A Trip To Playalinda Beach For A Rocket Launch

March 30, 2024: a trip to Playalinda Beach on the Cape Canaveral National Seashore in Florida to watch a rocket launching 4.25 mile in the distance. This is one of the closest viewing spots on the Space Coast, and if you're a local or a visitor, it's a highly recommended day out.

Playalinda Information

Generally speaking, if it is not a national-security mission (for example, a National Reconnaissance Office payload) or a NASA mission, spectators have been allowed at Playalinda. That’s by no means a certainty, however, and it would be very wise to call ahead before making the trip out there only to be turned away.

Cape Canaveral National Seashore Phone: 386 428-3384 x0

* Get there at least 3-4 hours early, or better, earlier than that. Lines are very long at the entry gate and they will only allow as many spectator vehicles as there are parking space available. If the launch is within thirty minutes you will be turned away.

* Cape Canaveral National Seashore has a fee to get in and cash is not accepted. Debit and credit cards are okay, or if you have one of the National Park Service’s passes for the Seashore or the National Parks, that will work as well.

* Cellphone service is spotty at best and often non-existant at Playalinda. Don’t count on your cellphone to keep up with the launch, because you might get signal or you might not. I'd guess not, though 1-2 bars happens in some spots.

* You are not allowed to view from the pullouts on Beach Road on launch days. They will have stanchions blocking them. You’ll have to park and you’ll have to go to the beach.

* Park only in designated spots. Rangers will write you a $130 ticket for parking on the road shoulders or for that matter, anything that doesn't have two white lines on each side.

* Refreshments are not available. There are no stores at Cape Canaveral National Seashore, and that means you’ll need to bring drinks and food if you want any while you’re there.

* Sunscreen is your friend. If you are not from Florida, you can get sunburned quickly because you're in the subtropical zone and the sun is more direct here. Nothing ruins a vacation faster than a horrible sunburn.

* Respect the ocean's power. Playalinda often has rip currents, so know your limits in the water.

* Rangers will keep you back a certain distance from the launch area. If the beach is open, you’ll still not be able to go all the way down to the fence that demarcates the normal security zone. There’s a line that spectators can’t go past somewhat north of the fence. That’s for safety and security.

* The bathrooms are sandpits, with no running water. They are rather...smelly, to put it nicely. That doesn't mean they aren't clean, they are, but do smell like raw sewage. At least there are bathrooms, though.

* Also, as part of both Kennedy Space Center and the US Park system, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge is under federal jurisdiction and that means if you happen to get a ticket out there, you’ll be heading to federal court. Best thing to do is strictly obey traffic laws. Don’t speed!

Видео A Trip To Playalinda Beach For A Rocket Launch канала Charles Boyer