Viera Wetlands

Best places to visit for bird photography and bird watching. You can see a lot of alligators as well. Very beautiful landscape. I love to this place.

We like to drive around the wetlands. We always see a gator hiding in the tall grass. If you choose to walk, please do watch out for your kids and small dogs especially during mating season which is may and june. Never feed the wildlife! Just a little heads up to our out of state visitors! ️

Great place it would nice if it would open for cars to drive around. Been waiting.

Good to see its back open to walkers. Cars are still prohibited though. The outer loop road is fairly over-grown with grass and weeds along with some ruts in the road so probably needs to be graded before cars are allowed again. Porta potties are closed due to COVID.

The Viera Wetlands is a great place to get a little closer to nature. There is a large outer loop with forking paths you can take to explore the interior. The Wetlands is best to experience on foot though most of the time any mode of transportation is allowed.

Awesome little wetlands preserve. I was in town for work and drove past the entrance to this place for three days before deciding to stop. Nice little walking trail along the whole thing and quite a few people so it wasnt so worrisome to run into a gator or something haha

Excellent place to take a walk. If you arent into/able to talk much, the roads are open you can even have a great time driving through or stopping at the gazebo/butterfly garden area to look around which is right in the middle of the action.

The trails are easily traversed and a variety of waterfowl are present to observe and photograph.

Always beautiful.

Currently unable to drive around it due to high water supposedly. Otherwise very nice walk

Love it awesome place no doubt hand down better than the zoo

Amazing place to visit when we go to Florida. Free to park and walk around and see the wildlife.

Viera Wetlands is one of the best natural places in Florida. This place is full of birds and other animals include gators and Armadillos. You can have a lot of fun in this place especially if you are a photographer or just love nature.

First time Ive been able to get pictures of these little ones, they were no longer than a foot long!!

Nice walking path, driving or biking path.

Amazing experience! Lots of Floridas wildlife in their natural habitat. If you visit please be respectful to the wildlife and the land, which is their home.

This place is closed currently due to covid and there is no information about when it will reopen.

Awesome place. Roads around ponds were closed to car traffic for road maintenance. Walked around one pond and saw over a dozen alligators from 2-8 . Windy and clear out. Good place to get your steps in or drive the kids around ponds.

Breathtaking sunsets!Lots of wildlife! Deer, alligators, fish, birds, rabbits, did I mention birds?!

If you come, walk the trail. You will see a d experience so much more. We saw 7 alligator from a small baby to a larger adult. The birds are beautiful to watch. We saw baby birds with its parent in a nest. Amazing!

Beautiful and peaceful trail to spend talking with friends or family! Or just to take in the hidden beauty of Viera.

Its closed despite anything you may read on the internet. Its probably a great place, but I will probably never know....

This is a Brevard treasure!I came out here early this morning for my daily 2 mile hike. So serene & beautiful. Quietly away from traffic noise, all you hear is birds & frogs. This will be another go-to place for me. Next time I will bring my binoculars and sketch book.A special treat, saw a family of 5 deer who were as curious of me as I took pictures. Love this place!

Lovely place you can walk or drive around with plenty of birds and other wildlife

There really wasnt much to see on the day we went. I saw a fer large birds.

Beautiful area with plenty of nature to see, including gators.

Always see something special! Everything from dragonflies to gators and always, always lots of beautiful birds. What you see changes with weather and time of day, time of year so it’s always different every time.

Had a late breakfast today. Service was a bit slow, but food was excellent. The celebrate Free Pie Mondays. Buy any meal combo, get a free piece of pie or a muffin. Food is always excellent and large portions. When Im in that area, Perkins is my food destination.

Wonderful low-key experience. Great for meandering and viewing birds, reptiles, and other local treasures.

Always a great experience! Lots of wildlife and beautiful scenery.

This is a really special place to come and enjoy nature. You can walk or drive. Terrific bird life. Such variety

Visited from AZ and had to see those FL alligators in their wild habitat!

Great place to run and bike. Excellent views of unspoiled sunsets with plenty of able to get water views or silhouetted trees and grass

BIRDS! Never know what will show up, but its always great! Walking is the best way to see and hear the wildlife. Driving can be restricted dye to and to minimize pot hole damage to the germs.

