Exploring Daytona Beach
An early getaway for well-to-do northerners, Daytona Beach was founded in 1870. Soon after the first automobiles arrived, drivers discovered the hard-packed coquina sand made it easy to go fast. Once the idea of speed trials and racing began, car and motorcycle enthusiasts made their way down primitive roads tunneling through lush hammocks to get to the “World’s Most Famous Beach.”
Racing shifted off the beach and onto the famous racetrack along International Speedway Boulevard in 1959. But follow that same highway west and you’ll enter Tiger Creek State Forest, a vast conservation area protecting both high ridges and the marshes that feed the Tomoka River basin.
Daytona Beach and its neighboring communities of Ponce Inlet and Port Orange have extensive public lands protecting archeological sites, ancient oak hammocks, and the edges of the estuaries between coast and barrier island. To its north, Ormond Beach and Holly Hill offer paddling and camping opportunities.
Resources
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Articles
Ormond Memorial Gardens
Spilling across the Atlantic Coastal Ridge, Ormond Memorial Gardens leads you into a contemplative world mere steps from a major highway
The new 50 Hikes in Central Florida
We launched a new full-color edition of 50 Hikes in Central Florida at the National Trails Festival in Deland the first weekend of October. Take a peek inside.
Primrose, tie-dye, and VW culture
Within sight of the third Westy that looked just like Primrose, we were looking through an array of tie-dyed t-shirts, trying to find a matching pair. Unfortunately, they had sold out of the ones with the VW design swirled through the middle, or we would have bought some on the spot. We were at the …
INCLUDES: Ponce Inlet, Port Orange | NEARBY: Bunnell, De Leon Springs, Deland, Deltona, Flagler Beach, New Smyrna Beach, Orlando, Palm Coast, Sanford | PART OF: Central Florida