Boating, Fishing, and Travel Information for Cocoa Beach, FL

Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, FL and a key destination on the Space Coast. Tourists are drawn to the beach town in large part by surfing and surfing festivals such as the annual Easter Surfing Festival that began in 1964. The city has 37 canals as well as 17 miles of channels, as it is almost entirely surrounded by water with the Banana River on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.

Things to do in Cocoa Beach

Go to the beach!
There are four public parks with beach access: Alan Shepard Park, Sidney Fischer Park Lori Wilson Park, and Robert P. Murkshe Memorial Park.

Head in to space!
To the north of Cocoa Beach is Cape Canaveral, home of the launch site for many space-faring missions. Launch details can be found here, if you are lucky enough to be in the area for one it is not to be missed. If not, there is still plenty of out-of-this-world experiences to be had. On Merritt Island, just west of Cocoa Beach, is the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, an interactive celebration of the history (and future) of space travel on Florida’s Space Coast.

Visit Westgate Cocoa Beach Pier
Stretching 800 feet into the Atlantic, the historic Space Coast landmark was originally known as Canaveral Pier. There are 5 spots for food and drink, rental equipment for a spot of fishing, and surfing lessons (with surfboard supplied).

Look for Manatees 
Banana River lies between Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island, is the only lagoon not included in the Intracoastal Waterway, and contains an area of protected Manatee habitat. The boardwalk offers visitors a chance to see the endangered, and adorable, sea creatures.

See our weather radar, buoy data, marine forecast, and current weather for Cocoa Beach, FL.

SEE MORE

Suggest an Edit

Fishing in Cocoa Beach, FL Map View

For the latest fishing news for Florida, click here.

Coastal News Updates See All

noaa.gov

Scientists Detail Research to Assess Viability and Risks of Marine Cloud Brightening

4/17/2024

By research.noaa.gov. As the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continue to increase and climate change impacts become more costly, the scientific community is redoubling efforts to investigate the potential risks and benefits of artificially shading Earth’s surface to slow global warming. Marine cloud brightening (MCB) is one of… SEE MORE

pixabay

Using Hydrofoils to Improve Boat Performance

4/16/2024

By Capt. Vincent Daniello. In my early days as a captain, few boats cruised faster than 30 mph. Back then, bigger engines and the fuel they burned added too much weight, netting little more speed. Today, even modest performers top 50 mph thanks to lighter engines and boat construction, where more… SEE MORE

A graphic showing newly discovered underwater paleochannels off of Wilmington, North Carolina shown at 4-meter resolution

Possible Ancient River System Discovered off Wilmington, North Carolina

4/15/2024

By noaacoastsurvey. During the 2023 field season, NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler was tasked with surveying an area offshore of Wilmington, North Carolina, in the vicinity of Frying Pan Shoals—a dynamic area of dangerously shallow waters. While scientists and crew conducted mapping surveys of the seafloor, they discovered what is believed to… SEE MORE

Photo Credits

Cocoa Beach Pier, FL - Cathylaurenzi, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons