Bracco Pond Park
Managed by City of Cocoa
69 acres1.5 mi of trail
Bracco Pond Park Path
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Connor J Williams · CC BY 2.0B−Outdoors
Outdoors in Cocoa
Cocoa has 8.2 miles of mapped trails, 0.6 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Bracco Pond Park (1.5 mi), Riverfront Park (0.6 mi). 79% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 151 acres are parks and preserves, 7.7 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns · #276 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Conserved land
2%
214 acres · of 13.7 sq mi of land
Trails
8.2 mi
0.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
151 ac
7.7 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
79%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
18 mi
13 mi lanes · 4.6 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
1
1 boat launch
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Cocoa have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Cocoa is ahead of 55% of U.S. towns, #276 of 638 in Florida. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Cocoa’s overall grade.
Conserved land2% of the land · typical FL town 3% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (8 mi) · FL 0.4 · U.S. 0.4B+Park land7.7 acres of park per 1,000 residents (151 acres) · FL 6 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to home79% of residents within a half mile of a park · FL 70% · U.S. 72%B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 55%
LessMore
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 57%
Water is 7% of Cocoa’s area (1 of 15 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 2%.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to B. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Bracco Pond Park, with 1.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
All 9 parks & preserves
Bracco Pond Park69 acres · 1.5 mi of trail · City of Cocoa
DirectionsRiverfront Park6 acres · 0.6 mi of trail
DirectionsLee Wenner Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsJunny Rios Martinez Park5 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsProvost Park8 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Don “Mo” Stradley Memorial Park26 acres
DirectionsJoe Lee Smith Park and Community Center4 acres
DirectionsFern Meadows Park3 acres
Carl E. Anderson Park1 acres
Who protects it
214 conserved acres
2% of Cocoa’s land. Water is left out: Cocoa has 13.7 square miles of land and 1.0 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Cocoa’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city214 ac
Local Conservation Area · 162 acLocal Recreation Area · 27 acLocal Park · 25 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cocoa Conservation Area Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 162 | Restricted |
| Don "Mo" Stradley Memorial Park Local Recreation Area | Town or city | 27 | Open |
| Provost Park Local Park | Town or city | 9 | Open |
| Lee Wenner Park Local Park | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Cocoa Riverfront Park Local Park | Town or city | 6 | Open |
| Junny Rios Martinez Park Local Park | Town or city | 4 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Cocoa
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Cocoa
6 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Boat launches in Cocoa
1 boat launch without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.2 mi
Bracco Pond Park Path1.4 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
18 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
13 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
4.6 mi
off-road bike paths
0.5 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
12Baseball
8Tennis
6Basketball
1Soccer
1Volleyball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →4 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Cocoa: April and May
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.5 | 11.2 | 11.9 | 12.8 | 13.5 | 13.9 | 13.8 | 13.1 | 12.3 | 11.4 | 10.7 | 10.3 |
| High (°F) | 70 | 73 | 76 | 80 | 85 | 88 | 90 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 77 | 73 |
| Rain (in) | 2.8 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 3.4 | 7.9 | 6.4 | 6.8 | 7.3 | 4.4 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
December is the driest month (2.3 in) and July the warmest (highs of 90 °F). 7.9 inches fall in June, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 90 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Cocoa →
Next door
Cocoa and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocoa | 2% | 0.6 | 8 | 79% | B− |
| Cocoa West | 1% | under 0.1 | 3 | 45% | D |
| Rockledge | 3% | 1.0 | 10 | 61% | B |
| Sharpes | under 1% | 0.9 | 2 | 60% | C |
| Merritt Island | 11% | 0.8 | 39 | 62% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Cocoa
Where can I hike in Cocoa?
The longest trail networks: Bracco Pond Park, 1.5 miles; Riverfront Park, 0.6 miles; Lee Wenner Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Cocoa is conserved land?
2% of its land, against a typical 3% for a Florida town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Cocoa’s trails?
Bracco Pond Park and Riverfront Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Cocoa?
18 miles of bike routes are on the map: 13 of painted or protected lanes, 4.6 of off-road paths and 0.5 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Cocoa?
8,912 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Cocoa or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 151 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Cocoa have?
Ahead of 55% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #276 of 638 in Florida. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Cocoa neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →