Route #88 Dragon Point – Merritt Island – Kennedy Space Center

Route #88 covers 64 round-trip miles across Merritt Island in Brevard County, a narrow landmass between the Indian River and the Banana River, facing the Atlantic barrier islands. The route begins at Dragon Point, on the island’s southern tip, and heads north through a chain of historic riverside communities such as Tropic, Brantley, Lotus, Georgiana, Indianola, and Courtenay, many of which emerged in the late nineteenth century as agricultural and transportation hubs.

Along the way, the landscape alternates between historic waterfront homes, marinas, former ferry crossings, and protected areas like the Ulumay Wildlife Sanctuary. The route then follows State Road 3 through sections that still preserve traces of early rail connections and tourism routes that once linked both sides of the island before the construction of modern causeways.

The final segment enters the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, where vast protected wetlands surround the Kennedy Space Center. Here, natural habitats coexist with one of the most significant technological sites of the twentieth century, from which the missions that carried humans into space were launched.

This route can be found in Discovering Florida – Volume 4.