Central Florida beaches

212 S. Washington Ave., Titusville

Situated on a barrier island along Florida's east coast, inviting park highlights include pristine, undeveloped beach, dunes and lagoon offering sanctuary to an abundant blend of plants and animals. Year-round recreation includes fishing, boating, canoeing, surfing, sunbathing, swimming, hiking, camping, nature and historical trails.

4400 Ocean Beach Blvd., Cocoa Beach

If there’s a convenient, get-there-easily beach for Central Floridians, that has to be Alan Shepard Beach Park at Cocoa Beach. Named after the first American astronaut sent into space, this five-acre beach has long been a favorite site to view space shuttle launches from nearby Cape Caneveral. But what most people care about when they go there is to have a great beach day, in a clean, safe environment and close to all kinds of stores, eateries and beach bums-related retail shops.

Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach is the biggest city on the coastline of Volusia County, Fla., and has attracted vacationers for more than a century. The wide, flat, hard-packed surface of the beach made it a great surface for driving automobiles in the early 19th century. That led to speed tests and the beach races, which later gave rise to NASCAR. Beach driving continues in Daytona Beach and the neighboring cities, though environmental regulations have led to stricter management of beach driving.

End of Ocean Ave., Melbourne Beach

Ocean Park beach access, home to the annual Ocean Ave. Surf Contest, takes you to a quite, secluded beach away from the hussle of Indiatlantic or Cocoa Beach. The park provides beachgoers with picnic areas, volleyball courts, showers and lifeguards within in the park. Outside the park's limits, beachgoers will find ample space to fish, sunbathe or swim (at their own risk) with little to no hassle from other swimmers. In addition to this popular park, numerous beach access locations dot A1A throughout Melboune Beach to the south. Melbourne Beach also features a riverside park, with a pier, playground and tennis courts, on the Indian River.

9700 S. A1A, Melbourne Beach

Besides its 3 miles of pristine Atlantic beach, this park is known for three things: surfing, fishing and treasure. The surf along the coast arguably makes Florida’s best waves, while the jetties along the inlet are prime fishing spots. A hiking trail lets visitors glimpse a coastal hammock fringed with mangroves. The park’s two museums celebrate area history. McLarty Treasure Museum shows off trinkets salvaged from a hurricane-wrecked 1715 Spanish fleet, and the Sebastian Fishing Museum commemorates the area’s early fishing industry.