| A Visit to Playalinda Beach |
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| May 02, 2008 |
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If you are looking for a really remote beach where you can truly get away from the crowd, I've got a just the place for you. Canaveral National Seashore on the Atlantic coast's Cape Canaveral is one of the most remote beaches in Florida.
There are three named beaches on this wild shoreline: Playalinda Beach, Klondike Beach, and Apollo Beach. I recently explored Playalinda Beach and was completely captivated by its beauty. After I spent two days on Cocoa Beach, with its hotels and restaurants, traffic lights, and parking meters, Playalinda Beach really made me realize what a natural beach has to offer: tall dunes, beautiful foliage, wildlife, and a great view unimpeded by buildings. But most of all, it gave me a sense of being far away (but not too far).
My journey to Playalinda began in Cocoa Beach. I drove north on Highway 1, along the Indian River through Titusville (which I found to be a pleasantly relaxed community) and then turned east on Highway 402 to cross Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Highway 402 connects to Playalinda Beach Road and sits just north of the Kennedy Space Center complex. In the distance I could see the space shuttle launch facilities and the monstrous Vehicle Assembly Building on the skyline, as a reminder that civilization isn't that far away. There is a $3 entrance fee to the wildlife refuge.
The drive across the wildlife refuge was further than I'd expected. I was pleased to see that such a large sanctuary borders the coast and I was beginning to get the sense that Playalinda was indeed going to be a remote place. The refuge is mostly wetlands and is home to a myriad of birds, mammals and reptiles. There are a number of spots provided where cars can pull off the road and observe or take photos. Traffic is very light during the week and wildlife is easily spotted. I saw innumerable birds, several gopher tortoises and an alligator basking in a ditch beside the road.
After leaving Titusville, it was about 12 miles across the refuge before the road takes a sharp curve north along the beach. The ocean actually cannot be seen from the road because the vegetation-covered dunes are so tall. The next five or six miles of paved road offer 13 beach parking areas providing wooden dune walkovers with stairs. There are restroom facilities, but they do not provide flush toilets, just outhouse type arrangements. Bring your own food and water-- there are no beach concessions and no lifeguards.
The beach is remote and quiet, but not deserted. I found between 2 and 10 cars at most of the parking areas and a handful of people clustered around each dune walkover. There were a number of fishermen surf casting and several surfers at each access point in addition to the usual sunbathers. I have no doubt that the parking areas fill up on the weekends.
If you've heard anything about Playalinda Beach, you've probably heard that it is famous as a naturist beach (nude beach). Upon entering the beach area, you will see signs reminding you that nudity is prohibited. However, due to the remoteness of the beach and the lack of resources to enforce the law, some nudity on the beach is not unheard of. I visited at least half of the 13 access points and everyone had their clothes on. I spoke with a young couple in the parking area about how far north the road continues. “Just about another quarter-mile,” they said. They found nude sunbathers up there and decided to pick another spot.
I drove to the last access, #13, and found the parking area to be nearly full. Climbing to the top of the dune walkover, I was expecting perhaps a sea of nudity on the beach, but found a fairly normal beach scene, though with a larger percentage of gay men than is usual at most beaches.
So my experience at Playalinda is that you are unlikely to encounter any nudity unless you venture all the way to access #13 and walk another quarter mile up or more up the beach.
What you will encounter everywhere at Playalinda is peace and quiet.
(Note: Canaveral National Seashore can also be accessed from via New Smyrna Beach. The north district is Apollo Beach, the south district is Playalinda, and in between the two is 24 miles of remote beach called Klondike Beach. For more info on access to Canaveral National Seashore.)
See you at the beach! |
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| The tall, vegetation-covered dunes and the quiet beach draw people to the windswept shores of Playalinda Beach. |
| Credit: David McRee, VISIT FLORIDA Beaches Expert |
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