Summer Splash on the Space Coast

By Sandra Friend
Published: July 30, 2008
Last Updated On: March 11, 2011

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Boating

Kayaking

Outdoors & Nature

Cocoa Beach

Titusville

Sebastian

Merritt Island

Paddling, casting and cruising across Florida's Space Coast

Broken by a distant splash, the calm Banana River (actually a lagoon) gave way to a flurry of activity. "Dolphins at 3 o'clock!" yelled Susan, our guide on Island Boat Lines. We watched, entranced, as fins sliced the water while the dolphins rounded up fish. Soon after, Captain John pointed off the bow. "We've got a dolphin ahead of us!"

Karen, Kelly and Katie, three young ladies from Minnesota, rushed up to see. "There, there – he's over there," said the captain. Katie squealed. "He looked at me!"

Bounded by the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean with the Indian River Lagoon in between, the Space Coast is the perfect place to make a summer splash. Cool off as you experience these wild places from the water.


At Your Own Speed

"It's like underwater fireworks," said avid kayaker Laurilee Thompson, of the return of bioluminescence to the Indian River Lagoon. As fish race beneath the water, their trails are illuminated by tiny plankton. A dip of your paddle releases the blue-green glow. Launching from Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, A Day Away Kayak Tours offers nighttime bioluminescent kayaking tours to experience this natural wonder.  

Breathe in the tang of the salt air and listen to the pounding of the surf as you cast for ladyfish and bluefish.

A kayak trip through the Thousand Islands will keep you alert for manatees in the shallow channels; Adventure Kayak of Cocoa Beach provides guided trips through this maze of mangroves. Off Satellite Beach, Sampson's Island is a kayaker's sweet spot. The city provides a free boat ride to the island each Sunday at 1 p.m.

Paddle beneath moss-draped live oaks through Turkey Creek Sanctuary in Palm Bay, where a dock lets you disembark and explore. You can follow channel markers inland from Castaways Point Park off US 1, but closer launch points are at Alex Goode Park in Port Malabar and Briar Creek Blvd at Port Malabar Road.

A truly wild adventure is a paddle through the Brevard Zoo. Take a guided tour through 22 acres of restored wetlands or through Expedition Africa, where you pull your kayak up on the beach to visit with the giraffes.


Castaways

For a lively day out on the sea, sign up for Miss Cape Canaveral. A mainstay of the Cape since 1953, this deep-sea fishing charter goes 20 to 30 miles offshore on their 85-foot boat for a full day of fishing. At Cape Canaveral's Jetty Park, its 1,200-foot wheelchair-accessible pier is a prime place to try out your angling skills – and it's open 24 hours. Breathe in the tang of the salt air and listen to the pounding of the surf as you cast for ladyfish and bluefish. No fishing license is required, and there's a bait shop on site. Fish off the pier or from the rocky shores of Castaways Point Park; it's a calm way to end the day.

Let the kids cast in the manmade ponds at F. Burton Smith Regional Park along SR 520 west of Cocoa Beach. The palm-shaded park has picnic shelters and tent camping. Families also enjoy the full-service campground at Long Point Park within view of Sebastian Inlet, where they can fish together from coves along the mangrove shoreline.


Cruise and Learn

Today there might be 20 manatees along the shore, tomorrow a flock of ibis roosting in the mangroves. You'll see it all from Island Boat Lines, a daily eco-tour through the Thousand Islands with bounteous wildlife sightings.

In its northward flow through broad marshes and meanders, the St. Johns River is a lazy river through the Space Coast, best seen by airboat. Around since the 1930s, Airboat Rides at Midway takes off from their roadside zoo, complete with parrots, snakes and baby alligators. At Lone Cabbage Fish Camp, home of Twister Airboats, jump on the next airboat racing out of the marina into the watery wilds. These big watercrafts offer a natural thrill ride as they zoom past alligators and grazing cattle. On Lake Poinsett, Captain Rick Thrift offers a more relaxed trip on Grasshopper Airboat Ecotours. Expect to see alligators and osprey while your captain draws on his naturalist expertise to answer your questions.

From Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to the Sebastian River Inlet, the Space Coast gets you up close to nature – on the water!

To plan your outdoor getaway to Florida's Space Coast, call 877-572-3224 or visit www.space-coast.com.