PLAYALINDA Beach — Attraction in Titusville

Playalinda is the third of four official nude beaches in Florida that we visited. It is definitely more "out of the way" than Haulover or Blind Creek and is located on the Canaveral National Seashore, accessible through Titusville. We would suggest mapping the drive (you are looking for Parking Lot #13) from wherever you might be to get an idea of travel time, as it could be deceiving if you are looking at a map or mileage as the crow flies. Another worthwhile consideration is the national seashore access fee: $20 for a week can be wonderful if you are planning to return multiple times (or visit Apollo Beach during the same week, which also is accessible with this parking pass), but it can be steep if you are looking to only visit for a day (as we were)... especially if it's cloudy!

Nevertheless, the beach is wonderful. Perhaps it is because of the inclement weather during our visit, but it reminded us of beaches much closer to home on Long Island, NY (more specifically Fire Island). Maybe this is because Fire Island is also a national seashore, but the sand and ocean vibes on a thin strip of land felt very similar. That is about where the similarities end, however, as the parking lot is much smaller than a typical NY beach (if you don't get a spot at Parking Lot #13, you can park at the next closest lot that is available and walk upward). We have also been told that during certain times of the year (based on water and erosion conditions) some of the parking lots will be closed. If that is the case during your visit, you should go as far as it will let you go and park in the furthest lot. Often times the nude beach simply becomes the furthest lot, or you can at least walk toward the official nude beach from that area.

In terms of additional amenities, there are bathrooms and shower facilities near the parking lot (clothing technically is required here... despite my having to take a photo with the sign!), though there are not many of them and they are very simple in nature. Better than the port-a-potties at Blind Creek (during our visits), but pale in comparison to the facilities available at Haulover. At any rate, if you find yourself in the greater Orlando area (especially toward the Atlantic coast), Playalinda is a wonderful beach that is worth the visit (given the lack of parking and the distance to get there, it is less likely to be as packed as some of the other nude beaches with closer-to-urban-settings). It is also worth mentioning that on your way to Playalinda you pass by a great view of the nearby Kennedy Space Center, which alone may be worth stopping the car and getting out to take some photos. If you're able to line up a visit during a rocket launch, even better (though we hear you may want to plan accordingly due to the traffic and number of people also coming to view the launch from the Canaveral National Seashore). An alternative that worked for us was to view a rocket launch on a clear night from Cypress Cove Nudist Resort in Kissimmee, so you always have that...

The nudist population is severely under served and under appreciated at this beach. The nudist area has been cramped into only one out of 13 sections, and the parking spaces for the nude section are only one fifth of how many there ought to be. The nudist area needs to be expanded, from section 10 to section 13, like it was in the past. The beach is losing its family friendly atmosphere because the nudists and people with children who prefer to sun bathe closer to boardwalk 12 are regularly being harassed to pick up their stuff, and every year are being pushed even closer towards section 13 than they were the year before by the officials on ATVs. Section 13 has more social drinking, flirting, music and partying going on, and isn't as quiet and relaxed as section 12. Those of us with kids are not happy or appreciative of the beach officials constantly wanting to push us closer towards section 13, when we are wanting to keep our distance from that crowd. It's not that the people in Section 13 are doing anything wrong, it's just that it's not the ideal or best atmosphere for those of us with children. The beach really needs to open up some more sections to better serve the nudist families and the growing nudist population that wants to go there, rather than trying to condense the whole spectrum of generational nudists into as little a space as possible, when there are twelve other sections that are always half empty. It took us nearly a half hour of waiting just to get a parking space last time we went. Both sections 12 & 13 are always full and lacking sufficient parking, and we were told this year by one of the ATV guys that they don't want any nudity within view of boardwalk twelve, and to pick up our stuff and move to the midpoint between section 12 & 13. It's like they are slowly trying eliminate the nudist section altogether. It's despicable, and the AANR should get involved to remedy...

This is a great beach, with long stretches of nobody (at least on the weekdays) and some great shells, too. There's a $15 fee per vehicle to get in, but it's free with an America the Beautiful pass.

For Rocket Launches: We arrived at 6AM (opening time) for a 12:30 launch that we didn't want to risk missing. We could have gotten there up to about 9:30 and still found parking at Lot 1. For launch pads 39B (the closest, at the right), 39A (second closest), or 40 (SpaceX, fourth closest), you'll want to stand at the top of the ramp on the parking lot side (or on top of a camper on the parking lot, if possible) in Lot 1 for the best view. SLC-40 is BEHIND and mostly obstructed by 39A, but the rocket can be seen to just to the right of it. For 41 (third closest), you'll want to actually be on the beach. They put the causeway bridge up about an hour before launches, so at least cross before then. For us, they also closed off the beach up to Lot 1. Cell phone coverage is a little spotty, but pretty good on the boardwalks that cross over the dunes. Remember that "live streams" of rocket launches have a buffering delay, so if you wait on that, the rocket will probably be high in the air before the final countdown even starts!

Dogs: Dogs are allowed in the park, but not on the beaches or boardwalks that cross over the dunes.

Nudity: Apparently that's waaaay at the other end of the beach (a few miles away), so you probably won't happen upon any surprises if you're there for a launch. At...