This isn't the first place on my list that I've visited but it's certainly the best, so I think it's a good starting point.
The Canaveral National Seashore is located in Titusville, FL. It's a gorgeous, taxpayer-funded, protected chain of islands, full of wildlife.... and boats. Lots and lots of boats.
Click here for a detailed Google map
(I'm realizing that I'm not sure how my reviews are going to be formatted, so I'm just gonna start at the beginning. Seems as good a place as any. Am I right, people?)
The first thing you need to know about these islands, which they neglect to tell you, is that you NEED a GPS system. Whether it's your smartphone or a dedicated GPS, bring it with you. Depending on the distance of your island from the launch, the possibility of finding it without GPS ranges from "impossible" to "pants-shittingly impossible". The funny part is that they know you need GPS. When you check in, they give you the coordinates of the island and a paper map. They're very aware of the need for GPS, but don't address it anywhere on their website. Luckily we had about 5 GPS systems with us, so we didn't have too many issues ("didn't have too many issues" = we still had issues. Probably had a little to do with all the beers we were consuming, though). Don't worry about cell signal. I had full bars the entire trip on AT&T.
Secondly, be aware that there are 14 islands out in this cove that can be rented, and you can't rent a single one until 7 days or less before you plan on visiting. So, keep in mind that, although you may be planning on visiting island #1 Friday night, someone else may have gotten that island for Thursday AND Friday night, undercutting you by a day. They were able to make their reservation last Thursday, while you weren't even allowed to make your reservation until last Friday. This can make planning ahead for a specific island fairly problematic. When you call, be sure to have multiple island choices ready.
Once you have your island booked, you need to determine which side of the cove you'd like to launch from. You have two choices: The ranger station or Riverbreeze Park (Circled in pink below). Regardless of where you launch from, though, you have to check in at the ranger station.... and the ranger station doesn't even open until 9:00 a.m., so don't bother getting there too early or you'll be standing around like we did. Did you ignore my advice and get there early, assuming that you could just hang out at the beautiful beach until it opens? Well, do you have a trailer on your truck? Good fucking luck. There's a supercop that drives around staring at you and daring you and your trailer to park anywhere. The moment you attempt this maneuver, Mr. Supercop will immediately swoop down upon you, informing you of how lucky you are not to have a ticket on your windshield for having the audacity to park out of the way of all traffic. My advice? Just get to the ranger station at 9:00.
As soon as you pull up to the check-in booth, you'll meet a bearded man who will immediately ask you if you boys have your "biodegradable shitter paper". This guy is as awesome as his beard is glorious. This is where you pay for your island. If you're launching from the ranger station, this is also where you pay for parking (free for trucks with trailers and $3 per person in a car without a trailer. Makes perfect sense, right? Nope? Okay, moving on....). The price for the island is per night, not per day, and it's a damn steal. $10 per night for up to six people. $20 per night for 7 or more. Regardless, those are the best camping prices you'll find anywhere, short of free.
Here are the launch points, circled in pink. In this case, we checked in at the Ranger Station but launched from Riverbreeze Park (parking at Riverbreeze is free). It's about a 20 minute drive from one to the other:
Launching from riverbreeze was a little chaotic, as the boats were coming one after the next, but we neglected to notice a small kayak launch just next the regular boat launch. If you only have 'yaks, look for this launch. Here was our launch:
Once you launch, if you're headed toward island 13, you'll always have coastline on your right and a string of beautiful islands on your left. All of the islands are surrounded by nice beaches and can be docked on. We made several stops on our way:
When determining the path the take, look at the map at the top of this post. If you follow the pink line, you're okay in kayaks. However, if you have any boat with a motor, you have to take the light blue line to the left (east) of the chain of islands. The pink line is the shallows. In fact, even in just kayaks, I'd probably suggest the deeps (light blue line), as the rowing is a bit easier. Either way, it's about 4.5 miles from launch to island.
Coming from the shallows, this is island #13:
What you won't find is firewood.... anywhere on this island. We took to the water and went island hopping, and were fortunate enough to find fuel for the fire. We happened to stumble upon pre-cut firewood that a previous group had left behind on another island. You probably will not be so lucky. I would suggest bringing wood if you're staying on this stretch of islands, if you plan on having a fire to cook on.
If you follow the beach around the back of the island, you'll find this awesome little sandbar:
When it comes to fishing, we came unprepared and ended up having zero luck. Every person we passed was catching redfish by the dozens (I hear this is the redfish capital of the world), but we brought the wrong bait. If you want to catch fish, bring live shrimp. We brought dead shrimp and ended up eating hot dogs for dinner.
Here is a picture of me not catching fish in the little lagoon around side of the island. This is one of many places on the island that I did not catch fish:
There is no checkout. When you're ready to leave, you just pack up and head back to the launch site.
---------------------------------------------------------
I suppose I'll try to provide some basic scores and contact information for each of the sites I visit. Here goes:
- Phone Number - 386-428-3385 (Just hit "0" until you get someone. The extension on their website is wrong)
- Website - http://www.nps.gov/cana/planyourvisit/outdooractivities.htm
- PRICE - $10/night (up to six people)
- DIFFICULTY - 6/10
- PRIVACY - 9/10
- FISHING - 2/10 (for us)
- STAFF - 9/10 (Bearded man cancels out supercop. Other than that, you won't deal with any staff)
