Things to Do on Merritt Island

Merritt Island's public options are its Brevard County river parks for boating, windsurfing and courts, a string of state historical markers along Tropical Trail and Sykes Creek Parkway, county conservation land up north, and the national wildlife refuge.

Kelly Park West sits on the west side of Banana River Drive just south of Kelly Park East, so one trip down the road reaches both: 15.37 acres at Kelly Park East and 40.93 acres at Kelly Park West (Kelly Park East page; Kelly Park West page). Parking at all of these Merritt Island parks is free, and the county's Central Area Operations office answers park questions at (321) 633-1874. Commercial attractions on the island are left out of this guide; the Merritt Island community guide on this site covers the island's government and population.

Kelly Park East on the Banana River is Merritt Island's sailboard and catamaran spot, Kiwanis Island Park launches boats and paddlers into Sykes Creek, and Manatee Cove Park has a natural canoe launch on a small lagoon.

Kelly Park East gives sailboarders and catamaran sailors 300 feet of sandy shoreline to launch from, set apart from a 4 lane saltwater ramp for motorized boats with a dock and trailer parking (Kelly Park East amenities). The county also lists a launch view among the Merritt Island park's features, along with a sand volleyball court, a 20 ft. gazebo and shoreline fishing from the lagoon boardwalk.

Kiwanis Island Park pairs a 2 lane motorized ramp with a natural launch for rowers and paddlers, plus a 5 by 90 foot fishing dock (Kiwanis Island Park page). From the ramp, Sykes Creek leads boaters on to the Barge Canal or the Banana River. Manatee Cove Park, at 4905 North Tropical Trail, is quieter: its access road runs from an equestrian facility at the entrance to a small lagoon that the county says offers refuge for manatees and serves as a canoe launch, with a natural trail around it for shoreline fishing (Manatee Cove Park page).

Kiwanis Island Park is Merritt Island's court and trail park, Kelly Park West adds lighted fields and a walking loop, and the Woody Simpson Community Center holds an indoor gym with pickleball.

Kiwanis Island Park lists an .85-mile exercise trail with 9 stations, a bicycle roadway, 8 lighted tennis courts, 3 lighted 4-wall and 3 lighted 3-wall racquetball courts and 2 lighted softball fields (Kiwanis Island Park amenities). Its community center at 951 Kiwanis Island Park Road is open to the public Monday and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday from 3 to 8 p.m., Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and is closed Sunday; the county advises calling (321) 455-1380 to confirm, since day camps change the times.

Just south of Kelly Park East, the 40.93-acre Kelly Park West runs a paved .75 mile walking path around its edge, a boardwalk through natural Florida habitat and a small fishing pier on a 2.48-acre brackish lake (Kelly Park West page). Its sports side has 2 lighted tennis and pickleball courts, 2 lighted multi-use fields with a concession facility and an unlighted basketball court.

Woody Simpson Park is the indoor option on Merritt Island. Its 14,500 sq. ft. community center contains a 6,762 sq. ft. gymnasium with 1 basketball court and 4 pickleball courts, a kitchen, a game room, meeting rooms and a computer lab built as a Parks Referendum project (Woody Simpson Park page). Public hours are Monday through Thursday 3 to 8 p.m., Friday 1 to 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Sundays, at (321) 455-1379.

Brevard County rents pavilions at Kelly Park East and West, Kiwanis Island, Manatee Cove and Woody Simpson parks on Merritt Island, from a 576 square foot shelter at Kelly Park East to the 11,100 square foot Doyle Carlton Pavilion at Kiwanis Island Park.

The sizes and table counts come from each park's rental listing (Kelly Park East rentals; Kelly Park West rentals; Kiwanis Island Park rentals; Manatee Cove Park rentals; Woody Simpson Park rentals). Every Merritt Island listing carries the same two warnings: extra fees may apply for water, electricity, serving areas and kitchens, and the parking lots stay open to the public and cannot be reserved, because the parks remain public parks while a pavilion is booked.

Florida's marker list places markers all over Merritt Island, among them a Revolutionary War naval battle marker on Sykes Creek Parkway and homestead and church markers along Tropical Trail.

The Sykes Creek Parkway marker says the last naval battle of the Revolutionary War was fought off Cape Canaveral on March 10, 1783, when three British ships sighted two Continental Navy ships carrying 72,000 Spanish silver dollars from Havana to Philadelphia (Florida historical markers, Brevard County). On South Tropical Trail, the Georgiana Railway marker describes a 0.6-mile line that opened in mid-December 1893 to carry tourists between Indian River and Banana River docks on their way to the beaches, and that gave way to a wagon route in mid-1894.

Up north, the John H. Sams Homestead marker calls the house rafted up the Indian River in 1878 the oldest dated structure on Merritt Island (Sams Homestead marker text). One local detail trips up searches: the marker texts spell the old community Georgiana but the church Georgianna, and the Georgiana Railway marker uses both, so both spellings are worth trying when looking up Merritt Island history.

On Merritt Island itself, Kiwanis Island Park sits in a wildlife sanctuary and the county's Pine Island Conservation Area protects 879 acres, while the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge sets its own hours and fees.

Brevard County's Environmentally Endangered Lands program describes Pine Island Conservation Area as an 879-acre site in North Merritt Island on the eastern shore of the Indian River Lagoon, bought in partnership with the St. Johns River Water Management District, with pine flatwoods, hammocks, mangrove forest and salt marsh (EEL program FAQs). It is one of four Category 1 sites countywide, and the program says that with restoration of the Historic Sams House it will host the Central Region Management and Education Center.

The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge works on federal rules. Its Visit Us page sets sunrise to sunset access, every day, for refuge roads, trails and ramps, and visitor center hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday; a vehicle pays $10.00 for one day or $25.00 for a year to drive Black Point Wildlife Drive or Bio Lab Road or to launch at three refuge ramps (refuge Visit Us page). Launch operations at Kennedy Space Center can lead NASA to close refuge areas, which makes that federal page the one to read before a trip; the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge guide on this site covers trails and drives. Last verified: October 21, 2026, on the five Brevard County park pages, the EEL program FAQs, the state marker list and the refuge visitor page.