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Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

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Lori Wilson Park boardwalk

Cocoa Beach

Home of “I Dream of Jeannie” and the best surfing on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, Cocoa Beach is a top destination for beachgoers and folks who love to play near the shore

Paddling Thousand Islands

Most visitors to Cocoa Beach head straight to the beach, especially if they’ve followed the Beachline from the city to the coast to get here. But that’s not all that Cocoa Beach and its surrounding communities of Cocoa, Cape Canaveral, and Merritt Island have to offer.

Paddlers have many miles of waterways to ply. In the Banana River Aquatic Preserve, paddlers can follow a marked blueway through the Thousand Islands, a puzzle of mangrove tunnels between tiny islands just offshore. Land-based trails lead along its edges.

The city of Cocoa Beach maintains several natural areas, and Jetty Park at Cape Canaveral has the only walk-to-the-beach camping in the region. Along Merritt Island, windsurfers launch from Kelly Park because of the persistent breeze there. Across the island and neighboring Cocoa, there are county natural lands and open space parks to explore, all the way west to the St. Johns River.

Resources

50 Hikes in Central Florida Central Florida Orlando Explorers Guide book cover Complete Guide to Florida Wildflowers Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover

Disclosure: As authors and affiliates, we receive earnings when you buy these through our links. This helps us continue to provide public information on this website.

Trails and Parks Near Cocoa Beach

Linear Park Brevard Zoo boardwalk

Brevard Zoo Linear Park

Brevard Zoo Linear Park
Scrub forest and ditch Helen Allan Cruikshank Sanctuary

Helen & Allan Cruickshank Sanctuary

Helen & Allan Cruickshank Sanctuary
Jetty Park Cape Canaveral

Jetty Park

Jetty Park
Thousand Islands Cocoa Beach

Paddling the Thousand Islands

Paddling the Thousand Islands
River Lakes Conservation Area

River Lakes Conservation Area

River Lakes Conservation Area
Sams House Hammock Loop

Sams House at Pine Island

Sams House at Pine Island
White blaze on cabbage palm

Taylor Creek Loop

Taylor Creek Loop
Viera Wetlands Park

Viera Wetlands

Viera Wetlands

Related Articles

Man on a paddleboard

Launching Into Paddleboarding

October 17, 2021//  by John Keatley

Pelicans on Pine Island Creek

Biking Pine Island Conservation Area

December 20, 2020//  by John Keatley

Thousand Islands Cocoa Beach

Paddling the Thousand Islands

July 17, 2019//  by John Keatley

ALL Articles More Parks


INCLUDES: Cape Canaveral, Cocoa | NEARBY: Melbourne, Merritt Island, Orlando, Titusville | ALONG: Atlantic Ocean , Indian River Lagoon | PART OF: Central Florida, Florida’s Space Coast

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