Beautiful area with miles of natural seashore. Great place to walk, swim, or just hang out. Bathrooms (vault toilets) are available throughout the park and are well maintained. National park passes are accepted, but otherwise the entrance fee is about $20 per vehicle.

During Covid-19 visitor center is two tents outside. Also, no indoor restrooms. Turtles and lizards and nice trails. Ch ck out the goose on the pond.

This is a great place to spend a day. I was here in early July, so the wildlife was not very active, however the landscape was beyond beautiful. I plan on visiting again in the Spring or Fall when the wildlife is more visible.

We had a lovely time driving through the refuge, we saw numerous animals and enjoyed beautiful Florida!

Anyone that knows me knows just how obsessed I am with Belted Kingfishers! I have been trying to get a good shot of one of these birds since I started this photography journey (about three years now).Yesterday Kathleen and I decided to go to a location that I have never been to; Black Point Wildlife drive, its part of the Merritt Island NWR system.On my first pass, I wasnt too impressed; there really wasnt much going on, so I felt a little dejected. So we took a ride out to theCape Canaveral National Seashore and the surf was beautiful.Yesterday Kathleen and I decided to go to a location that I have never been to; Black Point Wildlife drive; its part of the duty of being my spotter, and about a mile into the drive, she finds this beauty!This is the closest I have ever been able to approach a Belted Kingfisher before they explode in protest and fly off!Feel free to share!Male Belted KingfisherNikon D500Tamron 150-600G2V/C set to 1600mm Handheld1/1000th-secF 6/3ISO Auto-1600@PhotosbyJohnpatrick

So naturally beautiful. Peaceful. Florida the way it should be. No more hotels and condos and houses.

Cape Canaveral and New Smyrna Beach are in the top Hotspots for many of Floridas native wildlife. Better yet, even closer to each other.

Merrit Island Wildlife Refuge is a wonderful area for birding and enjoying the “real Florida”. Being Florida natives, my husband and I visit here as often as possible to enjoy the wildness and beauty of our magical state.

This is a must-see if you appreciate nature. It reminds me of old Florida oh, and is like stepping back in time. I recommend going early in the morning or close to closing since the Wildlife is out more at these times.

This is such a great and family friendly activity. The trails are easy and accessible for children. Definitely stop at the manatee observation deck, but dont forget your polarized sunglasses!

Always nice to enjoy nature and get away from the madness in this world

Very nice place to go, to be in touch with mother nature..

It seems like during daylight savings time the drive through area should be open later than 4:00 p.m. Especially during covid when it can be experienced safely. VERY DISAPPOINTING that a taxpayer funded venue has such limited hours.

Self-paced drive through the reserve. Tons of wildlife including the worlds most cooperative butterfly. My only suggestion would be to have more places to pull over on the road. It is mostly only wide enough for one vehicle and some of us can spend a lot of time in one place taking photos. There are many places to pull to the side but not enough in my opinion.

Beautiful trails and self guided wildlife drive

We spend a whole day here. Be patient and you will see all the beauty this place has to offer. Entrance except the black point is free but even with the entry fee which is rather a donation than entry, this place is well worth your time and energy.

There wasn’t much to see near the visitors center area, so maybe look for trailheads elsewhere.

Fantastic place.Gators and turles crossing the street and a snake warming up in the sun early morning.We spent a couple of hours, unfortunately we had to leave around midday.The visitor center is very neat, the trails around are definitely worth the walk - great fauna!The staff is very friendly and helpful!The daypass area is fantastic aswell, a manatee hotspot at WBTrail is worth the visit.The beach is pictureperfect :)We enjoyed our stay!

I visited in February with to handicapped family members who are elderly. I was quite disappointed to find out that there was no Ada compliant bathrooms. I ask the gentleman behind the counter this was a Saturday he said the interior bathrooms would be open Monday they had padlocks on them. He didnt seem to have a solution and he didnt particularly care. very disappointed that this is such a beautiful place and visitors arent necessarily welcomed.

Love visiting this place to view birds & Florida landscapes. Walking, biking & driving trails make viewing wildlife accessible for everyone. What makes this especially unique is that it is in the backyard of space launches. Worth an hour or a day - bring your camera & binoculars.

Fantastic for Birding, Nature Watching, Wildflowers, Fishing & Hiking. One of the top birding spots in the nation. Tons of other wildlife such as Bobcats, Otters, Turtles, Snakes and numerous wildflowers and butterflies. The native Florida Butterfly Orchid can be found here.

A great way to see the natural state of east central Florida. The area is clean and free of trash. The visitor center is clean and has clean restrooms. It is staffed with friendly, knowledgeable people.

