Cocoa Beach is a Florida city south of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It’s a gateway to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, which has rockets and iconic artifacts. The city is known for its beach and surf breaks. Inside a surf shop, the Florida Surf Museum traces the sport’s local history. Nearby Cocoa Beach Pier has eateries and shops. The maritime forest at oceanfront Lori Wilson Park attracts birdlife.
The first real settlement in Cocoa Beach, Florida was started by a family of newly freed slaves following the Civil War, but a hurricane in 1885 discouraged settlement. Then, in 1888, a group of Cocoa men bought the entire tract of land. The land remained untouched until an attorney named Gus Edwards arrived. He bought Cocoa Beach and began to develop it. The City of Cocoa Beach was established on June 5, 1925, and was incorporated as a City on June 29, 1957.
Cocoa Beach came to life during the 1960s due to America’s space program. NASA’s John F. Kennedy Space Center is located approximately 15 miles away. The city became home to many young families where one or both parents worked on some aspect of the space program.
Children raised here were sometimes referred to as “Cape Brats.” The community was once so full of children that the schools overflowed and portable class rooms were built to host them. It was not unheard of for there to be 45 children per classroom. After manned space flights, the town held astronaut parades. Before there was a “Silicon Valley,” Cocoa Beach and other surrounding towns were full of the best and brightest technical minds around. Today, many Kennedy Space Center workers still call Cocoa Beach home.
Cocoa Beach was also the setting for the 1960s sitcom “I Dream of Jeannie,” although only one episode was actually filmed here (Jeannie’s wedding).
Known as the perfect beach town, Cocoa Beach is an hour drive east of Orlando on Florida’s amazing Space Coast. The drive there is almost as beautiful as the beach – offering you endless ways to enjoy your leisure and recreation.
Whether you are going on a family beach vacation, leisure travel, business trip, or just a day at the beach, you’ll find exactly what you’ve been looking for in Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast area to make your stay one you’ll never forget.
Cocoa Beach is one of the most affordable beach vacations in Florida. There is never a lack of things to do or see in and around Cocoa Beach. Besides the fun in the sun, Space Coast offers you the chance to go deep sea fishing or parasailing, try your luck aboard a casino cruise ship, or just take a river tour and get up close and personal with the awesome wildlife of Florida.
While at Cocoa Beach, you can also visit the Kennedy Space Center, the Brevard Zoo, or spend some time shopping. You’ll be within short driving distance to all of the Orlando attractions, and you can even drive back to Cocoa Beach at night to enjoy dinner in one of the many dining spots on the beach.
When night sets in, you can kick back and enjoy the nightlife on the beach that ranges from cool jazz clubs to beach side cafes. Then, you can stay the night with perfect accommodations and wake up to a breathtaking sunrise on the beach.
When it comes to dining, the area offers an abundance of choices, picturesque locales and eclectic menus that define the Cocoa Beach area’s restaurant scene. Whether it’s perfectly prepared ‘fresh off the boat‘ Florida seafood, a fabulous flame-broiled cut of prime American beef, savory slow-cooked Southern barbecue or authentic international cuisine, there’s a restaurant in the Cocoa Beach area that will leave your taste buds more than satisfied. Whatever you crave, they’ve got it here!
With plenty to offer you and your entire family, Cocoa Beach provides an excellent beach vacation or getaway. There is plenty to do on the beach, with enough nearby to keep you coming back for more.
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