Exploring Florida’s Canaveral National Seashore and Apollo Beach

Welcome to Florida’s longest undeveloped beach on the Atlantic Coast!
Looking to explore more of Florida’s natural wonders?
Visit the manatees at Blue Spring State Park,
or float down the lazy river at Rock Springs Run in Kelly Park.

LOCATION

This guide focuses on the Apollo Beach section of Canaveral National Seashore, which is located on the Atlantic Coast about 24 miles south of Daytona Beach. The Apollo Beach entrance station is found south of New Smyrna Beach on South Atlantic Avenue/Turtlemound Road.

WE WERE THERE

February 2022, for about 5 hours

CURRENT INFO

For more information about Canaveral National Seashore, visit the National Park Service website.

WHAT TO BRING

When visiting Canaveral National Seashore, I suggest packing the following:

• America the Beautiful Pass — If you don’t have a pass, you can instead pay the $20 entry fee.
• National park passport books — Get your Canaveral National Seashore stamp!
• Water
• Food — While there are restaurants and stores in nearby Smyrna Beach, there are none within Canaveral National Seashore. Pack in your own picnic food and snacks.
• Sunscreen
• Shade hats & sunglasses
• Windbreakers/rain jackets — The wind (or rain) can whip up quickly. Be prepared with a hooded jacket, especially in cold weather.
• Good walking shoes/sandals — Wear something comfortable for flat, sandy trails and beaches.
• Dry socks — If your kids are like mine, they’ll need these!
• Towels
• Plastic bag for garbage — Do your part to help keep Florida clean and pristine, and pick up any litter you find washed up on the beach.

GOOD TO KNOW

Bring your America the Beautiful Pass (or other national lands pass), as it covers the entrance fee for Canaveral National Seashore. Some individuals, including active military and fourth graders, may qualify for a free pass. If you don’t have a pass, you can instead pay the $20 entrance fee at the gate.

Important Note: This guide covers only the Apollo Beach section of Canaveral National Seashore at the north end of the preserve. The entrance to this section of the park is located at the south end of New Smyrna Beach. If you want to visit other areas, such as Playalinda Beach near the Kennedy Space Center, you will need to enter the park at Titusville or Oak Hill. It takes an hour to drive from the Apollo Beach entrance to the Titusville entrance, so I recommend focusing your visit on one section of the park. We chose Apollo Beach since it’s generally uncrowded and offers a good variety of short trails, historic sights, and easy beach access.

Since Canaveral National Seashore is part of our national parks system, it offers its own Junior Ranger program. Pick up a booklet at the Apollo Beach Visitor Center to give your kids the chance to earn their Junior Ranger badge. If you collect national park cancellation stamps, don’t forget to stamp your passport book at the visitor center as well.

Restrooms or vault toilets are available at the Apollo Beach Visitor Center and the parking lots for Eldora, Castle Windy, and the beach access at the end of the road. Picnic tables are available near the visitor center and the Eldora parking lot.

Pets on leash are welcome on trails on the Mosquito Lagoon side of the park, including Eldora and Turtle Mound. They are not allowed on beaches or beach boardwalks.

Kayaks and canoes are available for rent at the Apollo Beach Visitor Center. Rental times may be limited as these boats are also used by campers overnighting on the islands of Mosquito Lagoon. You’re welcome to launch your own watercraft as well.

HIGHLIGHTS

Dreaming of unspoiled, windswept beaches under endless blue skies? Canaveral National Seashore is where it’s at (although, to be fair, I can’t promise the sky will always be blue). As someone who grew up near the Oregon coast, wide open beaches are kind of my thing, so I was delighted to discover Apollo Beach offered much of the same. Throw in a little history at Eldora and Turtle Mound, some beautiful boardwalks and lush green forest paths, and you have all you need for a fabulous day on the Florida coast.

THE KIDS’ TAKE

At first, there were a few complaints. Do we have to hike? The beach is boring! OK, I have to take issue with that last statement. When is the beach ever boring? With plenty of wide open space to run, shells to discover, and even a washed up coconut, Apollo Beach at Canaveral National Seashore was far from boring. And the super short hikes were fun too, especially the boardwalks and armadillos. We were so busy we didn’t even get around to completing our Junior Ranger booklets (luckily we can always mail them in later)!

