Top 5 Things to do in Brevard County

Odds are that when you think of Florida you think of retirees, Disney World, and Miami.

This is unfair. Florida is the third most populous state in the US, the 22nd largest state by land area, and the 8th most densely populated. It’s about the same size as England—not the whole UK, but England—geographically. It’s one of the largest states east of the Mississippi. It has 4 metropolitan areas with populations over 1 million, and 3 of those have populations above 2 million.

To suppose that you’ve seen everything about Florida after visiting the 43 square miles of Disney, or only seeing the beaches at the extreme southern end of the state, is to a disservice to both Florida and to yourself. Why even in Central Florida—where Disney is—there is more to see and do.

So for all those cruisers who find themselves with a car and a free day, here’s a list of things to do in Brevard County within an hour’s ride of Disney World, that isn’t another Disney park:

Playalinda Beach 

The name is Spanish for the beautiful beach, and it truly is. Miami, St. Petersburg, Daytona are all famous beaches and they all share one common trait beyond being where the waves hit the sand: high rise hotels and condos built right up to the sand. In comparison, Playalinda is still all natural.

And au naturel, the two most northern beaches are set aside for nudists, so travelers should be aware lest they see more natural states than they intend to.

Playalinda is part of the Canaveral National Seashore, a wildlife park, and possibly the only place for tourists to see a real Florida beach in a nearly unaltered state. Certainly, it’s the only convenient place 45 minutes away from the theme parks accessible by a paved road. The only thing that borders the sand here is the dune and the brush that grows upon it. Occasionally, but especially during spring, you’ll be lucky enough to see one of the bobcats that are common, but normally very shy.

On the way in check out Blackpoint Wildlife drive, a half-hour long loop popular with bird watchers where you can see local wildlife without ever leaving your car. It’s a good chance to see alligators pulled up onto the shore, especially on cool but sunny days in October through February.

The southern end borders the Kennedy Space Center, with launch pads so close they have to close the beach on launch days. Which bring us to number two…

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

You may have visited this one before. If you did your likely reaction was some variation of the word: lame.
However, things have started changing in the last two decades or so. Starting in 1995, Delaware North took over the visitor’s center and has started polishing things up, turning the complex into more than just exhibitions and IMAX screens. It now has some attractions that are on par with some of the theme parks in Orlando.

The Saturn V center actually gives visitors a sense of the power of the awesome vehicles that took men to the moon. It does start off a little underwhelming. You simply stand or have a seat in a mockup of mission control during the Apollo era. Then the simulated launch shakes everything and it borders on being unbearable. When you finally get to see a restored Saturn V you understand what those simple looking engines were really capable of.

The most exciting display, however, has to be the Space Shuttle Atlantis. A craft that only stopped going into space in 2011. Like the Saturn 5 center, the Atlantis Display starts off underwhelming with a walking tour and a movie, but in the end, it’s brilliant. The screen splits revealing the Atlantis right there and you feel your heart skip a beat because it is so unexpected.

It’s like seeing an old friend you didn’t remember and haven’t seen in years walking down the street.

Port Canaveral

Just south of the Kennedy Space Center you find Port Canaveral. A busy cargo port, and rapidly becoming one of the busiest cruise ports in the world with nearly 3 million passengers passing through a year.

While the north side of the port is given over to the cruise terminals and the big ships the southern side is for civilians and includes a marina and several bars and restaurants. You can charter a deep sea fishing expeditions, or you can simply relax have some grilled fish and a beer and watch the ships come in and go out. Occasionally, the US Navy will put in an appearance with one of its ballistic missile subs, always a startling sight to see over a club sandwich and a coke.

Jetty Park in the port provides a patch of green and a unique camping experience. Accommodations range from tents to RVs to cabins. Be aware that it’s popular with locals and snowbirds alike, and while finding a space to pitch your tent shouldn’t be too hard. A cabin or parking space for your RV will be hard to get unless you make your reservation well in advance, especially if you’re interested in seeing a launch.

Finally, check out the Exploration Tower. It’s seven stories tall and provides a nice place to observe the ships going in and out, or watch a rocket launch at Kennedy Space Center or Patrick Air Force Base. If you’re really interested in what it takes to dock a ship in a deep water port there is a simulator for docking at Port Canaveral in the tower.

Brevard Zoo

The Brevard Zoo is one of the best “little” zoos in the country. Erected mostly by local volunteers—16,000 of them—the zoo had its grand opening in 1994. Since then it’s been constantly improving with local animals from Florida like alligators and crocodiles, and more exotic creatures from Africa and Australia.

A lot of activities are set up for younger kids. There is a Wildlife Detective Training Academy for instance. Kids dig up bones in a sand pit at an “animal crime scene” and try to piece together the scenario from what they find. It’s an interesting and educational setup.

The Cape to Cairo express is another attraction. It is a small train that runs through the park past several animal displays—the lemurs are the centerpiece—and focus on the African wildlife. Visitors also have the option to kayak through the zoo. Paddling down a river with giraffes, ostriches, and zebra visible along the river bank makes it seem less like you’re visiting a zoo and more like being on an African safari. Another unique away to get around the park is the Treetop Trek. Visitors walk along suspension bridges and wires through the treetops at the zoo and take a zip line through the trees.

All in all, the Brevard Zoo has a unique setup and is more educational than a lot of Central Florida attractions. It’s definitely well worth a look, and that blend of educational and entertainment brings us to our next attraction.

Museum of Natural Science and Eastern Florida State College Planetarium

The Brevard Museum is an unexpected find, and it’s not in a place where you would expect to find a museum of its caliber. It’s wedged between Cocoa High School and the Cocoa campus of Eastern Florida State College—formerly Brevard Community College—an institution that hosts a planetarium with a 24-inch telescope, and is the largest public access telescope in the state. Their proximity is why the two are listed together, and both offer displays which are surprising and not the sort of things you might expect to find on or near the campus of what was until 2013 a community college.

The museum hosts a display of fossils that include saber-toothed cats, a mammoth, and a giant ground sloth. These are not simply displays of skulls and bones in cabinets but freestanding assemblies held together by wires and looming above you. The ground sloth alone is the size of a modern elephant and will make the onlooker wonder why the dinosaurs get all the attention.

Unfortunately, the other displays are slightly disappointing, even if they are worth a look. There is a butterfly garden which is set up to attract Florida’s native butterflies. East Florida Railway, Canaveral Lighthouse, and Florida Cracker displays cast a spotlight on the state’s history. Finally, there is a model of the Hubble Space Telescope on loan from Delaware North on display. Really though, to learn about space you want to make short hike, about a block or so, to the planetarium.

While the main feature listed by the planetarium is its 24-inch telescope, the real selling point are the two theaters. The 70-foot dome theater combines digital and optical projectors—the world’s first, according to the planetarium’s website—to give you a view of the universe projected overhead, or just allowing you to watch something educational in a way you’ve never seen before. A second theater shows films from National Geographic and IMAX on a giant movie screen. The projector is 70 mm rather than digital, which may count for or against the theater depending on your viewing preferences. Finally, and probably most importantly, you can watch laser light shows set to music like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin on Friday and Saturday nights on a 70-foot dome.

The observatory and science displays are free, although the observatory is only open from dusk to 10 PM. Show times vary so you should check with the planetarium’s website before making plans.