Lori Wilson Park — Attraction in Cocoa Beach

Lori Wilson Park paid parking access to Atlantic Ocean from State Route A1A. Restroom / showers / walking trail. A nice park, all in all.

NOTE: All condo buildings / hotels on ocean side of Cocoa Beach restrict ocean access to their guests and threaten towing. Don’t bother.

SHEPHARD PARK, 1.8 miles north on A1A. Of the two parks, I recommend Shepard. In addition to paid parking access, restrooms, showers, Shephard has, among other features, two excellent restaurant/bars: the Sandbar and Twisted Tides right there--and many other nearby shops.

SHEPARD REVIEW: The Sandbar is a ports bar. Flat screens everywhere. In-door / patio seating. Serves excellent and unusual food (fish tacos). Often live music and karaoke. Locals like to hang here for it's raffish vibe..

Twisted Tides next door is more conventional with nice Sky Deck w/oceaan views. Excellent food.

Shepard Park is also one of the closest places to watch rocket launches from Cape Canaveral just north.

After experiencing ocean, drive two minutes over to Ron Jon Surf Shop w/free parking (if full, there's a clearly marked lot off west side of A1A. Ron Jon is vast! Every type of beach apparel and beach need, surf & bogie boards and accessories, touristy take home knick-knacks. One can easily spend 1-2 hours at RR.

In Shepard Pk vicinity are virtually all shops needed for a comfortable day-at-the-beach. McDonald’s, Winn-Dixie Market, CVS and Walgreens.

MEDICAL CARE / EMERGENCIES: Medfast Urgent Care--Hours of Operation: 7:30AM-7:00PM, 7 Days a Week. Medfast is in strip mall beside 520 Causeway, 5 minute walk west from Shepard Park. I've been there 3 times. Excellent, professional medical attention.

Across 520 from Medfast there is, of all things, a Dinosaur museum. Intriguing!

COCOA BEACH PIER: 1 mile north of Shepherd Pk, is popular Cocoa Beach Pier. Parking varies from free to expensive, depending on...I can never figure out! Demand, I suppose.

An excellent Publix Market is short drive west of pier.

Being high and long, pier has BEST views of rocket launches anywhere in area.

The beach by pier is usually crowded. However, a short walk down beach provides vast open spaces. A successful "beach sand replenishment operation" by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2025 increased beach width considerably.

So, while Lori Wilson is an excellent "basic" park with its park facilities, it is...just that. Alan Shepherd, however, provides far more with its nearby establishments.

Mid-March to end of May is a good time to visit Cocoa Beach. The weather has stabilized into uniformly 80+- degree days. Avoid disappointing weather December to February. Grim 50 deg days are common. Beach is virtually deserted.

Also in mid-March, the World Surfing League has a Board / Beach fest featuring surf riding contest attended by surfers from all over the world.

During WSL fest, Shepherd Pk has food trucks for every conceivable taste. And a large skateboard half-pipe to keep young surfers, busy.

Cocoa Beach is an excellent beach town to visit. Friendly locals. Not overly built-up. Just be careful and stay away Dec - Feb when weather...

These stars when needing to post an absolutely negative comment we should have options not allowing any star rating. What my family and I experienced on that beach on July 4th 2025, the day of our country's birthday is unacceptable. A umbrella flew out the ground, was heading towards guests on the beach it was near to us, no lifeguard to been seen nor the rental person, first right thing to do would be grab it before it hurts someone and try to place back. Here comes rental guy and he began to yell what you doing with that umbrella, yelling coming out as if we were stealing we went to explain how it came out, he said no I saw you, I saw you took the umbrella out. Look his brains was fried obviously. Very ignorant person, my wife said we were looking for you or a lifeguard said just leave it and he came out ready to attack and we knew we were dealing with a discrimination and verbally and mentally being mistreated as my family was out enjoying a few hours at the park then visit with family. After the attendant yells out to the lifeguard they shout calm down, my wife said tell this little boy to calm down b/c we were doing a right thing and they called the police, the police came and took each side, the officer on duty was apolegetic. The officer told us after my wife said we don't feel comfortable with this guy, his behavior and actions were unacceptable. Am glad my wife told the officer that she is requesting a report done and recorded the officer after given permission to do so, he apologies again as he is on beach duty so he did not have the report pad etc on the beach patrol, however he was able to get our information and gave a case number. My wife asked the officer for his name and the station to call, he said you call us on non-emergency or call 911if he comes and harrass us, here is his company to complain about the experience was awful and being on July 4th and being minorities yet born American citizens to be treated so poorly it was disgusting. Unacceptable we will be reaching out to the beach rental company as well to discuss what has happened. Keep safe and remember if you see a flying umbrella yell for lifeguard or rental person to come out and get it. Or you will be dealing with a awful accusation of stealing the umbrella. However we did not stick around, because that guy was troubled. We left we will never return back, will say however after this experience we truly enjoyed our day....

We were in town for a long weekend of sightseeing; one of the attractions that caught our attention was Lori Wilson Park, "a picturesque retreat with a beach." Located along a busy stretch of N. Atlantic Ave., in Cocoa Beach, this park is an oasis once you arrive. The park features a clean public restroom, picnic tables, a dog park where many dog owners were gathered on a Saturday morning and lots of free parking.

The park features a "I Dream of Jeannie Way" street sign dating from the television sitcom starring Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman. The television series was set in and around Cocoa Beach. Ms. Eden visited Cocoa Beach in 1966 when the street sign was placed at Lori Wilson Park.

We live inland and were eager to see the beach but without the crazy numbers of people on the more well-known beaches such as Cocoa Beach, so walking down the boardwalk to the ocean was a delight. The ocean was angry that day, but that did not deter beach goers from enjoying the warm weather and beach activities. Lifeguard stations and rescue equipment are prominent along with flags indicating ocean conditions. On this day, the red flag was raised indicating rip tides. Chairs and umbrellas are available for rent.

Do not expect to see a lot of seashells, but we did see many tiny blue aquatic creatures that looked like jellyfish.

If you are seeking a quieter beach experience with no parking hassles or crowds, a nice dog park, and clean restrooms, Lori Wilson Park...