This 92-acre Brevard County park, located behind the Eastern Florida State College gymnasium, is an…read moreexample of how environmental restoration and public recreation can coexist together. It was created through a unique partnership among Brevard County Natural Resources Watershed Management, Eastern Florida State College, the City of Titusville, the St. Johns River Water Management District, and Parrish Medical Center. Within the park is a series of interconnected lakes designed as a stormwater treatment system that cleans runoff from both Titusville and unincorporated Brevard County before it enters the Indian River Lagoon. Wetland vegetation naturally filters pollutants from the water, improving its quality before it returns to the environment. Without this treatment, stormwater runoff can contribute to algal blooms, muck accumulation, fish kills, and other ecological problems that threaten the lagoon's health. Beyond its environmental benefits, the restored wetlands provide valuable habitat for wildlife, particularly Florida's wading birds, while offering visitors opportunities for nature observation and outdoor recreation. The park contains a variety of habitats, including artificial lakes, freshwater wetlands, salt marshes, mangrove communities, and hardwood and sabal palm hammocks. Visitors can explore approximately three miles of paved trails, including a scenic 2.6-mile loop for walking, running, and cycling. Additional amenities include a five-story wildlife observation tower offering a stunning view of the wetlands, athletic fields, picnic pavilions, playgrounds, and access to the surrounding trail network. The park is an official stop on the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail, a statewide network of more than 500 premier wildlife-viewing sites. It is well known for its abundant wildlife, and visitors can expect to see Ospreys, herons, egrets, turtles, and alligators, one reason swimming is prohibited in the lakes. During my visit, I spotted Black Vultures, a Great Blue Heron, and a Great Egret. Other species frequently seen here include Wood Storks, Glossy Ibises, Cattle Egrets, Mottled Ducks, Laughing Gulls, and Forster's Terns. Roseate Spoonbills make occasional appearances, along with Bald Eagles while ospreys are common throughout the park. During migration along the hammock trails you may find songbirds such as Prairie Warblers in spring and fall, or Painted Buntings during the winter months. The park also hosts the annual Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, one of the largest birding festivals in the country. Cyclists will appreciate that the park serves as a trailhead for both the Brevard Coast-to-Coast Trail and the East Coast Greenway, providing miles of additional scenic riding along the corridor that parallels US 1. Chain of Lakes Park demonstrates how wetlands can improve water quality, support wildlife, and help protect one of Florida's most valuable ecosystems while also making a great recreational space for wildlife photography, walking, cycling, and play in a beautiful natural setting.

Beautiful park with a nice playground. The park itself has all kinds of things like a soccer field…read moreand more. It's huge but we only went to the playground area. There's a few benches and picnic tables. It's clean with pretty surroundings.

Living in Brevard is full of beautiful scenery, beaches and nature but coming to Merritt Island…read moreNational Wildlife Refuge you really feel like you are in a different country. It is so beautiful and remote and full of wildlife. The best part... it's free! This is a beautiful driving trail designed just for soaking up wildlife. Our favorite part of coming here is rolling down the windows and counting the various birds and alligators. At one time we counted 13 alligators in one drive. It's fun to see who can spot the most. The drive takes less than 40 minutes but if you really take your time and stop in the sections reserved for pulling over and parking you can spend hours here. There are various spots with viewing towers to overlook the reserve. There are also interpretive signs explaining the bird species in the area. I would highly suggest taking a detour next time you go to the Kennedy space center and taking a drive here. Also some advice is to bring drinks and snacks for the car because you may grow hungry on the remote drive.

I loved my experience at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. While attending a conference…read morerecently, I needed a little bit of an escape and decided to head toward to coast to get my nature fix. I ultimately only chose to come here because it was the closest place with manatee viewing. I made the drive from Orlando, and made my first stop at the Visitor Center. If you have your America the Beautiful pass, you're all set, but I didn't get a new one this year, so I paid $10 for my visitor pass. Cin at the volunteer desk was super helpful and showed me where I should go. I ultimately decided on the Black Point Wildlife Drive - a 7-ish mile drive that provided some great opportunities to see various birdlife. If you're a birder - which apparently I've become - you'll enjoy this. I saw a variety of species almost immediately, and I bet there are even better times to come through this area to see larger flocks during migration. I took my time on the drive and enjoy the quiet and relative remoteness of the place. After that I headed east and then north to check out the Manatee Observation Deck by the Haulover Canal. I stayed here for a short amount of time, but didn't see anything. So on Cin's advice, I went back toward the Bairs Cove boat launch. And boy was this a treat. There were no people when I first arrived, but there were definitely manatees. After a while, a few other people showed up just for watching manatees - not to put boats in. One lady put her feet in the water and manatees came up and booped their noses on her feet. It was incredible to see these creatures in the wild - some of them mothers with little ones twirling around by their sides. The skies started to turn black, and while I personally missed the rainstorm, it was time to pack up and head out back to Orlando. I'm so glad I made the decision to come here, and I highly recommend it for any of those who are nature-lovers!

What a great place to see the native wildlife and plant species. During my walk along the trail, I…read moresaw so many birds, turtles, and alligators - it's definitely a place to take photos. Besides hiking, the park also offers biking, bird watching, and horseback riding, plus guided tours. Check out the visitor center, you'll see live fishes and baby alligators, as well as taxidermy displays of the local wildlife. You'll also learn how this wetland functions as an advanced treatment for Orlando's reclaimed water. I thought it was super informative!

Truly a hidden gem! It's free to visi and they offer free tram rides on the weekends. It's sooo…read morevast and beautiful, there's so much wild life to see. On my hike we saw tons of alligators, birds, bunnies and turtles. Even got to see baby owls. There are miles of trails and a board walk. Went at 8am on a Saturday and there weren't too many people out but as we were leaving the groups were picking up. There are benches along some of the trails and picnic tables and bathrooms near the entrance.

