Castle Windy Trail at Canaveral National Seashore
See the Hiking Trails web page for an interactive location map.
Length: .8 mile, round trip
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
The Castle Windy Trail at Canaveral National Seashore is an .8-mile out-and-back trail that makes a beeline from the main park road at Apollo Beach to Mosquito Lagoon where you will find a shell midden that dates back to 1000 AD. A midden is defined as a garbage dump, and in this case the dump belonged to the Timucuan Indians who lived in the area between 600 and 1400 AD. The Timucuan mainly subsisted on a seafood diet. After preparing shellfish, the shells were dumped in a pile, thus the term “shell midden.” Over the years these dumps of shells grew into substantial hills. I always picture some poor Timucuan kid having to haul the night’s dinner garbage to the top of the mound, and the parents saying, “When I was your age I had to haul garbage to the top of middens ten times that tall.”
During modern times, many middens were leveled and used as fill for construction sites, railroads, and roads, so only a few have been preserved for historical purposes. Castle Windy and Turtle Mound farther north are two that are still intact.
Park at beach Parking Lot #3 and then walk across the main park road to find the trailhead for the Castle Windy Trail. This is a level dirt trail with a smooth surface that cuts through the forest of live oaks, sable palms, and saw palmetto bushes. I hiked the trail in early March when the temperature was slightly over 70° F and there were mosquitoes, though not enough that I wanted to apply insect repellant.
Start of the Castle Windy Trail at Canaveral National Seashore
Typical terrain of the Castle Windy Trail at Canaveral National Seashore
Numbered posts along the way correspond to numbers on a trail brochure that you can pick up at the Apollo Beach Visitor Center or, if stocked, a brochure holder at the start of the trail. All stops discuss the vegetation in the area. Please return the brochure at the end of the hike if you have no further need for it.
Typical terrain of the Castle Windy Trail at Canaveral National Seashore
The trail ends at Mosquito Lagoon. A picnic table on a concrete pad is available for anyone wanting a bite to eat while looking over the lagoon.
Picnic table at the end of the Castle Windy Trail at Canaveral National Seashore
View of Mosquito Lagoon from the end of the Castle Windy Trail at Canaveral National Seashore
If you look towards the right side of the trail, you will see a hill that appears to be a sand dune with trees growing on it. A closer look reveals that the white material is actually the shells dumped by the Timucuan over one thousand years ago.
Timucuan shell midden on the Castle Windy Trail, Canaveral National Seashore
Though both the Castle Windy and Turtle Mound trails lead to a shell midden, the Castle Windy Trail is more similar to the Eldora Hammock Trail due to the terrain. Unless you have extra time or just want some exercise, there is no real need to hike both. Since the Castle Windy Trail has a historical aspect, a detailed trail guide, and a view of Mosquito Lagoon, I suggest this one over the Eldora Hammock Trail. An even better suggestion is to hike the Turtle Mound Trail, which has great views from an elevated overlook, and skip all the other trails in the Apollo Beach area of Canaveral National Seashore.
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Last updated on April 18, 2022