Visited today. A beautiful and quiet place to explore many of natures joy. Lots of wading birds. Bring your binoculars. Didnt any alligator. But did see turtles. I recommend.

We were able to walk around and take loads of nature pics, see a lot of beautiful birds, as well as turtles and insects. I love the flowers and vegetation in the area

This is a very nice place to visit. Very peaceful and nice clean environment. Very cool place to come and see manatee on a regular basis. Nice place to have a picnic or just to get away from the city traffic and noise. Excellent place for relaxing alone, with family or friends.

The Manatee viewing deck was awesome!!! Lots of skeeters on the trails so make sure you are prepared with serious amounts of bug spray. We would’ve enjoyed the trails more if we had better prepared for that.

Went for my birthday cannoing it was a nice chance of pace. They have full moon cannoing that I suggest you go. They also have nice hiking trails. P.s use the bathroom before going out. Its a park so they have outhouses

Great wildlife drive and attraction. Well worth it when you’re in Titusville area. Great place for learning about the “Real” Florida!

Nice drive through the refuge.

Easily accessible, great deal for senior pass holdersNot as many birds as past years but still a good trip.

Great place for observing birds and other wildlife. Many different habitats with a corresponding variety of birds, but also alligators, manatees, tortoises, sometimes snakes etc. Opportunities for photography are fantastic, as many birds will not be very shy and can easily be approached. On Blackpoint Wildlife Drive or Biolab Road, you can even take photos out of your car which at the same time serves as a mobile hide.

Nice walk on the boardwalk

Numerous wildlife especially November- May

Stop at the visitor center, watch the movie, get a map and go enjoy nature! Many trails, many animals, take your trash out. The park has only one full time staff. All the rest are volunteers.

I fish the canal there all the time and it is a great place just to relax.

Great place to walk & see nature. Will go again.

Miles and miles of beautiful beaches, great for bird watching, saw armadillos too

Beautiful Floridas nature, excellent place.

I drove here while on vacation and enjoyed it. For just a donation its well worth the drive and while we were there we did see some wildlife like turtles, alligators and lots of birds. Take it slow so as not to miss anything. I believe the posted speed limit is 15 or 25 mph but people are courteous and there is room to get by, why hurry? Theres a lookout point along the way that I stopped at to see birds in the distance too. There were binoculars. This is well worth the trip for a slow but relaxing drive.

Abundance of wildlife and nice beaches!

The 140,000 includes Canaveral National Seashore which is beautiful as well. About a third of the National Wildlife Refuge will be lost if Space Florida, a state run organization, is allowed to take over the northern part of the refuge. They, in turn, will give it corporations involved in the space industry to develop private launch sites. This is still under study and review but can happen under current control of the state and local government by a strong Republican and Tea Party who strongly favor the big corporations. It would be a major loss to the people the United States as well as Florida.

This is what Merritt Island looked like when I was growing up in the 60s and 70s. This may be the last place to see the wild beauty that once existed throughout the area.Fantastic for photographers, especially with a telephoto lens. Many of the viewing piers were closed - I am not sure why and would have appreciated an explanation. They looked to be in good repair.Great viewing by bicycle - ideal really. Bring bug spray. Roads are somewhat quiet but speed limits are high at 55 mph so wear a helmet and be cautious!Toured Black Point Wildlife Drive by bicycle instead of car. I saved $9 on the entry fee. Bikes are $1 and cars are $10. If you dont have exact change stop at the Visitors Center first and get your hang tag. Otherwise, use exact change to self-pay at entrance.

Neat adventure for photography, but come prepared to compete for space. Even during the week this place has crowds at every bird gathering. The birds are amazing though . . . you just dont see these collections very many other places.

Serene...Safe

This is my first NWR visit in the country. It was a wonderful experience. I visited their visitor center, Black point and biolab drives as time was limited. Had a great time in the few hours that I spent there. Hope I can go back sometime again and see more places within it and hike more trails.

10 Gators, Thousands of Birds.Beautiful Beaches. I love visit the preserve.

This place is awesome! Got some killer pics. Of a bobcat, bald eagle, alligators, birds, tortoise. If you love wildlife, this is the place to go.

You can never go wrong at the beach

Not much to do, theres a visitor center and short boardwalk. We saw more wildlife along the roads than when we were out walking around.

Great areas to see abundant wildlife. Many walking or driving trails. Plenty of opportunities to view and photograph nature

Lots of variety here - many different water and shore birds, manatees, dolphins, bobcats, etc.. Both driving and hiking trails. We spent 5 hours and barely scratched the surface. Highly recommended.

Visited in mid-March and saw many blooms, birds, turtles, armadillos and alligators.

Patients is a must. You will be surprised to see beautiful birds as well as other creatures.

Great place to take phots and see nature. Definitely recommend the manatee viewing deck.

