Beaches Near Orlando in December: Family Guide for 2026

Quick answer: The beaches near Orlando in December that suit a day trip are on the Atlantic coast: Cocoa Beach, Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral, Canaveral National Seashore, New Smyrna Beach and Daytona Beach. Visit Florida's drive-time estimates from Orlando run from 58 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes for the four of those it lists. In our view, December is a wading and sandcastle month more than a swimming one: NOAA's Port Canaveral gauge has averaged 67.9°F to 74.1°F in recent Decembers. Brevard County's full-time lifeguard towers work 10 am to 5 pm daily, and sunset is around 5:28 pm, so plan a late-morning beach and be off the sand by late afternoon.

We checked each fact below against the official city, county, state-park, NPS or NOAA page on October 12, 2026 (drive times come from Visit Florida and sunset times from timeanddate.com). Fees, hours and staffing change, so confirm with the beach before you go.

Key Takeaways

• Visit Florida's drive-time estimates from Orlando: Daytona Beach 58 minutes, New Smyrna Beach 1 hour 3 minutes, Cocoa Beach 1 hour 9 minutes and Canaveral National Seashore 1 hour 15 minutes to its north entrance.
• Parking ranges from free at Brevard County's Lori Wilson Park to $25 for a full day in Cocoa Beach's city lots and $30 a day to drive on the sand in Volusia County.
• Brevard's full-time lifeguard towers operate daily from 10 am to 5 pm, and Jetty Park lifeguards keep the same hours. Canaveral National Seashore says lifeguard services are not available in the park.
• NOAA readings at Port Canaveral have averaged between about 68°F and 74°F in recent Decembers, a rough guide only. We would plan ankle-deep play for toddlers.
• Sunset is about 5:25 to 5:36 pm at Cocoa Beach all month, so the beach window is short.

Winter beaches near Orlando at a glance

Is the beach worth it in December?

In our view, yes, if you set the right expectations. Air temperatures near Orlando are comfortable (the normal high is 73.8°F, see our Orlando weather in December guide), but the ocean is cooler than the air. We calculated December averages from NOAA's water temperature readings, taken every six minutes, at Trident Pier in Port Canaveral. Across nine Decembers from 2015 to 2025 (we left out 2017, which has gaps, and 2019, which has no data), the monthly average ranged from 67.9°F (2018) to 74.1°F (2022). December 2025 averaged 70.5°F, with readings from 67.8°F to 73.0°F. See NOAA's Trident Pier station page. These are rough guides, not a forecast: they are averages from one gauge at a pier, and the water at your beach on your day will differ.

What about warmer water on the Gulf coast? NOAA's Clearwater Beach gauge averaged 64.4°F to 71.3°F in Decembers from 2020 to 2025. Over those same six years our calculation puts the average of the yearly means at about 71.6°F for Port Canaveral and about 67.3°F for Clearwater Beach, so the Gulf was not the warmer bet. The two gauges are different kinds of sites, so treat this as a rough comparison. We did not find an official NOAA gauge at Daytona Beach or New Smyrna Beach, so use Port Canaveral as your guide; the City of Daytona Beach says water temperature is posted on its lifeguard stands.

For toddlers, the realistic plan is wading, digging and chasing waves in the shallows. Whether a particular child should be in the water is a decision for you and your pediatrician. The City of Cocoa Beach's beach safety page says to swim near a lifeguard, never enter the water alone and keep a close eye on children; we would also stay within arm's reach of a toddler at the water's edge.

Sunrise, sunset and the beach clock

Daylight sets the schedule more than temperature does. These are the times for Cocoa Beach from timeanddate.com:

Lifeguards at the full-time towers go off duty at 5 pm, Canaveral National Seashore has its last entry at 5 pm and closes at 6 pm, and the sun is down by about 5:30. We would suggest a 10:30 am arrival and a 3:30 to 4 pm departure.

Parking and entry costs by beach

Cocoa Beach

The City of Cocoa Beach parking page lists $6 per hour with a one-hour minimum, or $25 for a full day, plus a $0.35 convenience fee when you pay in the Passport Parking app. Parking is enforced from 7 am to 7 pm every day, including weekends and holidays, payment must be made as soon as you park, and overnight parking is not permitted in city-managed areas. The city says it has more than 1,600 spaces across parks, beach access street ends and the downtown garage. Brevard County's Lori Wilson Park lists free parking.

Jetty Park, Cape Canaveral

Jetty Park is open daily from 7 am to 9 pm and requires a pre-purchased day pass or annual pass for parking. The Port Canaveral site lists admission prices and sells the passes. The page puts the walk from the entry gate to the boardwalk at about half a mile, which matters if you are pulling a cart. The park offers a limited number of beach wheelchairs at no charge (350 pound weight limit), and pets are not allowed in the day park or on the beach, except service animals.

