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Merrit Island Wildlife Reserve

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eanselm
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5 out of 5
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2
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Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge

Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge

This is one of Florida's renowned wildlife parks in which you can actually drive through different marked roads and get a close-up feel of many varieties of animals, reptiles, and birds. The refuge is on a 140,000 acre piece of land adjacent to John F. Kennedy Space Center, just off the highway. The refuge is made up of marshes, estuaries, sand dunes, pine forests, scrub oaks, and palm hammocks.

There are over 500 species that inhabit the island, 10 of which are threatened/endangered. While spending a few hours driving down the roads on a nice clear sunny day, I encountered many bird species, manatees, and free-roaming alligators. I'm an avid bird-watcher, so it was an absolute dream to encounter that many bird species: roseate spoonbills flying over our car, ospreys in trees, woodpeckers and many more.

There are several alligators that can be found along the roads in small ponds. There are no guard rails so you are at your own risk when getting out of your car. I did catch sight of an alligator that was lying right on the highway, so it was quite a scare, although as soon as our car approached him, he scurried back into the water down below.

Merritt Island has access to the Atlantic Ocean through their beautiful sand dunes. You are welcome to drive to the very end of the trails and park in the designated parking lots and have a day sitting in the sun on the beaches.

All in all, if you're an avid bird-watcher or just have a passion for wildlife, this is definitely a place not to be missed!

From journal Getaway in Florida

Merrit Island Wildlife Reserve

  • February 7, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by eanselm from Rochester, New York
Merrit Island Wildlife Reserve

We spent half a day here and wished we had gone for the entire day. It was a 25-mile longer drive than we realized as you need to drive around the Kennedy Space Center to get there but were so glad we went. There is no cost. The people at the visitor center were very helpful and provided us with a great map of the area. There is a walking trail right outside the visitor center but most things are very spread out. There are some walking trails and others that can be done by car, bicycle or walk. One of the best trails was the Black Point Trail. It is quite long and most of it can be done by car. You go down a single lane road through the middle of salt flats and marshes. There was a greater variety of birds than you will ever see in the wild. There are a few places to get out of your car and take photos or just enjoy. We saw roseate spoonbills, ibis, egrets, pelicans, cormorants, ducks, heron, bald eagles and many others. We went to the manatee viewing area but there were no manatee there. We didn’t get to the beach but were told it was beautiful. It is part of the National Seashore. There are very limited services at the beach or anyplace in the refuge so you would need to bring in any food and drinks or plan on going to Titusville to eat.

From journal Winter Week on the Florida Space Coast

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