Just south of the city of New Smyrna Beach is the Apollo Beach or North District of Canaveral National Seashore. The park was established in 1975 to protect and preserve 24 miles of pristine seashore along a barrier island. We visited the park in mid-February, 2013. The entrance fee is $5 per vehicle per day. A new visitor center with a theater, gift shop, offices and rest rooms opened in November 2012. The movie about the seashore was excellent as usual and highlighted some of the more unique aspects of the park such as the nesting area for sea turtles.
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| Apollo Visitor Center |
Beach
We decided to start our tour with a drive to the southern end of the 6.5 mile park road. At this point the island is fairly narrow which allowed views of Mosquito Lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean from the same location. After parking at area 5, we crossed the dune on the provided boardwalk. Recent storms had damaged the accessible ramp on the beach end of the boardwalk, but the stairs remained in service.
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| Mosquito Lagoon |
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| Looking up the beach from the boardwalk |
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| Atlantic Ocean from the boardwalk |
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| Looking down the beach from the boardwalk |
Royal Terns
Sanderling chased by waves
Driving north, we stopped at parking area 4 for a closeup view of the vegetation on the dunes.
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| Prickly Pear and Saw Palmetto |
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| Saw Palmetto atop the dune |
Turtle Mound
Continuing our journey north, we stopped at Turtle Mound. This prehistoric site is believed to consist mostly of discarded oyster shells, although no extensive archaeological excavations have been conducted. Several theories have been offered as to why the TImucuan would build a mound of refuse that was about 50 feet high and 600 feet long. One theory is that it was a navigational landmark and another is that it provided limited protection from hurricanes. At one point, a commercial orange grove was planted here. The few trees remaining produce a bitter orange compared with the Indian River groves across Mosquito Lagoon.
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| Boardwalk from parking area through the saw palmetto |
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| Elevated boardwalk allows access without destroying the mound |
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| Mosquito Lagoon with Visitor Center buildings on left |
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| Ocean view from atop the mound |
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| The mound consists of millions of oyster shells |
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| The elevated boardwalk climbs to the top of the mound |
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| Bitter oranges along the boardwalk |
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| Timucuans launched their canoes on Mosquito Lagoon near here |
Eldora
The Eldora loop road is one-way with four parking areas. We stopped at parking area 6 and walked the trail to the fishing dock near parking area 7.
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| Trail to the fishing pier |
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| Fishing pier on Mosquito Lagoon |
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| Mosquito Lagoon shoreline |
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| Brown Pelican |
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| Another view of the lagoon |
We then drove to parking area 8 near the community of Eldora. The village was founded around 1877 as a steamboat stop. The agricultural and fishing community struggled for years due to a variety of environmental conditions including hurricanes and winter frosts. By 1900, the village was shifting from farming and fishing to winter seasonal homes for the wealthy. Today, the foundations are all that is left of most of the village. In 1980, the park service determined that the Eldora House was beyond repair and demolished the structure. Today, the site has been completely reclaimed by native vegetation. Fortunately, the State House did not meet the same fate due to the dedicated work of the Friends of Canaveral. Today it stands as a museum to the community and is usually open on weekends depending on the availability of volunteers to staff the site. One of the back rooms has been converted into a small theater for viewing an 18 minute video depicting the history of the community.
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| Broad walkway to Eldora |
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| Side road to the former site of the Eldora House |
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| Northern end of the Eldora State House |
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| View of Mosquito Lagoon from the State House |
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| Front of the Eldora State House |
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| Rear of the Eldora State House |
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| Trail back to the parking area |
Our short stay at Canaveral National Seashore did not allow time to visit Castle Windy, another shell midden nor did we have time to stroll along much of the beach.The park website is http://www.nps.gov/cana/index.htm.
