Did you know you may qualify for the person's with disabilities FREE lifetime Access Pass? This pass provides access to hundreds of federal recreational areas across the country. It provides access for the cardholder and any others in their vehicle into Canaveral National Seashore.
Accessibility Page Options
You may choose any of the following links if there is something specific you are looking for. Otherwise, continue scrolling down the page to see all of the content in long form that is located on the links.
This page has a few audio tours about different sites in the park.
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Apollo Beach
Parking Areas one through five provide wheelchair accessible entry onto the beach and accessible parking spaces are located at the front of each ramp. The ramps are flush with the parking lot and range from flat to having slight incline leading to the beach. Once at the top of the ramp there will be a platform to stop and enjoy the sea breeze where an informational interpretive sign may be present. There may be a slight decline leading to the sand, but some ramps traverse if the dunes are tall.
Canaveral National Seashore has accessible ramps for beach access areas one thru five.
The front of the Apollo Visitor Center.
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The Apollo Beach Visitor Center
The Apollo Visitor Center is located at Apollo Beach. Upon entering there are interpretive displays, a gift shop, and a large auditorium for enjoying the park video that is closed captioned. The entire building is accessible by wheelchair as well as the pavilion and the dock behind the visitor center.
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Apollo Beach Wheelchair
At the Apollo Beach Visitor Center, a beach wheelchair is available to be checked out at the visitor center. It may be checked out for a period of two hours use at the beach access ramp located across the street from the visitor center.
Apollo Visitor Center contact information: 7611 S. Atlantic Ave, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32796. Call to check its availability, (386) 428-3384.
Playalinda Beach does not currently have a beach wheelchair.
Turtle Mound
Turtle Mound is one of the most significant archeological sites on the east coast of Florida. The mound is a treasure trove of artifacts, history and culture. It is composed primarily of oyster shells. Upon entering Apollo Beach the Turtle Mound parking area is approximately one half of a miles drive into the park on the right hand side of the road.
The boardwalk leads from the parking area to the top of the mound. Stay on the path if you intend to reach the top of the mound. Once at the top three stopping points provide access to the north, south and west sides of the mound.
Various photos of Turtle Mound located at Canaveral National Seashore.
Castle Windy Trail
Castle Windy Trail is a walking trail located at Apollo Beach parking area three. Park at beach parking area three and the trail is directly across the street. It leads across the barrier island ending at the Castle Windy archeological site located at the edge of the Mosquito lagoon.
The path is nature ground path with some rooty spots. It can be navigated with a cane but a wheelchair would need all-terrain wheels. The ground is packed with a slight incline with the peaks at the middle of the trail. Take this path in the winter time to reduce the chance for mosquitoes.
Seminole Rest
There is a loop trail leading around the Seminole Rest Historic Site which is wheelchair accessible. It is approximately half a mile in length. A large portion of the path is a cement sidewalk, while the remainder is a wooden walkway that traverses across the top of the mound. This wooden portion has small inclines and declines while traversing fourteen feet of Timucua shell mound. The paved portion is relatively flat with one small incline as it encircles the base of the mound. There is one railing next to the first interpretive sign along the path. The rest of the path does not have railings. There are five benches to rest on placed strategically around the path near each of the informational interpretive signs.
There is a dock located about halfway though the trail. The first half is a fixed piling dock with wooden railings. The second half includes a ramp that leads down to a floating dock that does not have railings.
Located at the top of the mound are two historic homes. When the Seminole Rest main home is open it is accessible to enter the first floor. Please call the Apollo Visitor Center to check if the house is open before your visit at this phone number (386) 428-3384 .
The photos are organized together to show the path around the trail.
Atlas V rocket launch from Playalinda Beach boardwalk number one.
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Playalinda Beach
Playalinda Beach is located at the southern end of Canaveral National Seashore just a stones throw away from the northern most rocket launch pads of Kennedy Space Center. There are vistas, which are vehicle pull offs to view the freshwater ponds and the rocket launch pads 39A and 39B.
For beach access there are thirteen beach parking areas where all have accessibility parking spots located at the entrance of the beach access ramps. The first five beach ramps traverse a tall dune. Once you travel as far as parking area number eight, the beach dune is flat allowing for much easier beach access.
This ramp is located in Playalinda Beach traversing a tall portion of the dune at one of the first five parking areas.
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Service Animals
Service animals are allowed in all facilities and on all trails unless an area has been closed by the superintendent to protect park resources.
Definition of Service Animal
NPS policy regarding service animals mirrors guidelines established by the Department of Justice. A service animal is defined as any animal that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.
Animals that are not trained to perform tasks that mitigate the effects of a disability, including animals that are used purely to provide comfort or emotional support ("therapy animals"), are considered pets. Pets are subject to the park's pet regulations and are not allowed on trails or boardwalks.
