Jetty Park Campground, Cape Canaveral FL

On the road again on a Friday night, except this time, we left our Toyota Camry behind to ride in a 36 ft. Holiday Rambler Neptune motor home with friends. We’re headed to Jetty Park, a campground on a stretch of beach along the east coast of Florida in Cape Canaveral.

We are always up for a camping trip. With all of the preparation that goes into preparing for a camping excursion, the experience is easier when you’re camping out in a comfortable motor home. Some campgrounds tend to pack the motor homes too closely together to make better use of the available space, while primitive spots are more lush and private. Jetty Park offers both options.

You can also rent small cabins that comfortably accommodate a family of four. The cabins are air conditioned with a queen size bed, a set of bunk beds, a half-bath, mini fridge, a small porch, picnic table, and charcoal grill.

Jetty Park is the perfect campground for beach lovers and fishing enthusiasts. With a 1,200 ft. long fishing pier, equipped with running water and fish cleaning stations, you can fish from sunrise to sunset. No need for a fishing license to fish off the pier. No bait, no problem. You can purchase bait in the Bait Shop right on site.

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If fishing isn’t your thing, Jetty Park offers 4.5 acres of sandy beach where you can lay back, relax, and soak in the sun.

Kayaks, boogie boards, chairs, and umbrellas can be rented right on the beach. Bring your snacks or visit Fishlips to purchase food, beach, and fishing items.

About a half hour drive from the campground, an exciting experience awaits at the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge Indian River Lagoon, between Cocoa Beach and Titusville, FL. The Bioluminescent Kayak tour with BK Adventures was the most exciting part of our camping trip to Jetty Park. Bioluminescence is light produced by a chemical reaction within a living organism. Plankton, a microscopic aquatic organism, cause the mystical bioluminescence in the waters of the lagoons we visited on our BK Adventure night tour.

Our tour began at 11 p.m., on a night with little moonlight, the perfect condition to experience bioluminescence. We booked the Clear Kayak Tour for $72 per person. The tour guides greeted our group of six, and after a short explanation of the tour, and a generous application of bug spray, we set out on our 1.5 hour kayak tour.

This tour was nothing short of magical, with the exception of arguing with my husband about which way to paddle. Our tour guide led us into the mangroves as we watched in amazement the glowing water around us. The illuminated fish beneath us, and the perfect starry sky above were breathtaking.

Towards the end of our kayaking experience we witnessed something unexpected. Our friends noticed a few large humps peeking through the surface of the water. Our guide shone a flashlight in the direction of the humps triggering an explosion of glowing water as startled manatees, disturbed from their peaceful slumber, offered us an exciting end to a unique adventure.

Although we didn’t have an opportunity to visit during this trip, the Kennedy Space Center is a must see.

Whether you prefer to relax in the serenity of a sandy beach, pitch a tent on a primitive site, enjoy the magic of a bioluminescent kayak experience, or explore our history in space travel, Jetty Park Campground offers something special for all who visit.