Melbourne Beach

Neither Melbourne Beach nor the surrounding area is home to an impressive list of private country club properties. The little beach town does offer two clubs within reasonable driving distance that could be worth a look for those that love the islands laid back charm, but also want that amenity rich social gathering place a private club can provide.

Aquarina Beach and Country Club

• Aquarina Beach and Country Club is located on the barrier island separating the Indian River Lagoon from the Atlantic Ocean. This luxury residential community features a public 18-hole, par 62 golf course designed by Charles Ankrom. The private tennis club consists of 6 Har-Tru clay courts. Also on property is a private beach clubhouse with private beach access, fishing dock, boat launch, community center, library, restaurant and grill, and fitness center.

Suntree Country Club

• Suntree Country Club is a private, member-owned country club located about 16 miles northwest in Melbourne, FL. The campus offers 36 holes of championship golf designed by Ed Rider, Richard LaConte, and Arnold Palmer. Suntree’s tennis facility boasts 6 clay and 2 hard tennis courts along with 2 pickleball courts. Five separate dining areas offer a variety of food and beverage options including one along the clubs oversized swimming pool and deck area.

Some great local spots with die hard followings can be found in the Melbourne Beach area both on the waterfront and downtown areas. Here are some of the standouts from both locals.

While the small island community of Melbourne Beach does not have much for shopping, the larger city of Melbourne just across the bridge has its fair share with an indoor mall, multiple large antique shops, downtown boutiques, and art galleries.

Melbourne Square Mall is your typical large indoor mall complex with 125 retailers including anchors such as Macy’s, Dillard’s, and JC Penny.

Downtown Melbourne is a quaint and historic area full of boutiques and specialty stores.

The Indian River Antique Mall is the place to shop for antiques, furniture, collectibles, decor, jewelry, vinyl records, and much more. The mall features over 100 individual dealers occupying 20,000 square feet of climate controlled space.

The Eau Gallie Arts District  is an eclectic mix of art galleries, restaurants, and shops.

The Foosaner Art Museum is a center for creativity that collects, interprets, and displays visual arts with a heavy focus on women artists. The museum’s permanent collection of art consists of five categories: Modern and Contemporary, Asian, The Conill Mendoza Collection of American Industrial Design, Cultural Education, and Women’s art.

The King Center for the Performing Arts is a 100,000 square foot facility dedicated to presenting educational, cultural, and community events. Its 2,016 seat main theatre hosts high quality touring and local performing arts events of all types.

Melbourne Beach is a hip beach town with a surfer vibe and popular beaches. As with Cocoa Beach to the north, these beaches provide great surfing opportunities and that is a huge influence on the beach scene here. The water will be a turbid blue color as the clear waters of the Gulf Stream current push farther offshore and there are no Bahamas islands to block the swell.

Boaters in the Melbourne Beach area have access to the Indian River Lagoon waters. The best boat launch facility is the Front Street Boat Ramp on the west side of the lagoon in Melbourne, FL. Wide waterways around a mile and a half across in this area offer plenty of room for recreational watersports. The best cruising is south of Melbourne where you will find interesting spoil islands, more protected natural shoreline, and cleaner waters due to the Sebastian Inlet.

Melbourne Beach has some good inshore fishing opportunities. The better areas will be found to the south down the Indian River Lagoon with some spectacular Spotted Seatrout fishing along the Honest John’s Fish Camp area. Other popular species in the area include Flounder, Snook, Redfish, Tarpon, Black Drum, Sheepshead, Mangrove Snapper and others. On the Atlantic Ocean side of things along the beaches you will find good numbers of Tarpon, Kingfish, Spanish Mackerel and Cobia and further out will be wahoo, mahi mahi, sailfish, and tuna. There is no inlet in Melbourne Beach. Ocean access is possible through either the Port Canaveral Locks 26 miles to the north or the Sebastian Inlet 17 miles to the south.

Melbourne Beach schools are controlled by the Brevard County School District. Niche.com gives the school district a B+ rating and has it as the 10th best school district in the state. Brevard County School District has 73,444 students in grades PK, K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 15 to 1. According to state test scores, 60% of students are at least proficient in math and 61% in reading. Several notable private schools include Calvary Chapel Academy (Christian), Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy (Episcopal), Ascension Catholic School (Roman Catholic), and Melbourne Central Catholic High School (Roman Catholic).

The City of Melbourne Beach has a total of 2 golf courses, one being municipal and the other public. Within a short 20 mile drive you will find another 16 courses of which 6 are public and 4 municipal.

The city’s municipal course is Spessard Holland Golf Course. This 18-hole ocean to intracoastal golf course was designed by Palmer Enterprises in 1977 as an executive par 67 layout. The spectacular location is just one reason this course is so popular with the local golfing community.

Aquarina Beach and Country Club features an 18-hole, par 62 golf course open to both members and the public nestled within the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge. Designed by Charles Ankrom, the course stretches to 4,313 yards from the back tees and incorporates many twists, turns, sand, woods, and water.

In nearby Melbourne, FL just over the bridge and to the west, golfers will find excellent facilities at Baytree National Golf Links, Crane Creek Reserve Golf Club, and Mallards Landing Golf Course.

Baytree National Golf Links is home to an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Gary Player in 1992. He designed a course with generous fairways mounded on the sides with moguls. This links style course stretches over 7,000 yards from the tips.

Crane Creek Reserve Golf Club is an 18-hole municipal golf course designed by Donald J. Ross. The historic course opened in 1926 and stretches 5,886 yards with a par of 71.

Mallards Landing Golf Course is another municipal golf course in Melbourne and was designed by Roy Albert Anderson in 1969. This 18-hole course is 6,955 from the longest tees with a par of 72.