Things to Know
Where domestic animals and wildlife overlap there is a possibility of exchanging diseases between the two groups. Domestic dogs can introduce disease into wildlife habitats and the park's canids (coyotes and foxes) are vulnerable to domestic diseases such as canine distemper, parvo virus, rabies, mange,etc. Likewise it is possible for domestic dogs to acquire these diseases from wild animals.
To further prevent the spread of disease:
Service animals must always be leashed or harnessed on a 6 foot lead, under control, and attended at all times.
Food and food containers must never be left unattended and must be kept out of reach of wildlife.
Service animal fecal matter must be picked up and disposed of properly. Fecal matter should be disposed of in a trash receptacle, toilet, pit toilet.
Blind & Partially Sighted
Apollo Beach Audio Tour
Apollo Beach has many exciting places to emplore. Listen to the following audio excerpts about the natural and hisitorical places to visit at Canaveral National Seashore. Enjoy your listening experience.
Apollo Beach Access
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Explore Apollo Beach. After exploring Turtle Mound, the visitor center and Eldora make this your last stop on your tour.
As you begin your trek over the boardwalk, be on the lookout for tracks, trails, and burrows of the animals that call the dunes home; the burrow of a gopher tortoise perhaps, or the track of a bobcat. As you walk towards the ocean you will see the vegetation change from palm and bay to palmetto scrub, then wildflowers and sea oats. If you are visiting in the winter months you may be lucky enough to spot an endangered Right Whale just offshore. Above you a Brown Pelican may be flying or diving for fish. As you look south you will see 24 miles of undeveloped beach, the longest stretch of natural coastline on the east coast of Florida. The dune system that is the backbone of the barrier island remains intact here in the seashore and changes with the winds and tides. Dunes are dynamic in that sand is brought in with the the wind and sometimes taken out with the tide. The dunes here at Canaveral change season to season and year after year. Remember it as you see it now--the next time you come back it may look completely different. In the summer months you will see yellow stakes near the dunes. These indicate the location of sea turtle nests that have been protected with screens to prevent raccoons from eating the eggs. We have over 5,000 nests along our shore each summer. You may find a treasured seashell to take home as a reminder of your trip here today. But only take those that have no one living inside.
Turtle Mound Audio
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Walk the path up Turtle Mound and learn about the Timucua who built this mound.
A walk up Turtle Mound is a walk back in time; know that you tread upon layers of life history belonging to the Timucua Indians. They built this mound over hundreds of years from the shells of oysters and clams that they harvested from the bounty of Mosquito Lagoon. As you ascend the mound you might wonder what it was used for. Was it a lookout to watch for approaching enemies? Or, was it a landmark to help them find their way back each year to their winter home. Or, was it a place for tribal ceremonies? No one really knows. We do know that the first Floridians built mounds of this type wherever they lived and that the mounds contain the remains of their lives and have many stories to tell. But as Turtle Mound is one of the last remaining intact mounds of its kind, the clues contained within help us to better understand the Timucuan's connection to the resource as we struggle to find our own. The last Timucuans passed away around 1750 or were taken to Cuba with the Spanish, taking the answers with them. But one thing we know for sure: what you will see from the top of the mound is a spectacular view of Canaveral National Seashore. Just remember, in summer, be sure you bring your insect repellant.
Eldora Audio Tour
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Enjoy listening to this audio tour of Eldora. A once thriving late 1800's community that resided along the edge of Mosquito Lagoon at what is now Canaveral National Seashore.
While walking the path from Parking Lot #8, imagine that it is the 1890s. Over one hundred people lived here then. Known as Fairview, the village had a school and a post office. Boats plied the waterway delivering supplies and picking up produce. Folks worked in the orange groves, the bee apiaries, and in vegetable gardens. They spent time with loved ones and enjoyed the bounty that the waters of the lagoon had to offer. In 1895 and 1900 there were hard freezes that killed the orange groves. Change continued with the coming of the railroad to the mainland. Boat transport was abandoned, isolating the village. Fairview became a backwater town that receded into the hammock. After 1910 Florida became popular as a wintering place for the wealthy, and Fairview became known as Eldora. Imagine wintering here with hunting, fishing, and trips to the beach by families that traveled to escape the cold northern winters: the original snowbirds. By the 1930s the Great Depression brought years of hard times, decline and neglect to Eldora. The Eldora State House, the last remaining home of this era, fell to disrepair. But her story was not over. In the the 1980s the Friends of Canaveral began a ten year restoration project. Thanks to their hard work, you can enjoy the Eldora State House in its full splendor today. Have a seat in a rocking chair on the porch, close your eyes and let yourself drift back to Eldora.
Seminole Rest Virtual Tour - Canaveral National Seashore
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