Happenin’
Places › Florida › Space Coast › Sebastian Inlet State Park
Sebastian Inlet State Park

Photo: Florida State Parks / Courtesy of Florida State Parks · source

Beaches

Sebastian Inlet State Park

Melbourne Beach, FL · Space Coast

About

Two long jetties run out into the Atlantic at the mouth of Sebastian Inlet, where the tide rips through and surfers line up at First Peak, the most reliable break on Florida's east coast. Anglers work the rocks for snook and Spanish mackerel while the calmer Indian River Lagoon side stays quiet enough for kayaks and wading birds. Two small museums sit inside the park, one telling the story of the 1715 Spanish treasure fleet that wrecked just offshore, the other the local fishing trade, and the campground stays open around the clock.

Highlights

Two Atlantic fishing jetties at the inlet mouthFirst Peak, one of Florida's most consistent surf breaksCalm Indian River Lagoon side for kayakingMcLarty Treasure Museum (1715 Spanish fleet) and Sebastian Fishing MuseumThree miles of Atlantic beachAround-the-clock campground and boat ramp

Getting there

Related places

Canaveral National Seashore Beaches

Canaveral National Seashore

Titusville, FL · Space Coast$

Playalinda, the south end of Canaveral National Seashore near Titusville, has the park's closest view of a launch. On launch days its beach road shuts 30 minutes before liftoff…

Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge Beaches

Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge

Melbourne Beach, FL · Space Coast

Between Melbourne Beach and Wabasso Beach, the Archie Carr refuge's 20.5 miles of beach see 15,000 to 30,000 sea turtle nests a year. Loggerheads alone average 400 to 1,000 nests…

Cocoa Beach Beaches

Cocoa Beach

Cocoa Beach, FL · Space CoastFree

Cocoa Beach is about 45 minutes east of Orlando, with some of the closest rocket launch views in Brevard County. The Space Coast Launches app has a map of where to watch. The…

More in Space Coast

Others worth the drive in this corner of Florida.

All of Space Coast →
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Attractions

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex

Merritt Island, FL · Space Coast$$$

The 363-foot Saturn V at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Merritt Island sits in a building you reach only on the bus tour included with admission. That bus also stops at…

Brevard Zoo Attractions

Brevard Zoo

Melbourne, FL · Space Coast$$

Brevard Zoo lets you paddle a kayak past white rhinos and giraffe in its Expedition Africa wetland, the only place in the country where you can. Hand a leaf up to a giraffe from…

New Smyrna Beach Beaches

New Smyrna Beach

New Smyrna Beach, FL · Space Coast$

Smyrna Dunes Park, on the inlet at the north tip of New Smyrna Beach, has the only beach in the area where dogs are allowed, on a leash. The inlet shapes the waves off its jetty…

Daytona Beach Beaches

Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach, FL · Space Coast$

Cars drive on the sand at Daytona Beach in sections marked by signs and wooden posts, at 10 mph with headlights on. Land speed runs on this beach started in 1904 and ended with…

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Gardens & wildlife

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Titusville, FL · Space Coast$

NASA acquired this land for Kennedy Space Center in 1962, and the part it doesn't use is a 140,000-acre wildlife refuge about 60 miles east of Orlando. Black Point Wildlife Drive…

Part of these collections

Florida State Parks26 places

Florida State Parks

This list has 26 of Florida's 175 or so state parks. Book Blue Spring before you drive: it needs a day-use reservation.

Undeveloped Beaches on Florida's East Coast14 places

Undeveloped Beaches on Florida's East Coast

For the days you'd rather carry your own water than hunt for parking. All of it is protected land of one kind or another.