This is a great place to go to see local wildlife. You can walk the roads overlooking the wetlands or you can stay in your car and drive through the area. The road/walkway is somewaht elevated about the water level in the wetlands. That means that the roads are not prone to floods and you can go there during rainy weather without worry. If you decide to walk, you should always be conscious of the environment. Alligators should not be a problem unless you go down to the edge of the water which you should never do anyway. Snakes could be present in the grassy areas around the road. Just pay attention and you will be fine.

This is a great place to take a walk. We use to take the kids here a lot when they were little to tire them out before bed. Now we take people visiting from out of state to see the alligators and other wildlife.

Easy walk or drive to view wetlands

Nice place for a quite walk

Love this place. Great alligators and birds watching. Great walking or you can drive

I love this area! There is a big loop around and several places to stop and look, including a butterfly garden area.

Awesome place to walk. Loved it.

Love seeing the Gators!

Very nice place its a great area to see all the wildlife in the wild.

Beautiful, pristine and peaceful preserve with abundant wildlife. Went with a friend for the first time and Im grateful its a short drive to get there, because I will be back! Over and over again!

Great place to escape to nature. Walk or ride a bike get out of your car!!

As fun as it is to visit, I like to stay in or close to my car, the alligators seem fierce! :)

Love walking seeing nature ...always see a gator or 2 lotsa birds

Wonderful area to walk or ride your bike. There is nothing between you and nature. You can see all types of wildlife and it’s an easy walk, run, or bike ride. Beware... there are gators and no bathrooms.

This place is amazingly beautiful. The wildlife is up close and personal with you. I not only recommend visiting this place but I am going to make sure I visit here often.

Wonderful wetland adventure. Lots of gators, birds and deer today. Good number of visitors today enjoying the wetlands.

Really enjoyed taking pictures of the wildlife. It has 2 vehicle paths. 1 outer road and 1 inner road. Highly recommend it. Free but they will take donations. No person at the gate.

A nice variety of wetland wildlife near trails on top of levees

Complete 1 mile & saw many outstanding wild life

Best location for seeing gators in Floridas Space Coast

What a gorgeous place. My friend and I came here to see some Gators and WOW!! It was sooo beautiful!! A must see for sure!!

Nice contemplative place to walk and hopefully observe wildlife adopting this man-made marsh as home.

Viera Wetland Lover, and Photographer!I visit Viera Wetlands about once a week. I have seen many, many animals. Not all on one visit. The hotter it is the more animals you see. The colder days i saw an Otter. Rare sight for me. Gators Galore for Viera.I love seeing all the different birds to Hawks, Caracara, Osprey, Eagles.

Beautiful and well done but not handicapped friendly.

This is a neat place. The nutrient rich excitement attacks all kinds of wildlife.

There is so much to see at the wetlands. The trails take you through the park and you will be able to see the most beautiful or exotic wildlife here. From Floridas natural birds to alligators there is quite the selection of things to see here. I have personally seen gators as small as 4ft and as big as about 12ft in the same day. They are very beautiful creatures. The park is a very good place to get nature photos.

The most best park Ive ever been. You can see many of wild life, like birds, ducks, gators, plants, the great blue heron, and much more. But watch your step, because I almost step in a gator! For real. Take with you a camera, sunglasses, hat, water, sunscreen. Take care and have fun. Free park and free parking.

My favorite quiet place.

Great place for a walk and guaranteed to see an alligator.

Its nice but beware of the wildlife

Beautiful wildlife experience

Great place to walk and enjoy nature

An interesting venue for Bird Watching and wildlife photographyThe wetlands are man made and form the outflow from the adjacent water treatment works.There are a number of cells with vehicle or foot access on periphery tracksPersonally I think this location only works for enthusiast and is not ideally suited to the general publicLike most wildlife locations what you can see is dependant on many factorsThere usually enough wildlife to make a visit worthwhile and during fall and spring migration it can be spectacularNote that there are basic porta potties but no other facilities.

Beautiful little park. Open until dusk. Great place to see birds and alligators. Also, beware of alligators, theyre not your friends.

Looks and sounds nice, gonna have to visit!

Very pretty place . Lots of birds wild life. The only negative was that one of the platforms tower was damaged. Otherwise the park was very well maintained. We enjoyed looking at the animals and the seeney. A group of tourist went there with children and they were making a lot of noise. If they didnt have any appreciation for the place, they should stay in a hotel. Its too bad that people from other states are coming to Florida, and dont appreciate the beauty of the wildlife. I hope that people dont destroy the state, building stupid hotels and expensive houses that nobody cares about, and damage the animals natural habitat.

