Daytona Beach Outdoors Fun, Excitement & Relaxation . . .

Daytona Beach means swimming, surfing, parasailing, sunbathing, fishing, hiking, exploring, & a whole lot more outdoor fun!

While the Daytona 500 and motor sports are what many think of when they think of Daytona Beach, it is the broad white expanse of beach and the water sports that put Daytona Beach on the map. Everything from surfing to parasailing can be had at this famous beach destination.

Daytona Beach has unlimited opportunities for those who are more outdoor orientede. Sporting 23 miles of beaches, Daytona is favorite destination for those who seek the ocean's edge and activities. In addition to those miles of sparkling white beaches, there are also cruise tours, diving opportunities, and parks to wander.

As of the most visited vacation spots in the world, Daytona Beach hosts many annual events, such as the Daytona Beach Bike Week and the Daytona Spring Break Celebration, that attract people from not just all over the United States, but from around the world. The many festivities are an important part of the "summmer fun equation" that makes Daytona Beach such a highly sought after vacation getaway.

Daytona Beach outdoor attractions listed by distance from Grand Seas Resort:

Daytona Beach • Right outside your door!

23 miles to enjoy swimming, sightseeing, snorkeling and fishing on one of the nation's finest beaches. Beach driving is allowed during daylight to just before sunset; boats and catamarans can be launched in designated areas only; remember, alcoholic beverages and dogs are not permitted on the beach. The beach is perfect for castle building, cycling, jogging, fishing or just relaxing along the Atlantic Ocean for during the spring and summer when temperatures range from 74 to 80 degrees F.

Driving on the Beach: A user fee of $5 per day enables you to drive on the beach or park in an adjacent parking area. The beach is always free to pedestrians and bicyclists. During normal beach daylight hours beach driving is allowed, unless there are unusual weather or tidal conditions. Visitors may park their cars seaward of the conservation zone, either facing the ocean or the dunes. There are also several parking areas adjacent to the beach. Note parking on the beach is single lane only and is west of the traffic lane; overnight parking and crossing over marked dune vegetation are prohibited.

Sundail Sailing &Charters • 0.9 miles

3948 S. Peninsula Dr., Daytona Beach, (407) 222-3626
Relax and enjoy a sailing trip aboard a 33 ft. sailboat. Ocean and river trips available. Water and softdrinks provided. Alcoholic beverages are permitted for adults over 21. Call for additional information and reservations.

Adventure Yacht Harbor Inc. • 0.9 miles

3948 S. Peninsula Dr., Daytona Beach, (407) 222-3626
Rent a pontoon boat for the day or enjoy a fishing or sailing charter. The bait shop offers all the supplies you'll need, and Boondocks Restaurant is open daily, 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.. This 150-slip facility also offers overnight docking, fuel and pump out service.

Daytona Beach Bandshell and Oceanfront Park Complex • 2.3 miles

100 N Atlantic Ave; Daytona Beach, FL 386-258-4543
Located near the Atlantic shoreline and offering superb ocean views, Daytona Beach's scenic Oceanfront Park offers visitors sports facilities, including a volleyball court as well as a children's playground and expansive grass areas. If you forget to pack your picnic, there are a number of eateries and snack bars just a stone's throw away from the park.

Back in the 1920s, this area was considered to be run-down by Daytona Beach citizens. In 1936, WPA workers began construction the 48 foot by 114 foot natural coquina rock bandshell which seats 4,500. This was begun in September, 1936, and was completed in time for the first program to be presented on July 4, 1937. Open air concerts, as well as other programs, are still presented in the bandshell. The other structures in the boardwalk area are a clock tower, kiosk, consession facilities, restrooms, subway entrances (now closed), and an elevated walk from Earl to Ora Streets. The City Band of Daytona Beach under Dr. Everett Allyn Moses, began in 1947, performing summer concerts in the lovely Band Shell on the Broad Walk.

Daytona Beach Aqua Safari • 2.4 miles

601 Earl Street, Daytona Beach, (386) 405-3445
Enjoy a ride aboard a London double-decker bus! Our hands on charte fishing eco-tour our boat the Cnidoblast where we pull a drag net, throw cast nets and pull up crab traps. Admission to the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and Marine Science Center is included in the ticket price. Call for reservations and departure times.

