Cast Your Vote for Cocoa Beach!

It’s just six miles long and mostly less than a mile wide, but Cocoa Beach is humongous in heart, history and the quirky charms that put it on the tourism map.

Now, the same place that boasts world-renowned surfing (and Surfing Santas), a famous pier that juts 800 feet over the Atlantic, plentiful beach access and a stellar place in space history has a chance for more kudos: the title of Florida’s best beach town.

When USA Today called “Dr. Beach,” also known as Florida International University professor and coastal expert Stephen Leatherman, for 10 Florida destinations that combine sand, surf and a welcoming sense of community, Cocoa Beach claimed a spot among his choices.

That, naturally, led to a question — Which one’s the best? — and a competition, with voters invited to chime in online or via Twitter. The winning area will be featured in a USA Today travel story.

Leatherman offered praise for some of the more obvious factors that drive Cocoa Beach’s cool quotient.

His take: “This onetime astronaut hangout near the Kennedy Space Center is famous for the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, along with a great pier and surf shop, Ron Jon, whose flagship store will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year.”

That mention was welcomed at Ron Jon’s corporate headquarters, a wave away from the Atlantic and the venerable Cocoa Beach Pier. A 50-day celebration in summer 2013 is in the works.

“We have a real affinity for Cocoa Beach — it’s just a great destination,” said Heather Lewis, Ron Jon marketing director.

And visit they do: About 2.4 million visitors a year descend on Cocoa Beach, from surfers to those who just want to soak in the sun to those who drive out of their way to be photographed at I Dream of Jeanne Lane off State Road A1A at Lori Wilson Park. A recently installed sign serves as a permanent paean to the popular 1960s TV show set in Cocoa Beach.

Cocoa Beach Mayor Dave Netterstrom thinks there’s no contest in this competition.
In his eyes, there’s no place quite like the place that claims as hometown boys Kelly Slater (Cocoa Beach High, Class of 1991), 11-time world champion surfer, and comedian Scott “Carrot Top” Thompson (born in Cocoa Beach in 1965).

“One of the main reasons I ran for mayor is that I care so much about the community,” said Netterstrom, whose family moved here when he was 14.

“During the Space Race, it was the happening place to see and be seen, and we’re trying to get that excitement back, within the framework of remaining a quaint little beach town. We’re absolutely going to keep that character, that ‘Come as you are, it’s a fun place to be’ attitude that put us on the map.”

Go, Cocoa Beach, go!

The winner of USA Today’s Best Florida Beach Town contest will be featured in a travel story. To vote, go to http://www.usatoday.com/ story/dispatches/2012/12/28/ whats-the-best-beach-town- in-florida/1793599/

To tweet your pick:
@usatodaytravel; hashtag #flabeachtown.