Is there is a paradise in Florida it must be Black Point Drive and it's soundings! This is a…read morepeaceful place with an enormous amount of wildlife, mostly birds but you might also encounter from Alligators to Bobcats! There are no tables or benches to do picnic, it's like a scenic drive though, it takes about 30-45 min to do the whole thing nonstop, but it you take a few stops it can easily be about 2 hours (to half a day) of peace and beauty...!

This is actually a very cool drive-through Park. There are…read moretrails cut through the area and filled up above the swampy area so she may drive on them. is there a few different stops where you can stop and walk on different trails. The amount of wildlife encounter here is pretty interested. I was able to see a lot of different birds the birds are used to the cars slow stand that lets you take pictures of them. Supposedly there's also a lot of alligators you can see out here. with polarized sunglasses you can also see a lot of fish swimming around when you're walking. Their educational sign boards all over the areas you walk around in. This is all so very close to cape Canaveral where they launch rockets and space shuttles. There's a few spots that would make a great observation deck. The only negative part is it the road is narrow and hard to pass other vehicles. sometimes you get stuck behind somebody going very slow to go around area.

I love this beach! It truly feels like an escape from the hustle and bustle of urban life. As a…read morenational park it remains undeveloped and protected shoreline, which keeps wildlife in the area. If you have certain restroom standards, this is not the beach for you. Protected land = no running water. Therefore, no flushing and no rinsing. It's a tradeoff I'll accept for the natural splendor present. Great place to watch the close by rocket launches. The Eddy Creek side is an ideal vantage point for viewing manatees and gators. There are also multiple nearby nature trails. I have the annual pass, which is worth it for me. All accesses were open on my most recent visit, but that varies. If you want to spice up your life, go all the way down to #10-13, the nude portion. For beaches, my heart belongs to the Gulf Coast side of FL, but Playalinda offers a unique opportunity to commune with nature, setting it apart.

The beach itself is beautiful. Expect rough Atlantic surf, noisy waves crashing ashore, windy…read moresalty air. Parking and access is convenient once you pay the entrance fee. The absolute horror of the bathroom facilities is shocking. There is apparently no plumbing or septic system!!!! No showers to rinse off the sand. Very primitive conditions.

I advise navigating to Parrish Park in Scottsmoor on Magoon Road, parking there, and entering the…read moreSanctuary directly across from it. The place is a wetlands and the trails (walking or horseback riding) flood/get very muddy so don't go within 3 days of a significant rain fall. There is a trail map that looks pretty clear (yellow, red, blue). There are trail stakes marked with the color of the trail along the way which is nice. Unfortunately the trails weren't passable when I went due to rainfall the day before. It looked pretty though!

What an adventure! We had a blast, we got caught in a lightning storm which added to the tour. Rae…read moremade sure we stuck together and got back safely. Rae was a wonderful tour guide.

Jungle Jay and Alex were our guides and they provided excellent services. We had a great time with…read morethe combo sunset and bioluminescent tour.

Titusville is known as the "Gateway to Nature and Space," and after visiting Fox Lake Park, it's…read moreeasy to see where the "nature" part of that nickname comes from. I happened to stop nearby for some fast food and decided eat at the park. I'm so glad I did, because this beautiful park was a delight to visit. The area has a prehistoric history. Between 5,000 and 450 years ago, Native American groups lived here, harvesting freshwater snails and mussels. The discarded shells eventually formed large mounds, some of which were later used as burial sites by communities living along the Indian River's dune ridge. Today, Fox Lake Park is an expansive 31-acre park on the shores of Fox Lake, a small natural freshwater lake. A paved loop road winds through the park for walking and biking. The park has picnic shelters, grills, sand volleyball courts, a fishing dock, a canoe and kayak launch for personal watercraft, and a boat ramp with access to South Lake with a network of scenic waterways to explore. There are eight rental pavilions of various sizes, including the massive Main Pavilion, which can accommodate up to 1,000 guests and features both a kitchen and stage. Throughout the year, the park hosts numerous community events. Fox Lake Park offers boating, fishing, kayaking, and picnicking all in a peaceful natural setting. I especially appreciated the quiet lakeside views with the chance to view wildlife. Fox Lake Park is also a designated stop on the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail, a network of more than 500 premier wildlife-viewing locations throughout the state. Birdwatchers can spot wading birds such as American Coots, Snowy Egrets, Green Herons, and Anhingas. During the winter months, ducks including Buffleheads, Northern Pintails, and Northern Shovelers are frequent visitors. Migrating songbirds such as Red-eyed Vireos, Prairie Warblers, and American Redstarts can often be found among the oaks and forest edges. Other species to watch for include Common Ground-Doves, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Loggerhead Shrikes, Swamp Sparrows, and, if you're lucky, Wood Storks, Swallow-tailed Kites, Limpkins, Tree Swallows (in winter), and even the occasional Roseate Spoonbill if you are able to explore Fox Lake and South Lake by kayak. Fox Lake Park is a place to discover history, recreation, and Florida's natural beauty. A simple stop for lunch ended up showing me an amazing place to experience the area's quieter, more scenic side.

Fox Lake Park is a wonderful park located in Titusville, Florida. I pulled in here to take a…read morebusiness call and get some walking in while taking the call. The park itself had a nice paved path, a children's playground, several pavilions, a boat ramp, and more. While there was some flooded area from the recent Hurricane Milton it was not too bad. If you are in the area, I would definitely recommend a visit to Fox Lake Park.