Beautiful beautiful beautiful! If youre visiting Florida or if you have never gone and live in Florida, this is a must do for your family!

So peaceful and beautiful

Great place for photography.

Beautiful area for getting out in a natural setting. Saw manatees.

Quiet and keep it that way!

Florida offers a wide range of various tropical environments including the most popular one - the beaches. Most people who vacation in Florida view the state as a beach paradise and dont even have a clue that places like Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge even exist, but maybe thats a good thing. The beaches in Florida are awesome, but places like the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge are examples, as far as Im concerned, of the real Florida.

Really enjoyed Manatee watching down here, make sure you have bug spray with you though because the Noseeums were terrible!!

A Nature and wildlife wonderland! Untouched by Humans, dirt roads, felt like I was home on the farm...after I picked up beer cans, glass bottles, cigarette butts! PLEASE DONT LITTER!

Wonderful large nature preserve. The manatee observation platform is a manatee magnet - patiently wait 10 minutes and you are guaranteed to see one manatee surface

Best time to visit early morning winter months

Totally back to nature drive that everyone who came to visit us had on their must see list when visiting Brevard county.Much wildlife to see and so very relaxing as well.

Very cool!! Saw a wild alligator eat something and a bunch of manatees!

Our Refuge is beautiful with miles of lovely, unspoiled beachfront, great hiking trails, Black Point Wildlife Drive, a Visitor Center with helpful staff and lots of places to kayak and fish. But, as part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, we are not a park. Funding is being cut year after year. If you want to help keep this wonderful place open for all to share, consider volunteering or at least buy a duck stamp, MIWA membership, or some merchandise in the Bookery inside the Visitor Center.

Nice area.

I see more wildlife in my neighborhood here in St. Johns County honestly. It is beautiful landscape....but wildlife? No. Maybe a few birds and gators, that was it.

Beautiful place

Beautiful place to enjoy the true Florida. Great place for bird watchers or spoting various wildlife. Plenty of fishing areas and a few boat ramps.

Great variety of native wildlife with trails and a visitor center with lots of local history and historical items. There is a lot of information at this center about Merritt Island preserve.

Love this place!!

Very nice woman told us good places to go, she gave really good recommendations. In addition there is a small walk trail behind the visitor center. Did not see alligators there but beautiful birds.

If you are into Birding or just wantWildlife you cant go wrong here!

I worked there for 6 months before my job was eliminated in March, 2013An excellent place for birders, as many species migrate thru here.Fishing and some hunting is allowed, check at the visitor center. There are a number of boat ramps. There is a 6 mile drive loop. There are many trails, some with wooden walkways. There is a 1/4 mile loop right out the side door of the visitor center. A pond with alligators, turtles, birds, plant life. Everything is well maintained. The National Park Service maintains a national seashore along the Atlantic Ocean with miles of maintained beaches. All of this is right next to the Kennedy Space center. The VAB, Vehicle Assembly Building is quite close to the south end of the beach.

Very pretty area. Cant wait to go back.

This is an awesome place to go but not in the middle of July 2015. We had no choice because of my husbands school schedule. You must allow a lot of time because these points of interest are not short distances.It was terribly hot and humid but i was determined to find wildlife wherever God would point it out to me.These two baby alligators were really hard to photography and there were a number of birds that I took photos of too.The bad thing is the address is wrong. That Scrub Jay location gets you NO Where on Google maps so I had a very hard time trying to find this place. I would love to come back when the weather is much cooler.

Over all Merritt Island nat Wildlife Refuge was good; except I am so mad at the lack of maintenance on the Peacocks Pocket Road. We were NOT advised at the visitors center of how deep and wide the pot holes in this narrow road is. This road should be posted as one way; there is so few places that cars can pass; the road being so narrow and the ruts in the road so deep our car bottomed out most of the time. No where is posted that high clearance vehicles should be used. The area is abundant in wildlife but it was so dangerous to drive the road; it took away from the wildlife beauty. Why not close the road until you can maintenance it. I sure couldnt afford a tow truck ride out of there!!This is just common sense to warn travelers when road conditions are this poor. Shame on you Fish and Wildlife department.

This place never gets old!

Amazing nature and Wildlife refuge. Black point wildlife drive is full of things to see if you have the time to go slow and observe!

Saw lots of birds and alligators

Beautiful area want to camp so bad.

Lots of wildlife.The manatee viewing is a must see.

This is a beautiful wildlife sanctuary!!!

If you are a bird watcher, this is the place for you!

See

So many birds...

Educational and friendly. Clean restrooms.

Great place,very scenic

First class birding.

Keep Space X out and this place will stay natural

A great place for photographing wildlife

Lots of birds species to see and alligator