Cocoa Beach Insider

The dog days of summer are coming to Cocoa Beach on July 15th. This will be the first day that you will legally be able to bring your dogs to the beach in Cocoa Beach. This is not a permanent change, just a 6-month trial run to see how it goes.

Dogs on the beach will only be allowed in a certain area of Cocoa Beach, from 4th St South to 15th St South you will be able to have your dog on the beach. Your pup will need to be on a 6’ leash. You can only bring your dogs to the beach from 6 am to 10 am and from 5 pm to 9 pm (During standard time it is 5pm to 7 pm). Did I mention the leash? Your dog needs to be on it. Remember to have your poop bags too. Yep, you need to clean up if they go poop.

Yes, I am a dog lover. Yes, I have two 4 legged fur babies. Yes, I like taking them to the beach too. We have had our pups for 12 years now. We first took them to the Ponce Inlet in Volusia County because it was a dog-friendly beach at the Smyrna Dunes Park

https://www.volusia.org/services/public-works/coastal-division/coastal-parks/smyrna-dunes-park.stml

This was a great place for the dogs. The park is on the south side of the Ponce Inlet and starts near the US Coast Guard Station, where you have about a 2 mile stretch of beach you can take your dogs to, and that is what I love about this park. We didn’t bring chairs with us, just a backpack with water and snacks, a blanket for any rest stops, and, of course, leashes, poop bags, and our pups. We would then leisurely walk along the waterline letting the dogs explore the environment. I am really looking forward to doing the same in Cocoa Beach after July 15th.

Ella digs the beach

High five for beach time

Right now, we only have one dog beach in Brevard County and it is located at 3299 N Hwy A1A in Indialantic (End of the Eau Gallie Causeway at Canova Beach Park) We have taken Emma and Ella there, but we did not like it as much as the dog beach in Volusia County because of the size of beach alloted for dogs. We like to walk our dogs for exercise and to release that puppy energy and it was tough to do this at this dog beach. It is only a 700’ stretch of sand and it only allowed us a couple of laps around the designated area until we were ready to go. Letting the dogs in the water to swim was a challenge since this stretch of beach had coquina rocks along the shoreline. Don’t misunderstand me, I am very happy that this dog beach does exist in Brevard County because I believe the success they have had since 2012 is allowing the city of Cocoa Beach to give dogs on the beach a chance to succeed.

Emma is checking out the waves

Someone needs some puppy shades

So, mark your calendars…July 15, 2018, you can bring your dogs to south Cocoa Beach between 4th St South and 15th St South (about a 1.5 mile stretch of beach) Your dogs MUST be on a leash (a 6-foot leash). You MUST clean up after your pup if they poop on the beach (don’t be that person who tries to just bury it in the sand or pretend your dog didn’t just poop) You can only have your dog on the beach between 6-10 am and 5-9 pm. Since the beach access is public access points and not parks, you do not have showers to rinse off or fresh water to drink…bring water for Fido, your dog needs to hydrate too.

This is only a 6-month trial. I am hoping that if this is successful, more of Cocoa Beach can be opened up to allow dogs on the beach; maybe even more of Brevard County too.

Why do we have to leave?

Can’t we stay 5 more minutes?

About the author:

Eric Larkin is a Broker Associate with REMAX Solutions. He lives, works, and plays in the Cocoa Beach area. Eric has been helping buyers and sellers with their real estate needs since becoming a real estate agent in 2003. His focus is always on helping, answering your questions, and doing everything possible to make certain you have a smooth transaction from beginning to end.

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