An anchor along a scenic drive through the Halifax River basin known as The Loop, North Peninsula State Park is most notable for its natural oceanfront along A1A.
Nearly three unbroken miles of saw palmetto atop ancient dunes line the highway, with only one beach access point intruding on a wild shoreline.
Park frontage along A1AResources
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Overview
Length: 2.3 mile round-trip
Trailhead: 29.41072,-81.094962
Address: 40 Highbridge Rd, Ormond by the Sea
Fees: Free
Restroom: At Smith Creek Landing
Land manager: Florida State Parks
Phone: 386-517-2086
Open 8 AM to sunset. Leashed dogs welcome except on beach.
Directions
The park straddles A1A north of Ormond Beach and south of Flagler Beach. The most direct route from Interstate 95 is via a portion of The Loop. Take exit 278, Old Dixie Hwy, and head east on Old Dixie Highway for 0.8 mile. Turn left on Walter Boardman Ln and drive a mile. Cross Bulow Creek and turn right on High Bridge Rd, which is narrow and winding through the marshes. After 1.6 miles cross the Halifax River. The turn in to Smith Creek Landing is on the left. If you’re attempting to park at the beach, continue another 0.4 mile to A1A and turn left. The small parking area is immediately on the right.
About the Park
Many visitors come for the unbroken expanse of wild beach frontage and its orange-tinted coquina sands, the shoreline a respite from busier oceanfront access points to the south.
Parking for beach access, however, is strictly limited. Take a turn onto High Bridge Rd, part of The Loop, to discover the rest of this expansive state park.
The beach is colored by pulverized coquina shellsSpanning from the Atlantic west across the Atlantic Coastal Ridge to the Halifax River, it encompasses a broad variety of habitats and wildlife.
Sea turtles nest on the orange sands, while gopher tortoises make their burrows on the ridge. Florida scrub-jays have been spotted along the park’s Coastal Strand Trail.
Paddlers can put in at Smith Creek Landing and, just outside the park boundary, at a roadside launch across the drawbridge over the Halifax River.
Anglers usually stake out spots near the picnic tables at Smith Creek. A fish camp sits on an inholding just south of High Bridge Rd.
Mangroves along Smith CreekTrails
The Coastal Strand Trail is a 2.3 mile hike out and back from the parking area at Smith Creek Landing. An interpretive walk, it features a loop at its north end.
We’ve attempted to hike it several times, but have had to turn back on each try, either due to mosquitoes or by habitat restoration closing portions of the footpath.
Trail map at trailheadStarting in the marshy Smith Creek basin, it ascends to the Atlantic Coastal Ridge. The loop north of the powerline is in scrub habitat.
The ridge is along the Atlantic flyway, a birder’s delight in January.
Coastal Strand TrailCyclists can take on The Loop, although its roads are narrow and shared with vehicles. Still, the marshy landscape is certainly unique.
It has a primordial feel. It’s easy to imagine mammoths and giant sloths lumbering across this basin, as they did in prehistoric times.
There are no shoulders on narrow High Bridge RdTrail Map
Explore More!
Video
Our video tour of The Loop
Slideshow
See our photos of North Peninsula State Park
Nearby Adventures
More worth exploring while you’re in this area.
Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area Formerly Flagler Beach State Park, Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area stretches from the orange sand beaches of the Atlantic Ocean to the windswept oak hammocks along the Intracoastal Waterway.
Bulow Creek State Park Walk among the ancients in Bulow Hammock, starting with the imposing Fairchild Oak, one of Florida's largest live oak trees
Tomoka State Park Walk in the footsteps of the Timucua beneath the ancient oaks at Tomoka State Park, where the village of Nocoroco was a thriving community on a bountiful set of rivers
Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park History and natural beauty meet under a dense oak canopy at the ruins of one of Florida's oldest sugar mills