Turtle Mound

Turtle Mound is one of Canaveral's most memorable stops: a high shell mound rising above the flat barrier island, reached by a short boardwalk trail. From the top, you can look across Mosquito Lagoon, the Atlantic, and the scrubby island landscape that separates them.

It is both an archaeological site and a viewpoint, so stay on the boardwalk and treat it with respect. The mound's scale is easiest to appreciate after you have spent a little time in the surrounding flatlands.

things to do sight history viewpoint
A story
Turtle Mound is a prehistoric shell midden so large that Spanish sailors used it as a landmark from the ocean. What looks like a wooded hill is largely the accumulated remains of oyster, clam, and other shells left by Indigenous peoples over many generations.