Cocoa Beach: dog-friendly Florida beach review

When we moved to Florida, I was thrilled to take Scout to the beach for the first time. I also didn’t really know what to expect — and quickly learned that finding accurate information about dog-friendly beaches was difficult to say the least.

Here’s our complete review of what it’s like to take our blue heeler to Cocoa Beach.

Dog-friendly Cocoa Beach at a glance

We highly recommend visiting Cocoa Beach with your pup!

It’s extremely possible to enjoy even if your dog is “reactive” or wants space from strangers. The 12-block stretch of dog-friendly shoreline is one of the largest we’ve found in the state so far.

Our favorite things about Cocoa Beach’s dog-friendly stretch:

• It’s long enough to walk up and down
• It’s wide enough to get plenty of space from other people and dogs if needed, even at high tide
• Leashes are required at all times
• Most owners seem to respect leash laws and personal space
• We often see dolphins, particularly at sunrise
• The sunrises are absolutely breathtaking (and not very crowded!)

Our least favorite things:

• Dogs are only allowed in the mornings and evenings (hours vary depending on the time of year)
• Some owners do violate leash laws — we need to be vigilant and ready to advocate for our dog, and I worry that over time the city might ban dogs entirely if people keep breaking the rules
• The waves are usually too big for dogs to properly swim in

If you go, make sure you bring:

• A waterproof collar (or one you don’t mind getting dirty)
• A sturdy leash
• A towel or two
• Water to drink and rinse with — there are no rinsing stations at the public beach accesses along this stretch
• Extra waste disposal bags (they are provided but sometimes run out)
• Food or a toy to play and reward good behavior!

The least busy times are:

• Early mornings on both weekdays and weekends
• Later evenings (past 6 pm) especially on weekdays

The details of Cocoa Beach

Where are dogs allowed? Between 4th Street South to 16th Street South, which is the north side of Murkshe Park.

When are dogs allowed? In the mornings, between 6 – 10 am year round. In the evenings, between 5 – 9 pm during daylight saving time and 4 – 7 pm during standard time.

What restrictions are there for dogs? Dogs must be leashed at all times and can not walk on the dunes or disturb wildlife. Owners must clean up after their dogs.

More information, including timely updates, can be found on the City of Cocoa Beach’s website!

Getting to Cocoa Beach

Cocoa Beach is close to Cape Canaveral, Rockledge, Viera, and Melbourne. It’s also only about an hour from Orlando — this makes it a popular tourist destination!

In order to get to Cocoa Beach from the mainland, you have to drive over two rivers: the Indian River and Banana River. The bridges to cross are beautiful, and we sometimes see dolphins along the way. (If your dog loves to swim, you can consider stopping along one of the causeways for them to enjoy calmer water.)

There is plenty of parking nearby

Once you arrive at Cocoa Beach’s dog-friendly stretch, you can take advantage of public parking on almost every street.

Our personal favorite place to park is between 13th and 15th street — we find that this southernmost part is usually less crowded.

There are about a dozen parking spaces in each area. At the time of writing parking is $2.50 per hour, and they accept credit cards. Payment is only enforced between 7 am and 7 pm, so if you go for sunrise, you can get away without it.

Step right onto the sand!

Each parking lot opens directly to the beach. Some have a short boardwalk to cross the dunes, while others just have a sandy path going between them. Usually the beach is within 20 feet from the cars.

We recommend keeping your dog in a heel or on a short leash when first entering the beach, since this is the only place where you might have to pass someone in close quarters.

Once the paths open up to the full beach, you can see for miles — and easily make space from other people and dogs if you want to.

Sit and chill or run in the waves

One of the best things about Cocoa Beach is that there’s plenty of space to both spread out to relax and romp around.

We usually like to set up our towels and then go back and forth between playing along the shore and soaking up the sun. It’s great practice for Scout’s impulse control and ability to stay focused on us around distractions!

It’s important to note that the waves are usually quite large at Cocoa Beach. Scout will happily wet her paws when she gets hot, but she has no interest in actually swimming (and we probably wouldn’t let her anyway).

Be respectful — and be aware of off-leash dogs

Most of our experiences at Cocoa Beach have been overwhelmingly positive.

I think it’s really important to be respectful users of dog-friendly spaces. The more we follow the rules and help other people safe and comfortable, the greater the chances that the beach stays open to our canine companions!

We try to do a few key things:

• Never let Scout approach anyone without permission
• Pass other people and dogs with plenty of space
• Don’t let her interfere with wildlife, and use the chance to practice our training around distractions
• You can learn more about our beach protocol in this article!

As much as we love Cocoa Beach, we do sometimes experience other folks with off-leash dogs. In these situations, we follow a few steps:

• If we are walking down the beach, either Sean or I will jog ahead to ask the owners to leash their dog so we can pass by confidently
• If the dog is running nearby while we sit still, we keep close tabs on its movement and are prepared to intervene if needed
• We are prepared to physically defend Scout with our body pressure, towels, or pepper gel as a last resort

All in all: an excellent dog-friendly adventure!

At the end of the day, Cocoa Beach is one of our favorite spots to take Scout. It’s spacious, well-kept, and generally full of other responsible dog owners with well-behaved pets.

With a bit of preparation, you’re pretty much guaranteed to have an amazing time. I can’t recommend it enough!