Canaveral National Seashore Turtle Watch Tours

Canaveral National Seashore is located midway along Florida's east coast, where warm waters and a temperate climate meet to host species as diverse as bald eagles, alligators, bromeliads, mangroves and sea turtles. Designated in 1975, the Seashore preserves a rich and diverse history, from fertile estuaries that once supported Timucuan Indian populations to the area's first orange groves in the 1830s. Today it offers an inviting place to relax along the shores of the Atlantic, fish in an open lagoon, hike self-guided, and watch for wildlife like the West Indian manatee. Guided Turtle Watch Tours are offered in June and July. Participants meet their guide at a Visitor Center and caravan by private vehicle to a parking lot near the beach. The group may walk up to 1/2 mile in soft sand to reach the location where the turtle will be observed laying her nest and returning to the ocean. The evening concludes by helping to protect her nest, putting a screen across the egg chamber and marking the nest for research purposes. The group will choose and name the turtle.