Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Nature center explaining the critters and environment in the area, easy board walk trail, can see alligators and turtles basking in the warm sun, butterfly’s in the pollinator garden loop, and lots of beautiful vegetation under the palm canopy along the trail. The visitor center has a bathroom faculty with a water cooler for sips of water, a info desk with very kind staff, and cute gift shop with adorable kids books, earrings, magnets/pins/patches, tee shirts and more. I’ll keep coming back!

A visit to Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge is a must, anytime I'm in the area. The Black Point Wildlife Drive is the highlight of the refuge, a short drive that puts you in close view of alligators and dozens of species of birds that reside in the park. Plan to spend at least an hour along the wildlife drive. There is also a manatee viewing platform, where resident manatees are frequently visible.

What a great way to spend a day seeing Florida in its natural state. Spend the time driving the Black Point Trail is was spectacular. A bird watchers paradise. And if you like to see alligators in the wild we were fortunate enough to see dozens of them. The boardwalk trail at the visitors center is a nice easy hike and a beautiful lush tropical forest to stroll through.

I broke my fingers here but had the time of my life. Let me explain, this drive takes you on a road made from rocks/shells/dusty materials. Its a one way drive, with water directly next to the road basically the entire drive. You're going to see pockets of birds, ducks, gators, among other things on this drive. We saw so much! Bald eagles, herons, storks, spoonbills, you name it. I recommend driving fairly slow (say 10ish mph) to take it all in. Every so often you can pull to the side, let others pass, and grab some incredible photographs. Well, right on the end stretch of our journey today we came across the biggest gator of the day. I pulled to the side to attempt to get a picture and I guess the car was slanted in such a way that when I pushed the door open, it shut itself right on my fingers. 😂 it latched itself closed and everything with three fingers in the door! ouch. anyway, I still got out and took my photo and had a blast of a day. Don't squish your fingers and I promise you'll enjoy yourself. Drive safe y'all!