Train to become an astronaut, find precious wildlife along nature trails, browse quirky museums and see impressive national treasures in Titusville, a sunny city in Brevard County.
Titusville sits on the shores of the ocean-side Indian River. The town was renamed after Captain Henry Titus, who developed the town after first coming to the area in 1867. To see a preserved remnant of that era, view the St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church.
The town became “Space City USA” during the boom economy of the 1960s, brought on by the John F. Kennedy Space Center. However, things changed when the Challenger exploded in 1986. After the space shuttle program ended in 2011 the town lost much of its business.
Drive over the bridge to Merritt Island, Florida’s largest barrier island to see where the Apollo moon landing rockets were launched. Become a space cadet by reporting to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. You can spend all day trying out all the interactive exhibits and restaurants. Come back the next day for the Air Force Space and Missile Museum, just across the Banana River in Cape Canaveral city. Follow the boardwalk of the Manatee Sanctuary Park and have fun in the futuristic-looking Exploration Tower while there too.
You can also just follow the Black Point Wildlife Drive of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge to spot turtles, manatees, bobcats and rare birds. Also look for alligators and dolphins in the Indian River, the lagoon that separates the reserve from the mainland.
Just to the south, the Canaveral National Seashore boasts the longest undeveloped beach on the East Coast of Florida. Enjoy the tranquility as you swim, surf or just relax at this 24-mile (39-kilometer) long beach.
Apart from all of the out-of-this-world attractions of the barrier island, Titusville itself has some marvelous attractions too. Visit its Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum or witness the annual TICO Warbird Air Show in March. Don’t miss the American Police Hall of Fame, a national museum and memorial, and the nearby Windover Archeological Site with its 7,000-year-old skeletons.