WHILE YOU’RE HERE

The region around Canaveral National Seashore is commonly referred to as Florida’s “Space Coast” because of — you guessed it! — its proximity to NASA and the Kennedy Space Center. Now, lest you think you can easily tie in a visit to Apollo Beach with the Kennedy Space Center, keep in mind that it can take almost an hour and a half to drive from one to the other, as Apollo Beach is located at the north end of Canaveral National Seashore. When visiting the Space Center, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Playalinda Beach are much closer.

The many waterways within Canaveral National Seashore are ideal for paddling. Backcountry, boat-in campsites are available on some of the islands in Mosquito Lagoon. Campsites must be reserved in advance.

Central Florida offers many other great natural parks, not just theme parks. Check out Blue Spring State Park for the chance to see manatees in winter. For some good clean fun, head to Kelly Park, where the Rock Springs Run creates a natural lazy river perfect for tubing.

If you’re driving between the Orlando area and Canaveral National Seashore and looking for a bite to eat, stop by Henry’s Depot in Sanford. This gourmet food court located in a former train depot offers pizza, sandwiches (even lobster rolls!), ice cream, and more.

This guide covers all the main stops that are accessible by road from the north entrance of Canaveral National Seashore, including Apollo Beach, Turtle Mound, Eldora, and Castle Windy.
For information about Playalinda Beach at the southern end of Canaveral National Seashore, visit the National Park Service website.

TURTLE MOUND

Right after you pass through the entrance for Canaveral National Seashore, before you even reach the visitor center, a sign marks the trailhead for Turtle Mound. We passed by it on our way in, choosing instead to stop on our return trip (a good choice, considering the wind died down significantly later that afternoon). Regardless of when you visit, Turtle Mound is definitely a high point — quite literally — of Canaveral National Seashore.

So, what exactly is Turtle Mound? At 50 feet high, it’s one of the largest shell middens found in Florida. Composed of oyster shell remnants and other objects left by the Timucuan people, the mound is something of a mystery. We don’t know it’s full purpose, but the hope is that by preserving it, the Timucua will also be remembered. Tragically, the Timucua were completely wiped out following the arrival of the first Europeans to Florida.

A gorgeous boardwalk protects the landscape, sloping gently upward as you make your way to the top of Turtle Mound. In less than a quarter of a mile, you’ll arrive at the first of three viewing platforms looking out across Mosquito Lagoon. It’s an incredible view. From the southernmost platform, we could take in both Mosquito Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean at once. For us, it was a beautiful way to end our visit at Canaveral National Seashore. For those reading this guide, we’re just getting started….

APOLLO BEACH VISITOR CENTER

Just down the road from Turtle Mound is the Canaveral National Seashore Apollo Beach Visitor Center. It’s quite the name for such a diminutive building. The visitor center is compact, and offers a few small but well done displays highlighting the native flora and fauna. This is also the place to pick up Junior Ranger booklets, maps and guides, stamp your U.S. National Parks passport book, and purchase books and souvenirs.

I eagerly collected the Junior Ranger booklets for J and T, but admit we didn’t complete them during our visit. We were too busy exploring the trails and playing on the beach! Fortunately, you can also complete the booklets at home, then mail them in to receive your badge.

After checking out the visitor center, we huddled under a nearby picnic shelter for a hurried lunch. The wind whipped around us, and the air was chilly, but was it just my imagination, or was it starting to warm up? The picnic shelter is situated near the boat launch, so we wandered down to check out Mosquito Lagoon, passing the rental canoes and kayaks. On a calm day, this would be a beautiful place to paddle. For now, we were off to explore more on foot.

ELDORA

A few miles down the road from the Apollo Beach Visitor Center, a turnoff leads to the charmingly named Eldora. Indeed, Eldora is a charming place, at least what’s left of it. In the late 1800s, it was home to a small fishing village called Fairview, which was largely abandoned when trains replaced boats as the region’s primary form of transportation. Without easy access to a train line, Fairview disappeared, replaced by Eldora, a winter vacation destination for the wealthy.

By the time of the Great Depression, Eldora, too, had fallen from favor. All that remains of the settlement today is the graceful State House, standing watch on the shores of Mosquito Lagoon, surrounded by the dense coastal hammock. If you want to learn more about Eldora’s history and the nature that surrounds it, scan the QR code found on signs along the trail to download an audio tour. The tour includes other sights within Canaveral National Seashore as well.

A half-mile loop hike leads to Eldora from the parking lot and back. We followed the wide, sandy road to Mosquito Lagoon, which gave the kids plenty of space to run. Fallen saw palmetto branches magically became swords, and neither boy was eager to leave the grassy lawn surrounding the Eldora State House. It was the perfect place to play!

