WATER & COAST
Alan Shepard Park Beach
Brevard County · Atlantic Coast
A five-acre city oceanfront park with more than 300 spaces taking recreational vehicles as well as cars, and the shops within walking distance.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
Alan Shepard Park is a five-acre oceanfront park run by the City of Cocoa Beach, and the parking is what sets it apart: more than 300 spaces, taking recreational vehicles as well as cars, which is unusual on this stretch of coast. The shops and restaurants of central Cocoa Beach are within easy walking distance, which makes this the beach to park at and walk into town from rather than one to spend a quiet day on. It is one of four oceanfront parks the city counts among its beach accesses. It is named for Alan Shepard, the first American in space, who flew Freedom 7 from Cape Canaveral on May 5, 1961, a few miles up this same shore. The park sits at the eastern end of State Road 520 and holds ten large picnic pavilions, a number of smaller covered tables and a bathhouse with showers and restrooms, with seasonal lifeguards on two towers. Parking is charged, more on weekends and on holidays between March and Labor Day. No buses and no overnight parking. It is a well-used vantage point for watching launches
Not identified in this guide as an officially clothing-optional beach. This is a visit category, not a safety rating—check surf, lifeguards, water quality and posted rules.
BEACH CONDITIONS
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