Cherie Down Beach, Cape Canaveral

Cherie Down Beach is a good location to see the rocket launches. It's not too crowded but has just enough people to make it fun. While you're waiting for the launch your kids can play in the sand. The sand is perfect for building castles! It sets in little sand play shapes perfectly- bring a bunch of these with you like the Melissa and Doug cupcake sand toys! It is a dream come true for kids!!

At the shore there are a few shells here and there, and birds fly by. The beach is wide and doesn't have much definition. It's not the best beach as beaches go, but is similar to most of the space coast beaches. Swimming is difficult since it's quite rough, but many surfers enjoy the water. In winter, Portuguese man-of-war line the shore so beware of their long stinging tentacles both in and out the water. 
There are no restrooms at this beach but there is a McDonald's a four minute drive away. Go there before you go to the rocket launch or you'll regret it! The rocket launch is sometimes delayed by an hour so the wait can be long. 
When you watch a rocket launch, you first see the bright light of the rocket heading up into the sky, and much later you hear the loud rumble! It's impressive. An even better place to watch where you can hear the rumble louder is the route 401 rocket launch view. This is for die hard rocket viewers, since the area is not a very nice place to hang out, with its fire ants, goopy sand, and weird horseshoe crabs. With kids, Cherie Down Beach or Playalinda Beach (which is sometimes closed depending on which launch pad is being used) is a better bet.
From Cherie Down Beach you can walk along the shore all the way to Jetty Park to see the beautiful inlet. This is the only way to get to Jetty Park if you're not a Brevard county resident or military, and don't want to pay a ridiculous $15 fee! The walk is 1.2 miles each way, shorter if you start from Peacock Beach.
Definitely visit Manatee Sanctuary Park, with its tropical palms, turtle and manatee sculptures, and cool playground with a special mommy and baby swing! Its location on the Banana River (intracoastal) is pleasant.
After, eat at the waterfront restaurants at The Cove at the cruise terminal.

Directions

Cherie Down Beach is located at 8330 Ridgewood Ave, Cape Canaveral, FL 32920.
There is very little parking but it is free. 
Some people park at the school on weekends but it's a slight risk since there are signs forbidding it.

Click on map for interactive view