Cocoa Beach Pier

Cocoa Beach Pier is where East Coast surfing was born and where Kelly Slater grew up perfecting the skills that would make him the greatest surfer of all time. The waves are rarely spectacular—mostly small, mushy peaks that teach you to generate speed from nothing—but the history and community make up for it. The pier creates sandbars that focus whatever swell arrives, and hurricane season can produce legitimately good surf. For anyone wanting to understand Florida surf culture or trace the roots of an 11-time world champion, Cocoa Beach is a pilgrimage.