Cocoa Beach Pier
Cocoa Beach Pier web site: http://www.cocoabeachpier.com/ GPS coordinates: 28.367968, -80.603907 Location: The pier is located at the east end of Meade Avenue. Turn off of A1A onto Meade Avenue and drive east for two blocks to the Atlantic Ocean. Directions: Take A1A to Meade Avenue and turn east toward the Atlantic Ocean. Parking: $5 or $10 for the day (seasonal) in the pier parking lot, or plenty of hourly metered spaces nearby that offer parking for 25 cents for 10 minutes.
This relatively small and somewhat ramshackle-looking pier is a focal point for activity on Cocoa Beach and has been a fixture in the community for decades. The pier has a parking lot where you can pay to park. The parking lot opens at 9 a.m. Nearby side streets to the south off Ocean Blvd have public parking spaces with parking meters. You can use those spaces if you arrive before the pier parking lot opens or if you prefer to use the metered spaces. The pier itself opens at 6 a.m. for fishing.
The pier tends to attract a youthful beach crowd and is the place to see and be seen in Cocoa Beach. But it lacks the “hip” trendy cosmopolitan edge of Miami’s South Beach. There is still a wide range of ages here, including families with children. If you have younger children, I’d recommend going to Shephard Park, Jetty Park or Lori Wilson Park and leave the pier for families with older teenagers.
There is drinking in the bars on the pier and it does tend to attract a few folks whose main avocation in life seems to be “loitering.” Overall it’s a friendly vibe, but young children might be better served at visiting other locations. (Some of the reviews on Tripadvisor.com will back me up on this. Note: take most of the reviews with a grain of salt.). The pier is definitely suitable for older teens. If the younger kids want to walk out on a pier over the ocean, I highly recommend driving north to Jetty Park.
The pier is a hot-spot for surfing. If you are new to surfing I’d recommend moving away from the crowd a bit so as not to get run over by the more experienced surfers. That’s just basic surfing etiquette. Consider having a lesson if you have time. There are some very qualified teachers in the area.
The pier itself is largely taken up by restaurants. To walk past the restaurants and out over the water to sightsee or to fish you have to pay a small entrance fee. There is an open-air tiki bar out at the end of the pier with a great view. Amenities:
Rules:
Above: Ron Jon Surf Shop is open 24/7. You'll definitely want to stop by and check it out. It's pretty amazing inside. Very nice. | ||
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