Question about sunrise watching at Cocoa Beach (Palm Bay, Daytona Beach: high school, gated)

[theurbanfiles]

Have part of this week off, so planning on checking it out at some point. Any advice on where to park? I see that there is Cherie Park or something like that not too far down that seems to have parking. It says the park itself opens at 7 AM, is parking in that general area normal before then? I'm hoping to get into the area sometime at like 6:30 or even earlier. Thanks.

[FL2MT]

I'm not certain if it is open for parking by then or not, but I lived in Cocoa Beach for one summer and almost all of the east/west streets have a few parking spaces where they dead-end at the beach. I know those for sure aren't gated at all so you could probably find one of those to park at if Cherie park doesn't let anyone in to park until opening.

[floridamove]

Is that a best place for sunrise around here?

[theurbanfiles]

I don't think there is a "best place" per se. It's just close/convenient And seemed to be really cool haha.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by clevelander1991

Have part of this week off, so planning on checking it out at some point. Any advice on where to park? I see that there is Cherie Park or something like that not too far down that seems to have parking. It says the park itself opens at 7 AM, is parking in that general area normal before then? I'm hoping to get into the area sometime at like 6:30 or even earlier. Thanks.

Cocoa Beach Pier opens at 6AM for fishing so I know you can park there and watch from the beach or pier. You can get some good pics of the pier at sunrise.

Also Ron Jons is open 24 hours and we have shopped and then walked the block to the beach . There is street parking with meters so not really taking up space in their lot.

Need to arrive before 6:30 since sunrise is around 6:20, I think this week.

Enjoy......it is as beautiful as a Pacific sunset some mornings.

[theurbanfiles]

Went this morning, and it was nice, except for I didn't time it right. I was aiming to get there about 6:30 and did, but while that was the "sun rise" time, being a novice, I didn't realize that also meant it was essentially the sun risen time. To see a full sun rise, it'd be best to get to the beach by about 6 AM. The pier is open for fishing and watching the sunrise out over the water at 6 AM, however there is a 2$ admission fee. It was pretty over there and the drive over was spectacular. I actually was biking, and ended up going about 13 miles, from Cherie Down up to the Jetty, then back down past the pier and Ron Jon (but along the beach), down to what appeared to be Cocoa Beach's "Downtown", with the brewing company and whatnot. The beach was nice, however it had some type of moss stuff all over in certain sections of the sand, and while the sand wasn't bad, it was not as compact as Daytona for biking purposes. Anyways, it was still a really fun time. After that, I headed to Kennedy Space Center, which for those who haven't been or recently, is absolutely spectacular. I didn't get a chance to do the simulation, but it is awe inspiring to see the VAB, the Atlantis and the Apollo in all their glory, and the IMAX about space travel which features a segment on Mars exploration is absolutely incredible, and really inspiring. Every kid in America should see it, as the message it says that end (that the Mars mission planned time of early 2030's is close to the prime age for this current generation of kids). I spent over 4 hours there between things, and still have seen only about a third of what it has to offer. If you are an adult a pass is $89, or I believe for a student it is only like $69 for a full year, which is pretty good, I personally got my one day for $25.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by clevelander1991

Went this morning, and it was nice, except for I didn't time it right. I was aiming to get there about 6:30 and did, but while that was the "sun rise" time, being a novice, I didn't realize that also meant it was essentially the sun risen time. To see a full sun rise, it'd be best to get to the beach by about 6 AM. The pier is open for fishing and watching the sunrise out over the water at 6 AM, however there is a 2$ admission fee. It was pretty over there and the drive over was spectacular. I actually was biking, and ended up going about 13 miles, from Cherie Down up to the Jetty, then back down past the pier and Ron Jon (but along the beach), down to what appeared to be Cocoa Beach's "Downtown", with the brewing company and whatnot. The beach was nice, however it had some type of moss stuff all over in certain sections of the sand, and while the sand wasn't bad, it was not as compact as Daytona for biking purposes. Anyways, it was still a really fun time. After that, I headed to Kennedy Space Center, which for those who haven't been or recently, is absolutely spectacular. I didn't get a chance to do the simulation, but it is awe inspiring to see the VAB, the Atlantis and the Apollo in all their glory, and the IMAX about space travel which features a segment on Mars exploration is absolutely incredible, and really inspiring. Every kid in America should see it, as the message it says that end (that the Mars mission planned time of early 2030's is close to the prime age for this current generation of kids). I spent over 4 hours there between things, and still have seen only about a third of what it has to offer. If you are an adult a pass is $89, or I believe for a student it is only like $69 for a full year, which is pretty good, I personally got my one day for $25.

The moss on the beach you saw is actually sea weed. It comes into shore when the wind blows towards land. It goes back out when the tide get high enough and strong enough to take it back out. BC beaches are kept natural so no one is out there raking the sand like up in Daytona Beach and other places. It is kept that way because of the amount of sea turtles that come in to lay their eggs each year.

Cocoa Breach used to allow cars years and years ago like Daytona, but it is not always as hard packed as Daytona probably because of the Port. How wide and how hard packed depends on the tides .
We try to only go between the tides closer to low tide than high.

KSC was our go to spot on Sundays when the kids were in elem and high school. If you really want to see it all a full day is what you need and then we have to hurry past some things. Sometime when you are looking for a place to bike head to Titusville and ride along the river and spend some time at Space View Park, too.

We also have some cool bike trails along the river and canals in Palm Bay you might enjoy riding on.

[floridamove]

Sound awesome.make me want to go now.