Canaveral National Seashore

The National Park Service charges $25 per private vehicle, valid for 7 consecutive days at all entrances. The entrance stations accept credit or debit payment only, and touchless payment such as Apple Pay and Google Pay is accepted too. The seashore is open 6 am to 6 pm with last entry at 5 pm, and the NPS says dogs are not allowed on the beach or boardwalks. It also says rip currents, rough surf and hazardous marine life are regularly present and that lifeguard services are not available in the park.

New Smyrna Beach and Daytona Beach

New Smyrna Beach's parking FAQ lists beachfront lots at $20 per day (9 am to 5 pm) with payment by the PayByPhone app, because the city is cashless. To drive or park on the sand you need a pass from Volusia County. The Volusia County beach driving and parking page lists rates for visitors and unregistered residents of $30 per day to drive on the beach and $20 per day at county off-beach lots, and says daily fees can be paid on arrival at a county-owned off-beach lot or beach ramp booth. The City of Daytona Beach says driving and parking on the beach is open from sunrise to sunset from November 1 through April 30, although the same page also gives driving hours of one hour after sunrise to one hour before sunset, so check the posted hours. Volusia also enforces a 10 mph speed limit on the beach and does not allow alcohol or glass containers. With toddlers, we would park off the sand and walk.

Lifeguards in winter: what the official pages say

Brevard County's Ocean Rescue Division says its lifeguard program is year-round and that full-time towers operate daily from 10 am to 5 pm at the Cocoa Beach Pier, Shepard Park, Lori Wilson Park, Minutemen Causeway and Paradise/Futch Park in North Indialantic. Additional towers run only in summer: they start the last week of May, run weekends until Memorial Day, then daily until the first week of August, then weekends until Labor Day. So in December, expect the full-time towers only. The page does not give a separate winter schedule. Port Canaveral provides year-round lifeguard service at Jetty Park, and its Jetty Park page lists lifeguards on duty from 10 am to 5 pm daily.

One conflict to know about: the Lori Wilson Park page on Brevard's parks site lists "seasonal lifeguards," while Ocean Rescue and the City of Cocoa Beach list Lori Wilson as a full-time tower. Two of the three pages agree on a full-time tower, but we cannot tell you which is right. If lifeguards matter to your plan, call Brevard County Ocean Rescue or the park before you go.

For Volusia County beaches, the official pages we found tell visitors to always swim directly in front of a lifeguard, but none gave a December schedule. Volusia's daily beach report page says its free Volusia Beaches app gives real-time updates on beach ramps and staffed lifeguard towers, so check that on the morning you go. Also check the posted flags and ask at the lifeguard stand. The City of Cocoa Beach lists the beach flag colors: double red means the water is closed, red is high hazard, yellow is medium hazard, green is low hazard and purple means dangerous marine life. See its beach safety page and the National Weather Service beach forecast for the Melbourne area before you go.

A toddler beach plan for a December day

This is our suggested plan, not an official schedule. Adjust it to your child's nap and your drive.

• 9:30 to 10:30 am: Breakfast at the house, pack the cart and drive east. Dress in layers, since December mornings can be cool even when the afternoon is warm (the normal low is 52.9°F and the normal high 73.8°F).
• 10:30 am to noon: Arrive when the lifeguard towers open. Set up shade first, then wade and dig. We would keep water sessions short.
• 12 to 1 pm: Picnic lunch in the shade. Rinse feet and hands before the car ride.
• 1 pm: Head back so the toddler naps in the car seat on the way home.
• 3 to 4:30 pm (optional): A second sandcastle shift after the nap, then leave before sunset around 5:30.

Plan for sun even in December. The FDA recommends keeping babies younger than 6 months out of direct sunlight, and suggests making shade with a beach umbrella, a pop-up tent or a stroller canopy. For older children, we would still pack hats, shade and sunscreen on a cool day.

What to bring, and what Honest Sherpa rents

Packing a car with a beach cart, a cooler, chairs and a shade tent is the part of the day that wears parents out. Honest Sherpa's Beach Items category lists a Beach Cart, a Beach Chair with Umbrella, Rolling Coolers in 38 and 60 quart sizes, a Shibumi Sun Shade, Pop Up Tents in 10x10 and 10x20, a Beach Sand Toy Kit and Beach Corn Hole. Here is what the product pages say:

• Beach Cart: described for carrying beach supplies such as suntan lotion, sodas and towels, with a closed size of 11.4" x 10.6" x 30.9", an open size of 35.8" x 19.3" x 22.8" and a weight of 22 lbs.
• Beach Chair with Umbrella: a low-back folding chair with a collapsible tilting umbrella and a sand anchor. The page lists a UPF 50+ umbrella.
• Shibumi Sun Shade: the page says it provides shade for up to 6 people (150 sq ft), weighs 4 lbs and assembles in 3 minutes.
• Pop Up Tents (10x10 and 10x20): described as beach pop-up tents with automatic shade. The pages show their sizes as "10x10" and "10x20" without units.
• Rolling Coolers and Beach Sand Toy Kit: rolling coolers in 38 and 60 quarts, and a sand toy kit for digging and sandcastles.

