Parrish Park is one of those parks that uses land that might otherwise go unused beneath major…read morebridges, in this case, the A. Max Brewer Memorial Parkway, and turn it into a recreation space. Parks like this provide ideal staging areas for outdoor activities such as walking, cycling, fishing, kayaking, and wildlife viewing along scenic waterfronts. Parrish Park serves as the gateway to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. It was named in honor of the prominent Parrish family, who were early pioneers, citrus grove owners, and influential business leaders in the Space Coast region. State Senator J.J. Parrish's family has multiple local landmarks bearing their name, including the local Parrish Medical Center. The Parrish family is highly regarded in Titusville for their community investments and philanthropic efforts. Parrish Park spans 37 acres along the Indian River Lagoon. It is a popular destination for boating, fishing, and other water sports. It is also the eastern terminus of the 250-mile Florida Coast-to-Coast Trail, which stretches across the state to St. Petersburg. The park's developed northwest section features a large paved parking area and a boat ramp capable of accommodating larger vessels. Launching here provides easy access to the lagoon, where dolphins and manatees are frequently spotted. The park has also become one of the Space Coast's most popular locations for watching SpaceX rocket launches. Parrish Park was once intended to become the new home of Dummitt Castle, a historic 22-room octagonal wooden mansion built in 1881 by Italian nobleman Douglas Dummitt and his wife, an Anheuser-Busch heiress. As NASA expanded the nearby spaceport, preservationists relocated the mansion to Parrish Park with plans to restore it as a museum. Sadly, before restoration could be completed, vandals burned the castle to the ground in 1967. In 2020, the park underwent significant improvements, including new pavement, seawall construction, and habitat restoration projects designed to protect spawning horseshoe crabs. The work generated local discussion about how to balance public access with environmental conservation. Parrish Park extends along the entire causeway between the Max Brewer Bridge and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. It is an official stop on the Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail, a statewide network of more than 500 premier wildlife-viewing sites. During fall and winter there have been regular sightings of Buffleheads, Lesser Scaup, Dunlin, Common Loons, and Horned Grebes. Wading birds such as Reddish Egrets and Roseate Spoonbills are sometimes present, while Ospreys and Bald Eagles can be seen overhead. On both sides of the causeway are Royal Terns, Black Skimmers, Herring Gulls, Great Black-backed Gulls, and Ruddy Turnstones. During some winters, rare Long-tailed Ducks and Surf Scoters have been recorded here. This park draws boaters, bikers riding the Coast-to-Coast Trail, swimmers, and wildlife and rocket launch photographers and enthusiasts. A peak below the bridge can reveal more than you might initially think.

Great place to see a bit of the sun set…read more Located off the. Ridge so you ncan bit keep you're eyes out for the turnoff

I don't fish but I love a fishing pier. It is the best way to get out over the water when you don't…read morehave a boat. I like to peer over the side and see the wildlife swimming. The piers also tend to attract a lot of birds looking for the fishermen's leftovers. The Eau Gallie Pier is just behind the library and north of the Eau Gallie Causeway in Melbourne. It stretches out over the picturesque Indian River. You can see the bridge to your right. Besides the pier there are docks, 2 boat ramps, and couple of picnic tables at opposite ends of parking lot. The pier is perfect for wildlife watching, photography, fishing, and catching the sunset. Eau Gallie has a long history of fishing beginning with the Native Americans and continuing into the turn of the century when James Wadsworth Rossetter arrived in Eau Gallie in 1902 and became a leader in the local fishing industry. Todays sportsman continue to enjoy fishing for snapper, grouper and tarpon in the river. Best of all the parking and pier are both free. The Eau Gallie Historic Distric is steps away with restaurants, art, and shopping. Discoveries like this pier are just another reason to love Old Florida towns.

One of the many heavenly spots in this part of Florida. It is absolutely beautiful here and a…read morefavorite of mine. I recommend it for couples and families alike. Five Stars!

Lovely little park at the beach. Nice clean restroom area, covered picnic area, and huge grills to…read moreuse. Multiple walk ways to the beach. Awesome waves, lots of seashells, and beautiful sunrises.

I live close and I walk/job down every morning to catch the sunrise. It's the perfect way to start…read morethe day. The beach isn't too crowded near the walkways but during spring break and launches it can get pretty busy. The break can be rough as can be the current but it gets better a little north and also a little better south. Luckily there's no rocks that will catch you. Only shells

A nice park to the north of Manatee Sanctuary Park If you…read moreliked Manatee Sanctuary Park, just keep going north like 3-4 minutes by car (or a little longer if you're walking) and you can find Banana River Park. It is basically the next little spot up the road on the same side of the river. The day I visited it was not busy and was clean. They've got a cute little dock on the north end where I stood when i visited and watched a couple manatees swimming within about 30 feet of the dock for easily a quarter of an hour. There's a big open soccer field up on the north end but just south of the little dock. It has actual goals if you ever feel like kicking a ball around. There is structure at the south end in front of the parking lot with bathrooms and a few tables that is open on 3 sides facing teh water and the park. It's a really nice park, but there's no real trail or long walkway along the water like at Manatee Sanctuary. It's more just grass, a few benches, and that dock. So if you're in the mood for a longer walk or that covered boardwalk vibe, stick with Manatee Sanctuary. But if you just wanna park, walk 30 seconds to the dock, and probably see manatees hanging out, Banana River Park is awesome for that. I'd hit both in the same morning!

Banana River Park sits along the waters edge and offers a calming view. It's not unusual to see…read moredolphin playing in the water. There are picnic tables and a grill available. They have a kayak launch, pocco ball and putting green. There is a covered playground with well maintained equipment.

