Playalinda Beach

Located in the southern part of Canaveral National Seashore, Playalinda Beach is a nude beach with pale cream sand on Florida’s eastern coast.   Playalinda Beach is located in Canaveral National Seashore which has nearly 24 miles of beach – and which contains nearly 58,000 acres of barrier island, open lagoon, coastal hammock, pine flatwoods, and offshore waters.   

Reader's Digest listed this nude beach as one of the best beaches in Florida, and Conde Nast Traveller magazine also listed it as one of the best beaches near Orlando.  This Playalinda Nude Beach was listed as one of the best nude beaches in the world by the swimwear brand Pour Moi in 2023.  This beach is usually open between 6 am and 8 pm.

Playalinda Beach does not have lifeguards or any other amenities except restrooms and nearby observation areas, so please plan accordingly.  Dogs are not allowed here.

Playalinda Beach offers many fun activities including sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, swimming, surfing, bodysurfing, boogie boarding, skimboarding, paddleboarding, boating, kayaking, canoeing, surf-skiing, and wildlife watching.  This beach is ideal for surfers because the water here occasionally offers fun surfing waves.  If you are planning to swim, surf, bodysurf, or boogie board here, we recommend being careful because the water here is known to have unpredictable rip currents and dangerous waves. 

If you like beachcombing, you can find many varieties of interesting shells here.  If you like taking pictures with beautiful views, Playalinda Beach offers amazing Instagram-worthy views of the Atlantic Ocean and the Brevard County shoreline.  In addition, it is also an occasionally popular site for stargazing during nights.  Playalinda Beach is ideal for visitors looking for a quiet beach experience because it sees fewer visitors as compared to other nearby beaches.  If you like hiking, there is a trail near the northern end of this beach named the Klondike Beach Trail – this trail offers a strenuous but fun oceanfront hiking experience.  

In addition, Canaveral National Seashore – within which Playalinda Beach is located – has many other fun things to explore including nature trails, historic sites, a large lagoon, a campground, and a visitor center that has interesting exhibitions.

Playalinda Beach has multiple wheelchair-friendly access ramps for visitors with disabilities.  In addition, some of the restrooms here are also disabled-friendly.

Getting to Playalinda Beach is easy – from Interstate 95, you need to take Exit 220 and turn towards Garden Street (which is a part of Florida State Route 402).  From Garden Street, you can cross over to Max Brewer Bridge and drive on a road named the A. Max Brewer Memorial Parkway.  This road will eventually lead you to the entrance station for Canaveral National Seashore, where you need to pay an entrance fee.  The entrance fee here is $25 for vehicles, $20 for motorcycles, and $15 per pedestrian/bicycles for 7 days.  You can visit Canaveral National Seashore’s webpage at the National Park Service’s website for more information regarding the entrance fees.  After paying the entrance fee, you need to drive along the national park’s road to reach the multiple entrances for Playalinda Beach – there are 14 entrances for this beach, along with 13 free parking lots.  There are street signs near the roads leading to the beach that offer helpful driving directions. 

We recommend visiting this beach early during the weekends because it can sometimes get crowded during this time.  Please also note that this beach may also be occasionally closed by the local authorities because of testing conducted by NASA or other aeronautical agencies.  We also recommend checking the local weather reports before visiting this beach because the weather at Playalinda Beach can sometimes get stormy.

The name of this beach – Playalinda Beach – means “pretty beach” in Spanish.  In addition, you can also see rocket launches from this beach – these rocket launches are conducted by the Kennedy Space Center.  In addition, sea turtles also use this beach as a nesting site between May and August.

There are many attractions near Playalinda Beach within a 40-minute drive.  Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is home to more than 500 species of animals and it also has many habitats including hardwood hammocks and wetlands – this refuge offers many fun activities including seasonal hunting, fishing, hiking, wildlife watching, and boating.  The refuge’s visitor center offers interesting exhibits and a bookstore/gift shop and it also hosts movie screenings.  Scottsmoor Flatwoods Sanctuary East is a wildlife sanctuary that has many habitats including marsh forested wetlands, oak hammocks, and cypress forests and it is home to many animals including tortoises, quails, bobcats, and storks.  This sanctuary offers many fun activities, including wildlife watching, hiking, biking, and horse riding.  

Jungle Adventures, A Real Florida Animal Park is an animal park that is home to many amazing animals including alligators, deer, vultures, and wolves.  This park offers many fun events including riverboat tours and animal feeding shows and it also has a reconstructed Native American village.  Kennedy Space Center is a spaceport that is managed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) – this spaceport’s visitor complex has many interesting exhibits related to space exploration and aeronautics and you can also see interesting rocket launches here.  This center also hosts many fun events including movie screenings, guided tours of the spaceport premises, and interactive lunches with astronauts.  If you are looking for another attraction near the beach, Fox Lake Park is a waterfront recreational park that offers many amenities including volleyball courts, a fishing dock, a boat ramp, picnic areas, barbecue areas, a playground, pavilions, horseshoe pits, and a biking path.

If you get hungry, you can drive seven minutes to many restaurants near Playalinda Beach within a 25-minute-drive.  Pier 220 Seafood and Grill is a waterfront restaurant that offers many amazing dishes including seafood, chicken dishes, tacos, burgers, sandwiches, and salads – this restaurant offers live music performances.  Shiloh’s is a waterfront restaurant that offers excellent steaks and seafood, along with a variety of dishes including sandwiches, tacos, pastas, burgers, chicken dishes, and soups.  Dixie Crossroads is known for serving a variety of delicious steaks, seafood, chicken dishes, Southern-style dishes, soups, sandwiches, and burgers.  El Leoncito – Titusville is known for serving excellent Mexican and Cuban dishes including tacos, Cuban sandwiches, chimichangas, and burritos.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby restaurant, The Heroes Grill offers a variety of excellent dishes including burgers, pulled pork, beef brisket, chicken wings, and smoked ribs.

If you are looking for a hotel near Playalinda Beach, there are many hotels within an hour’s drive.  The 4-Star Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront is a nearby Playa Linda Beach resort that offers many amenities including a pool, a restaurant, a fitness center, a sundeck, tennis courts, multiple restaurants, a bar, volleyball courts, and rental facilities for bikes, beach chairs, and beach umbrellas.  The TownePlace Suites Cape Canaveral Cocoa Beach is another great hotel that offers many amenities including a fitness center, a pool, a hot tub, a convenience store, a lounge, a bar, and complimentary breakfast.  Another great hotel is the 3.5-Star Cape Crossing Resort & Marina that offers many amenities including a pool, restaurant, a fitness center, and a clubhouse with a lounge and a gaming area.  A more affordable hotel is the 3-Star , which offers many amenities, including a pool, a fitness center, and a complimentary breakfast.  If you are looking for another good and affordable nearby hotel, the 3-Star Hyatt Place Titusville / Kennedy Space Center offers many amenities including a restaurant, a fitness center, a pool, a market, and complimentary breakfast.  Another great modestly priced and flexible accommodation option is staying at a vacation rental property – you can find many nearby Playa Linda vacation rentals online.