We lured them away with an armadillo sighting on the nearby boardwalk. It was our first armadillo sighting in the wild, but certainly not the last. After returning along a narrow trail through the hammock, two more armadillos greeted us at the parking lot. The creatures clearly had no fear of humans, as they wandered wherever they pleased in search of the best grub, oblivious to our presence. We bid them farewell as we drove off, eager to reach our next stop.

APOLLO BEACH

At last — the beach! Apollo Beach is the big draw at Canaveral National Seashore, and it was exactly as I had hoped — endless miles of turquoise waves lapping on golden sand. Why don’t more people come here? Never mind; if they did, it would spoil the sheer beauty of the place.

We pulled into a small parking lot across the road from the Castle Windy trailhead. From here, a short boardwalk led to the beach. Coral-colored sand greeted us, and the boys immediately took off running. I paused, fascinated by the sand. Small shells were scattered along the beach, their edges worn smooth by the pounding waves. Before my eyes, I could see the progression of shells turning to sand, the ocean grinding them into ever smaller specks of white, orange, and tan, with the occasional hint of purple.

By the way, it is legal to collect shells from Canaveral National Seashore, as long as they are not currently home to a living creature. Here on the Atlantic Coast, you’ll find mostly small clam shells in a variety of colors. We enjoyed sifting through the sand, picking out a few favorite specimens to bring home.

In addition to shells, Michael discovered a withered coconut washed up on the shore. This was a great hit with the boys, who immediately began singing “The coco-coconut is a giant nut” and creating a new game by rolling it down the boardwalk. Kids sure know how to have fun!

CASTLE WINDY

Across the road from the beach lies the trailhead for Castle Windy. This flat, sandy half-mile path leads to a tiny beach on Mosquito Lagoon and another Timucuan shell midden. It may not be the most exciting destination, but the trail itself is lovely, leading through forests of saw palmetto and live oaks draped with ferns. We felt like jungle explorers as we made our way to the lagoon.

One word of warning: As we stood near the stop sign by the parking lot, about to cross the road, six-year-old T suddenly began to scream. Fire ants! Sure enough, ants were swarming the ground near the signpost, and poor T suffered several bites. Compared with the armadillos, this wildlife encounter wasn’t nearly as fun.

Canaveral National Seashore is home to many species of birds, as well as turtles, manatees, snakes, alligators, and more. When we arrived at Castle Windy, a fisherman told us he recently spotted dolphins swimming in the lagoon. We had no such luck, although we did spot numerous birds on our visit… not to mention over a dozen armadillos when all was said and done!

ROADS END AT APOLLO BEACH

At the end of the road, another boardwalk leads back to Apollo Beach. Opposite the beach, a boat launch provides access to Mosquito Lagoon. The land is narrow here, a thin strip that extends south for many miles, providing a sanctuary for shore birds, nesting sea turtles, and horseshoe crabs.

Yes, horseshoe crabs. Michael and I noticed a sign along Mosquito Lagoon near the boat launch asking visitors not to disturb the horseshoe crab nesting beach. A primitive road, really more of a trail, ran parallel to the lagoon above the beach. Although the road was gated with a sign saying “road closed”, we figured that meant closed to car traffic. Right?

Wrong! As Michael made his way back after ambling down the road, a park officer called out to him, telling him he wasn’t allowed on that side of the gate. Fortunately, when Michael explained his confusion over the sign’s intent, the officer didn’t have anything further to say, and simply let Michael pass. Word to the wise: don’t wander south of the boat launch along Mosquito Lagoon. Stick with Apollo Beach instead.

Just as before, Apollo Beach was glorious! We spent our final minutes on the beach hunting for shells and watching the waves as the tide slowly rolled in. On our way here, a sign cautioned that one may encounter nude sunbathers. The kids were aghast at the thought of naked strangers on the beach, but we assured them that on a blustery February day, it was probably a little too cold for most people to take their clothes off. Sure enough, everyone was fully covered.

I took a final look down Apollo Beach from the boardwalk before we left. The once cloudy skies were now a brilliant blue extending from the heavens to the horizon. Canaveral National Seashore is indeed a national treasure, one I hope will be preserved for generations to come.

I hope you enjoyed this tour of Canaveral National Seashore, and are inspired to both visit and help protect our incredible natural coastline.
Happy exploring, from my backyard to yours!