Cocoa Beach?

[LizzyS]

We really want to visit a beach one of the days that we are at WDW next February and I've been considering our options within a fairly short driving distance and someone recommended Cocoa Beach to me. This person used to live in Orlando and work at WDW, so her opinion carries a lot of weight with me on this subject.

Does anyone here have an opinions or recommendations regarding visiting Cocoa Beach? I see that there's some sort of fossil museum/shop and that's right up our alley, so we'd probably like to hit that before heading back to LBV. A relative that lives in Florida also told me that there's free parking at Lori Wilson Park (I think I'm getting that name right)? The pier looks cute, even if you do have to pay to go on it as well.

Can you sorta see the space center from this beach as well?

TIA!

 

[DOOM1001]

I prefer the gulf beaches to anything on the east coast,Clearwater being my favorite,it is a little further drive than Cocoa beach but worth it in my opinion.I've seen the vehicle assembly building from Cocoa when running the Space Coast marathon,never really paid attention or seen it from Cocoa Beach.On the east coast I prefer New Smyrna Beach to Cocoa beach but like I said do Clearwater if you can.Whatever you do just stay away from Daytona,that place just has a straight up seedy feel to it,occasionally I'll go to see one of the concerts held at the band shell and see the weird people but for the most part I avoid!!

 

[LizzyS]

I prefer the gulf beaches to anything on the east coast,Clearwater being my favorite,it is a little further drive than Cocoa beach but worth it in my opinion.I've seen the vehicle assembly building from Cocoa when running the Space Coast marathon,never really paid attention or seen it from Cocoa Beach.On the east coast I prefer New Smyrna Beach to Cocoa beach but like I said do Clearwater if you can.Whatever you do just stay away from Daytona,that place just has a straight up seedy feel to it,occasionally I'll go to see one of the concerts held at the band shell and see the weird people but for the most part I avoid!!

I've been to both Clearwater and Daytona before, haha. That's why I wanted to try out Cocoa for something new. Thank you for your response!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Be prepared it will be cold at the beach

 

[NH-to-FL]

The Cocoa Beach area is an easy drive from WDW. We have headed there twice over the last couple of years. Both times we needed handicap access so we ended up going to Jetty Park. It is at the entry to the Canaveral Barge Canal that the cruise ships use. There is a fee to enter but it has both a nice beach and a pier where you can walk out along the canal. There is also a snack shop. Last year we saw some dolphins just off the end of the pier.

 

[Tgrgrl]

I live near Cocoa Beach so a couple of comments on your OP .......Cocoa Beach Pier and Lori Wilson Park are several miles apart from each other. It would be a very long walk along the beach from one to the other. Also, there is a proposal now before the county commission to turn Lori Wilson into a paid parking park. $5/hour for non residents, maximum $25/day...FYI.
Your best views of the launch pads and cruise ship departures will be from the beach access nearest to Cape Canaveral, not Cocoa Beach.
Another poster suggested Jetty Park. It was very heavily damaged by Hurricane Irma and is closed indefinitely.

 

[NH-to-FL]

Another poster suggested Jetty Park. It was very heavily damaged by Hurricane Irma and is closed indefinitely.

Thanks for the update Tgrgrl. I am sorry to hear about the damage and hope that it can be repaired. I also hope you survived Irma with little or no impact.

 

[Tgrgrl]

Thanks NH-to-FL. Brevard County was hit very hard by Irma as we were on the nasty right quadrant side. Lots of beach erosion and many endangered sea turtle nesting grounds lost due to storm surge and we had multiple tornadoes (over 30, I think, but don't quote me) that caused a lot of damage inland. Our home is on N Merritt Island, 5 miles south of KSC and about 3 miles from Port Canaveral as the crow flies. We were lucky (?) that our home was recently updated due to the damage from Hurricane Matthew last October so we faired well except for a 6 day power/water loss. About 50,000 in our county still without power. School starts again tomorrow so hoping for some normalcy for a bit. Anxiously watching Maria now.....

 

[NH-to-FL]

Thanks NH-to-FL. Brevard County was hit very hard by Irma as we were on the nasty right quadrant side. Lots of beach erosion and many endangered sea turtle nesting grounds lost due to storm surge and we had multiple tornadoes (over 30, I think, but don't quote me) that caused a lot of damage inland. Our home is on N Merritt Island, 5 miles south of KSC and about 3 miles from Port Canaveral as the crow flies. We were lucky (?) that our home was recently updated due to the damage from Hurricane Matthew last October so we faired well except for a 6 day power/water loss. About 50,000 in our county still without power. School starts again tomorrow so hoping for some normalcy for a bit. Anxiously watching Maria now.....

Glad to hear you faired well. Acknowledging that it was due to the impact of Matthew's visit last year. We are blessed to be able to say that our winter home in Davenport survived without damage. In fact we never lost power at our place but then we are very close to the local substation. We hear that Polk County overall lost power in most areas and is still working to restore it. Being inland did make a big difference. We have experienced a number of extended power outages up here in NH but they mostly occur in the winter due to ice storms that are usually followed by bitter cold. A back up generator has become almost a necessity up here.

Here's wishing your normalcy returns and that Maria curls out to sea.

 

[Minnesota!]

I live near Cocoa Beach so a couple of comments on your OP .......Cocoa Beach Pier and Lori Wilson Park are several miles apart from each other. It would be a very long walk along the beach from one to the other. Also, there is a proposal now before the county commission to turn Lori Wilson into a paid parking park. $5/hour for non residents, maximum $25/day...FYI.
Your best views of the launch pads and cruise ship departures will be from the beach access nearest to Cape Canaveral, not Cocoa Beach.
Another poster suggested Jetty Park. It was very heavily damaged by Hurricane Irma and is closed indefinitely.

I am so sad to hear about Jetty Park. We went to Cocoa Beach last year and my day there was quite a highlight. I am an ocean-loving girl, and I took a nap right there on the beach, listening to those amazing waves. Watched cruise ships come and go (along with the dolphins that led them out), etc. It was easily one of the best days of my life. I hope they are able to rebuild and reopen. I absolutely LOVE Cocoa Beach - the community. It is just what I would picture as MY paradise...

 

[dazedx3]

We are planning on a day at Cocoa Beach following our WDW trip and a visit to the Space Center, any recommendations for a beach front hotel? Thanks

 

[Woodview]

Double Tree

 

[Blue32]

Is Cocoa Beach in decent shape following the storm season? We are headed to WDW at the end of the month and wondering what Beach to head to on the Atlantic side. Thanks!

 

[fla4fun]

Double Tree

The Doubletree Cocoa Beach was damaged by Irma and will be closed the next few months for repairs. I had a reservation there for October and stayed at the Homewood Suites in Cape Canaveral instead. While I prefer the Doubletree and being right on the beach, the Homewood was fine. It's very close the port, so I got a good view of the ships going in and out.

 

[disjrmom]

I'm thinking of leaving a day early & going to Daytona so the kids can play in the sand. Then hitting the Speedway to see the Speedway in Lights that night, then to Orlando. Anyone else thinking of going to see the lights?