Castle Windy Trail
Photo: NPS/Photo- 0.4 mi
- round trip
- 43 ft
- climb
- 18 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
- Oct–May
- best months
Is Castle Windy Trail open right now?
Closure in the area
There's a closure order in Canaveral National Seashore. It doesn't name Castle Windy Trail, so check the source for the area it covers.
Playalinda District: Parking Lot #8-13
Park closure covering Canaveral National Seashore · NPS · Canaveral National Seashore
Beat the Heat
Park alert covering Canaveral National Seashore · NPS · Canaveral National Seashore
Rip Currents and Rough Surf
Park alert covering Canaveral National Seashore · NPS · Canaveral National Seashore
As of · Source: NPS · Canaveral National Seashore. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
Castle Windy Trail is a short, easy walk in the Apollo Beach District of Canaveral National Seashore, managed by the National Park Service. It starts at Parking Area #3 and crosses the road before heading about half a mile to the shore of Mosquito Lagoon. The trail is an out-and-back, roughly 0.8 miles long, with a total climb of about 43 feet. It's a flat route, and the steepest part comes at about 0.34 miles in, with a grade of about 4 percent. Winter is the most comfortable time to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show January highs around 68°F and lows near 52°F, while summer brings highs in the upper 80s and swarms of mosquitoes. The trail is not accessible, and a fee is charged. Dogs are allowed. For another walk nearby, the AD Eldora Hammock Trail is about a mile away.
Local outfitters
Not on Roamze yet. Their page has how to reach them.
Source: Roamze catalog (indexable pages within 10 miles, PostGIS distance)
SR Seminole Rest TrailHiking · ~5 min drivePhoto: clembore, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
Red Blaze TrailHiking · ~58 min drivePhoto: gary_leavens, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)
Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area TrailHiking · ~54 min drivePhoto: FartyBoi, CC BY-SA 4.0 (via Wikimedia Commons)- Longleaf Pine Preserve Blue TrailHiking · ~44 min drive
Tomoka State Park TrailHiking · ~1h drivePhoto: Bahadorjn, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)- White Blaze TrailHiking · ~59 min drive
Lower Wekiva River Preserve State Park TrailHiking · ~1h 4m drivePhoto: gary_leavens, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)- Yellow Blaze TrailHiking · ~59 min drive
Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park TrailHiking · ~1h 13m drivePhoto: zappowbang, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)- Lower Wekiva Loop - Outer 11MiHiking · ~1h 5m drive
Best time to visit Castle Windy Trail
Best months: October–May. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
68° / 52°
Feb
70° / 53°
Mar
73° / 57°
Apr
79° / 63°
May
83° / 68°
Jun
87° / 73°
Jul
88° / 75°
Aug
89° / 75°
Sep
86° / 74°
Oct
82° / 68°
Nov
76° / 62°
Dec
71° / 54°
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at New Smyrna Bch - Marine Discov, FL, 11.7 mi away at 16 ft. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