Beautiful trails and great wildlife variety!

Lots to do and see. Gators, birds, occasional otters, bike paths, hiking paths, golf carts rides on the weekends and a nice ranger station. Nice for weekdays or weekends with or without family

There is something exciting to see every time you go, if you wait for it.

This place never disappoints me unless when it gets closed whenever there is a rain forecast. Its an awesome place for bird watchers. I visit this place every weekend and each time I get surprised to see what it can offer.For those who wanna click birds nesting, feeding and alligators crossing, instead of flocking to Everglades I would rather suggest this place. Trust me you have the best chances as there is very less crowd.Look out for those alligators laying perpendicular to the roads, for its getting ready to cross the road.Jan-Apr is an awesome time to visit as the herons start courting and nesting.Action time : as usual Dawn & Dusk

Great place to see wildlife

Been there back in 2010 and cant wait to go again this Oct 2019!!!

Had a great time with our GS Troop finding geocache!

Wonderful place for wildlife photographers. You can shoot photos from your car!

Also called Viera wetlands. An amazing place even if you are not a birder! For birders it’s heaven (there are many places like this in FL) they have a drive trail which was unfortunately closed when I was there. So, couldn’t see a part of it because of my huge lens!

A very cool place to visit.Visited here early on a Saturday morning.Just drove very slow through the park, stopped,took photos.Lots of different birds to see, we saw several alligators within a few feet of our truck.Kids loved it, very cool and its free.

Excellent Birding location. You can drive around the impoundments (or walk). Lots of birds, especially in the winter. Good spot for Limpkins & American Bitterns.

Very cool place to get close to wildlife. We were within feet of 7 foot alligators. Along with allot of other animal life.

Beautiful place to enjoy in foot or from your car. Watch your step! Fire ants, snakes, and Gators can be very unforgiving. With a little luck, an observant eye, and some patience, you can also hope to see many Gators as well as birds

Great place to view birds.

Beautiful place

Peaceful place to take a walk and see some wildlife.

Ive always enjoyed the wetlands! Love photographing the wildlife there. Nice walking/bicycling trail that wraps around the wetlands.

Walked part of it and drove car through part. It was relaxing. Saw lots of birds and alligators. Nice environment.

Great little wetlands area

Have been here a few times, and it was closed. Luckily today it was open. Was an extraordinary place for waterfowl. Ruddy ducks, green heron, roseate spoonbills were some of the highlights.

Very interesting lots to see

I love this place you have lots of Gators birds fish and turtles wild life great place to hike

Very cool drive though park with lots of birds and critters.

Absolutely gorgeous. Its nice for a walk around or drive. Seems like whenever I want to go, theyre closed however. Its pretty neat!

Its handicap accessible you can drive around see all the wildlife

My family and I thoroughly enjoyed this place including kids from 3y old to adults in their 60s. My kids hung out the sun roof and open van doors as we drove around the marsh. Lots of gators!!! Which is what we were looking for. Quite a few birds as well. Im sure there is better gator site seeing but with no entry fee required it was cool.

Nice nature walk. PLenty of wildlife around especially for bird watchers!

Here its listed as Viera Wetlands, the actual name is Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands (Viera Wetlands also finds it). You would not expect to find this place along the main road as you travel past all the new construction developments. Then you come upon it. This is an amazing wildlife habitat and preserve, with tons of alligators and every bird you can imagine; I love it. Around January, February (cooler months), they have great herons nest in the middle of the pond and it’s a beautiful thing to see. These wetlands are a birdwatchers DREAM! As soon as you enter, you start to see birds flying all over. There is a parking lot before you enter, if you choose to walk around the lake. You can also drive on the gravel/dirt road, but if it has rained too much they close the gate to auto traffic - but you can still walk. It’s free (donations are nice, but not required). Really spectacular place - highly recommend if you are anywhere near Melbourne / VIera area. Its only about 2 miles west of I-75 on N Wickham Road.

Tons of birds, deer, turtles and we saw at least 30 gators . They were basically side by side on the banks next to the water ! Everything was peaceful and beautiful!

Great place for peace and quiet and wildlife