The Space Coast tells the truth, the whole truth. Not even a hint of exaggeration in its name: if there's one thing the Space Coast has, it's lots of space. And not just what you experience at Kennedy Space Center. Step outside and the space is wide open and drenched with water, water everywhere.

So, it comes as no surprise that outdoor pursuits concentrate on, in, or near the Space Coast's spacious waterfronts - the Atlantic Ocean, Indian River, Banana River, St. Johns River, plus countless lagoons, creeks, canals and streams. Here I diagram three days of active fun where the main ingredient is water.


Day One

Start your visit with an overview of local ecology and history on a morning cruise with Island Boat Lines. Two-hour excursions depart from Cactus Flower Restaurant on a portion of Intracoastal Waterway known as the Banana River and heads through estuary dolphin habitat to Cocoa Beach's mangrove 1,000 Islands. You get a visual, auditory and olfactory introduction to birds roosting, hunting and dining along rookery islands and backyards. Bring your binoculars for a close look at pelicans, herons, ospreys and anhingas. On warm days, look for manatees in the water.

Linger at the Cactus Flower Restaurant for authentic Mexican lunch waterside, the quintessential backdrop for any Space Coast meal. For a more intimate interaction with the region's rich wildlife, work off lunch with a kayak trip. A good place for beginners to start, Brevard Zoo takes you on half-hour guided tours of either its African portion, where only water separates you from giraffes and ostriches, or Florida wetlands, where you'll spot local birds and small alligators.

For those more experienced, the zoo offers a four-hour tour at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, a 140,000-acre mass of untouched habitat for hundreds of species of land and water fauna.


Day Two

 Time to hit the beach, Beach Boy-style. Meaning: with surfboards. Haven't a clue? (Not to mention a board?) Sign up with a local surfing school for a group or private lesson. Then head to any one of the area's surfing hotspots for a day of shredding the waves. Cocoa Beach Pier is most famous and happening, and the site of Easter's Surfing Festival. You can rent or buy your equipment nearby at super-sized Ron Jon Watersports.


Cocoa Beach makes a convenient spot to anchor your water-seeking stay on the Space Coast. Several chains, such as Hampton Inn, are central to the long, watery coast line. If you're surfing-obsessed like my family, however, try the new Ron Jon Resort Cape Caribe in Cape Canaveral.

Drive the wildlife trail and main road across estuary, scrub, and pine flatwoods to the Manatee Observation Deck, where the docile, blimpy marine mammals gather.

Day Three

 Head to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge with a picnic lunch for a morning of wetlands exploration by car and foot. Drive the wildlife trail and main road across estuary, scrub, and pine flatwoods to the Manatee Observation Deck, where the docile, blimpy marine mammals gather. For a guided birding tour of the refuge - home to bald eagles, rare Florida scrub jays, and 320-plus other species of birds, hook up with the Audubon Society.

Continue eastward through the refuge to reach the inimitable, breathtaking beaches of Canaveral National Seashore. Free of development (other than launch pads and other space center structures that loom in the distance like a desert mirage), it goes on for 43 miles along a narrow strip of land where birders, surfers and fishermen converge. Go ahead, though, do nothing but soak up a tan if that's how the mood strikes.