It was really pretty and nice spot just no manatees yet! Giving 4 stars still because it was very…read moreclean and nice spot

This past summer 2022, after putting nearly 2000 miles on the truck driving all around Florida from…read morethe top to Key West, back up and all around, resound ourselves Leaving Titusville, bound for Savannah, Georgia. Despite our travels through many natural areas, no one in our family had yet seen a manatee... One of those silly bucket list things you include when you visit Florida... Especially when you are not from Florida. Not really knowing where to begin, we happen to be talking about it at our Cracker Barrel breakfast, when our 15 year old server overheard us and offered a few suggestions. Among them was the Manatee observation deck and the Merritt Island reserve. It seemed as good a place to try as Anny, considering the name, and not really having any better ideas, we typed it into ways, and started up the road. The Merritt Island reserve was actually one of the more beautiful places we visited on our trip. Lots of wildlife, large wading birds, birds of prey, gopher tortoises walking all over the place, and several furry creatures that ran across the road so quickly we could not quite identify them. After driving way out into the reserve, lost in the Paulmeadows in the wetlands, we saw a sign on a modest turn off for the manatee observation deck, and used every single bit of pavement with a 25 foot trailer behind my truck. The parking lot turned out to be a little smaller than I had anticipated, but we managed to find the long stretch of curb in the small lot for our truck and trailer, and walked out to the unassuming concrete deck with a small railing near the water. Imagine my family's delight to see dozens of manatees gently feeding in the shallows right beneath us. Large adults, smaller juveniles, and some sized in between... More manatees than I could count. Many of them have the telltale scars of boat props on their backs, but for the time being, they were quietly swimming around in the shallow murky water. A group of kayakers came up and kept their distance, enjoying the view from the water. I actually think our view was better, since we were a little bit above them, and could really see everything going on. Check off the box on our list next to "see a manatee". This place made it very easy, and the bonus was an absolutely breathtaking drive through some beautiful Florida natural area.

This is a great area to launch for SUP (stand up paddleboard) or kayaks. There is a small parking…read morelot that will fit about 20 cars in the launch area. A company called Calypso Kayaking thar rents canoes out of here. The launch area can be a little difficult if you're not super agile or if your paddle board is heavy - the best way I can describe it is it's a sloped staircase made of wood planks and dirt (I think it was about 5-6 steps if I remember correctly). It wasn't difficult going down, however, I was using my friend's Bote SUP, which is pretty heavy and it was difficult for me to carry it up the steps especially after a difficult and physical paddle with windy conditions. If I was using a lighter board I don't think it would've have been too difficult for me. This park also has nice a cute little playground and clean restrooms that are open year round. There is a covered picnic area with grills. And the parking lot at both the launch area and near restrooms are paved. We were there at low tide and the water was very shallow in some areas - so shallow that we had to get off our SUPs at one point and pull them through the water a few feet so we didn't damage our fins. It was great having the shallow waters because we saw LOTS of stingrays, horseshoe crabs and fish! Also lots of water birds throughout our paddle! One of the islands that we stopped at had a nice beach area and beautiful dead tree that made for great photo ops! All in all, this is a great location to launch for SUP and kayak. We will definitely go back and hopefully see dolphins and/or manatees the next time!

This is a great location to paddleboard or kayak in Merritt Island /Brevard County if you want to…read moresee manatees up close there are places to launch your kayak and it's not crowded

Lots of parking, lots of walkways, and lots of people fishing. I have to come back for a sunset…read morehere, but the views are great and it's easy to park. The road looks around to send you back East afterwards also, which was great.

Small park with nice water views. Good place to go birdwatching, fishing, and a short walk…read more Can also walk more towards Merritt Island. Pier is closed.

Robert P. Murkshe served as mayor from 1963 to 1972. During that time he guided the city through an…read moreextraordinary period of growth and transformation. At the beginning of his tenure, Cocoa Beach was a small community of just 3,475 residents and lacked many essential public facilities, including a hospital, high school, junior high school, and municipal recreation facilities. it lacked the infrastructure you would find in a modern city. By the time he left office, the population had grown to more than 12,000. He established and expanded these important community resources and his leadership also helped lay the groundwork for the environmental preservation efforts that continue to protect Cocoa Beach's natural resources and coastal beauty. Named in his honor, Robert P. Murkshe Memorial Park is a 2.5 acre beachfront park located at 16th Street South. A paved walkway leads from the parking area and restrooms over the dunes to the beach. Amenities include an outdoor shower, a covered picnic pavilion with tables and a grill, and free parking. A cool find in this park was the artwork that Guy Harvey lent to the Creative Cans in the Sand project, a not-for-profit with the mission to help encourage beach goers to dispose of their trash responsibly. Guy Harvey is an artist, scientist, diver, angler, conservationist, explorer and entrepreneur who is famous for his coastal artwork. The cans bring art to the park in the hopes that it will encourage visitors to dispose of garbage in the cans, not on the beach. When I visited the park I noticed that this beach is popular with surfers and saltwater fishermen. I appreciated the convenient beach access and relaxed vibe. When you are looking looking for a quieter stretch of Cocoa Beach to enjoy the waves, Robert P. Murkshe Memorial Park is a great choice.

This has moved up to our go to beach. There's free parking, showers, and bathroom…read more If you go to the left when u get to the beach, that is the dog side in the morning and after 6 pm. If you go to the right of the life guard side, you can go there with your dog. It's so spacious and nice and clean. The water feels amazing during the summer. We live by Tampa and come this way. We have been here almost a handful of times now. It's never packed to the rim with people. It's pretty awesome to see the cruise ship in the far back. I was just saying can't believe I found another fave beach after living here for just over ten years. Love it here!!