One size check for Cocoa Beach: the City of Cocoa Beach says visitors may bring umbrellas, canopies and shade tents with a size limit of 10 ft x 10 ft, and requires them to be kept away from dune lines, turtle nest zones and pathways and to be removed before you leave the beach. If Honest Sherpa's "10x10" and "10x20" are measured in feet, a 10x10 tent sits right at that limit with no margin, and a 10x20 tent is larger than the Cocoa Beach limit, so it would not meet the city's size rule there. Confirm the tent's measured footprint with Honest Sherpa before you order, and check each beach's own rules before you choose. The Shibumi page lists 150 sq ft of shade rather than a footprint, so ask before relying on it in Cocoa Beach, where the limit works out to 100 sq ft. For a full gear rundown, read our guide to beach gear rental in Orlando. For a ranking of the beaches themselves, see best beaches near Orlando for families.

Accessibility and mobility on the sand

Jetty Park offers a limited number of beach wheelchairs at no charge, with a 350 pound limit; you ask the booth attendant when you enter, and use requires an authorization form and a valid driver's license or government-issued ID. The park's FAQ also says mobility mats are available at Beach Entrance #2. Lori Wilson Park lists 6 beach accesses, 4 of them ADA accessible. If grandparents are coming along, our multi-generational Orlando trip guide covers mobility rentals and park rules.

Beach rules that catch visitors off guard

• Cocoa Beach: dogs only in the designated dog beach area, no overnight camping, no fireworks, no approaching sea turtles or other wildlife, and beach fire permits were listed as currently unavailable.
• Jetty Park and Canaveral National Seashore: no pets on the beach (service animals excepted at Jetty Park), and no dogs on the Canaveral National Seashore beach.
• Volusia County beaches: no alcohol or glass containers, and a 10 mph speed limit for vehicles.
• Cocoa Beach, again: the city asks visitors to stay off the dunes, use designated beach access points and fill in holes before leaving.

FAQ

Are there any warm beaches in Florida in December? Warm air, yes; warm water, not really. NOAA's Port Canaveral gauge averaged 67.9°F to 74.1°F in recent Decembers (a rough guide), and the Clearwater Beach gauge averaged 64.4°F to 71.3°F from 2020 to 2025.

What is the prettiest beach closest to Orlando? That is a matter of taste. By Visit Florida's drive-time estimates, Daytona Beach is closest at 58 minutes, then New Smyrna Beach (1 hour 3 minutes), Cocoa Beach (1 hour 9 minutes) and Canaveral National Seashore (1 hour 15 minutes to the north entrance). Cocoa Beach has a pier and city and county parks; the seashore is natural and has no lifeguards.

Is it too cold to swim in the ocean in Florida in December? The water is cooler than the air. We would plan on wading and playing, and ask your pediatrician about water time for babies.

What beach is still warm in December? The Atlantic beaches near Port Canaveral have been about 4°F warmer than the Clearwater Beach gauge on average from 2020 to 2025, according to our calculation from NOAA data. Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach have no NOAA gauge we could find.

How much is parking at Cocoa Beach? The city lists $6 per hour (one hour minimum) or $25 for a full day, plus a $0.35 app fee, from 7 am to 7 pm daily. Lori Wilson Park, run by Brevard County, lists free parking.

Are there lifeguards at the beach in winter? At Brevard's full-time towers (including Cocoa Beach Pier, Shepard Park and Minutemen Causeway) and at Jetty Park, the official pages list 10 am to 5 pm daily. Canaveral National Seashore says it has none, and we found no published December schedule for Volusia County; Volusia's app shows staffed towers.

Can I bring a tent to the beach in Cocoa Beach? Yes, if it follows the city's size limit of 10 ft x 10 ft and stays away from dune lines, turtle nest zones and pathways. Remove it before you leave. Honest Sherpa's 10x20 pop-up tent, if measured in feet, is larger than that limit.

What time is sunset at the beach in December? At Cocoa Beach, between 5:25 pm on December 1 and 5:36 pm on December 31.

Spend the beach day on the sand, not packing the car. Honest Sherpa delivers beach items such as a beach cart, chairs with umbrellas, rolling coolers and a sand toy kit to your vacation rental, free of charge, seven days a week. Delivery is for your arrival day and pickup is for your departure day, with dates chosen at checkout. Enter your zip code or city on the site to see if your address is covered.