A Guide to Veterans Memorial Park in Edgewater, Florida

All along Riverside Drive, the scenic route from Edgewater along the Indian River to New Smyrna Beach, there are small parks for residents and visitors alike, with free admission, and a direct connection to the Indian River and Intra-coastal Waterway.

There is one park that makes one feel as if time has stood still. It is directly off the Riverside Drive scenic route, in a small town locally known for having one of the best fishing locales, and major historic significance in regard to the lush Floridian environment and delicate sub-tropic ecosystem.

Veterans Memorial Park is dedicated to veterans, with the American flag and POW flag flown simultaneously, but it is a nature lover's retreat. Veterans Memorial Park in Edgewater is a lovely little public spot that has a long fishing pier, ideal for fishing and dolphin watching. The park is set up mainly for fishing, but there is also a little picnic area, restrooms and benches. There are no boat launches here, which make the park a more naturally scenic and quiet escape, ideal for bird watching as well. In fact, Edgewater has over three hundred species of birds, and serious bird watchers from all over the country flock to Edgewater.

Edgewater's diverse ecosystem is what makes these small parks even more special, aside from physical beauty and easy accessibility. At the Veterans Memorial Park, one can try their hand at catching one of hundreds of species of fish that frequent the river. Its not uncommon for fishers to pull king-sized tarpon out of the river on any given day. There is a bait shop a few yards further south along Riverside Drive, so bait is easily available if you want to stay locally at the park and fish into the early evening. The park prohibits dogs, and is open from sunrise to sunset.

The park is not well-known to tourists, for it is tucked between a residential district that consists of old Florida style homes, where owners have their boats docked out back, and scenic style mini mansions. It is also off of busy U.S.-1, which leads to New Smyrna and Daytona Beach, if traveling North and Oak Hill, if traveling South. Oak Hill has some world-class fishing as well in the Mosquito Lagoon. All along the Indian River, that borders these various towns, there are beautiful spots that are local gems to the residents, but readers can now be let in on the secret hidden nature areas that Edgewater has to offer. These are the old Florida spots that have remained untouched, and are considered treasures of the coast. Hopefully they will remain untouched and protected, so generations of people can experience the real Florida as well.

The park is easily accessible from I-95 south, at the Edgewater exit, past Florida Shores residential district, straight down Indian River Boulevard to the very end across U.S.-1, to Riverside Drive. The park is less than a mile directly off U.S. -1, in Edgewater, at 1811 S. Riverside Dr., 32132.