In short, Playalinda Beach is the kind of place where even the most well-traveled beach bum will find something to write home about.
With 27 miles of undeveloped barrier island, Canaveral National Seashore has enough coastal wildlife to go around. And Playalinda Beach is no exception. Stroll the trails, comb the sands for seashells, or scan the shoreline for alligators, otters, snowy egrets, great blue herons, and white ibises. More than 310 species of birds roam the Canaveral National Seashore coastline, and thousands of migratory birds make their yearly pit-stop along the Playalinda Beach shores. If you are into plants, take note, that more than 1,045 plant species have been recorded in the Playalinda Beach and Canaveral National Seashore area. Palmetto, sea oats, and thick ancient oaks wrapped in Spanish moss are just a few of the green, growing treasures in the area.
To gawk at the giant space shuttles, walk to the southern end of Playalinda Beach, when you reach NASA's "No Trespassing" sign look south for a great view of the launch pad. Though the beach area closes several days before a launch, you can still get an up close and personal look at one of the shuttles on the launch pad before the big day. If you want to bypass all of the sand and head straight for the spaceships, the launch facility is very visible near the Playalinda Beach Parking Lot #1. Astronauts toting shortboards and longboards (no joke) hang out at the restricted Kennedy Space Center beaches but just up the way at Playalinda Beach you will find a group of local surfing die-hards. Winter and spring offer the best swells at Playalinda Beach, but beware of the sharks—nurse sharks and hammerheads tend to guard the Playalinda Beach waters.
At the northern end of Playalinda Beach you will find one of Florida's only few remaining nude beaches. Here's the skinny on the skinny dippers: While Playalinda Beach is unofficially clothing optional (public nudity is illegal in Florida), the local authorities generally turn a blind eye. Still, beach bumming in the buff north of Playalinda Beach's Parking Lot #13 is an at-your-own-risk kind of a thing.
While you will find a couple of rustic restrooms at Playalinda Beach, take into consideration that Playalinda Beach is a wilderness beach—bring plenty of snacks, a picnic lunch, bottled water, and an umbrella (or two) of your own as there are no facilities or running water on-site.
Located just outside of Titusville, you can reach Playalinda Beach by car via I-95, taking exit 220 and following signs east, heading toward the beach. Plan to arrive at Playalinda Beach between 7 am and 9 am during the peak summer months to catch a parking spot, otherwise you might have to hike a ways even before you reach the Playalinda Beach trails. Lifeguards keep watch over the Playalinda Beach waters from May through August. For sun, sand, and space, and for viewing spaceships in the wild, Playalinda Beach is a guaranteed blast!