Sun Splash Park • 3.2 miles

611 S Atlantic Ave; Daytona Beach, FL; 386-736-5953
Features an interactive water fountain, decorative walkways, a shaded playground, volleyball courts, picnic areas, restrooms, outdoor showers; also provides 95 off-beach parking spaces, so get there early; open sunrise to sunset; Entry is free.

Hendricks Marine - Winsome Sloop Charters • 4.0 miles

Halifax Harbor Marina, Daytona Beach, (904) 631-7074
Ahoy! Winsome, is a classic 36.5 foot Pearson Sloop, and is available for a full-day (up to 8 hours) or half-day (up to 4 hours) sailing charters. Choose from sightseeing trips on the pristine Intracoastal Waterway (Halifax River in the Daytona area), or slip out into the ocean through Ponce Inlet. Evening sunset-cruise charters may also be scheduled. Alternately, you may want to drop anchor and swim or explore beaches. Sailing lessons are offered and you are encouraged to be involved in vessel operations. We also offer marriages at sea, memorial services and private parties. Ask about our gourmet dining cruises!

Atlantic Scuba Guide & Services • 4.3 miles

724 Ridgewood Ave, Daytona Beach, (386) 253-7558
Full service store. PADI training facility. Nitrox. Equipment service sales and rentals. Certification classes. Local dive trips.

Central Park • 5.1 miles

601 Fleming Avenue & 601 Hammock Avenue, Ormond Beach, (386) 676-3250
Actually consists of four parks connected with meandering bike paths. This scenic location, covering nearly 150 acres, offers gazebos, picnic pavilions, lakes, a fishing pier, a labyrinth, and a canoe/kayak ramp.

Ormond Beach Bicentennial Park • 5.9 miles

1800 N. Ocean Shore Blvd, Ormond Beach
Strecthing from the Halifax River to the Atlantic Ocean, this 40-acre park north of Ormond Beach is loaded with amenities. Beachgoers may park across the street from the ocean an the park's east side to enjoy the sand and surf. Amenities include hiking, baseball field, basketball court, fishing dock, soccer field, picnic area tennis and volleyball courts and restrooms. A large pavilion offers plenty of shaded picnic tables. Open everyday sunrise to sunset.

Hikers looking to get back to nature may take a jaunt along on of the Bicentennial Park's nature trails and boardwalks. Winding through the scrub habitat, gopher tortoises and raccoons call this area home. The western terminus of the trail carries walkers to the Riv-Ocean Drive fishing dock on the Halifax River.

Bulow Creek State Park • 7.2 miles

2099 N. Beach Street, Ormonod Beach, (386) 676-4050
This park protects one of the largest remaining stands of southern live oak forest along Florida's east coast. The reigning tree is the Fairchild Oak, one of the largest live oak trees in the south. For more than 400 years it has been a silent witness to human activities along Bulow Creek, including the destruction of the neighboring Bulow Plantation during the Second Seminole War in 1836. Several trails allow hikers to explore the interior of the park, where visitors can see white-tailed deer, barred owls, and raccoons. The Bulow Woods Trail, nearly seven miles long, takes hikers to Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park. Visitors can picnic in a shady pavilion or at a table on the lawn within view of the Fairchild Oak. Located five miles north of Ormond Beach on Old Dixie Highway (County Road 4011).

Tomoka State Park • 8.0 miles

1819 Taylor Road, Port Orange, (386) 255-0285
Once home to the Timucuan Indians, this scenic State Park is a perfect location for fishing, camping, hiking and boating. Escorted boat trips along the Tomoka River are also available for a small fee; north of Ormond Beach.

Tomoka State Park protects a variety of wildlife habitats and endangered species, such as the West Indian manatee. Tomoka is a bird-watcher's paradise, with over 160 species sighted, especially during the spring and fall migrations. Visitors can stroll a one-half mile nature trail through a hardwood hammock that was once an indigo field for an 18th century British landowner. A boat ramp gives boaters and canoeists access to the river. The Park Store offers snacks, camping supplies, and canoe rentals. Contact 386-673-0022 for more information. For overnight stays, the park has full-facility campsites and youth camping. Located three miles north of Ormond Beach on North Beach Street.

Spruce Creek Preserve • 16.5 miles

1819 Taylor Road, Port Orange, (386) 255-0285
This 150-acre facility is home to hundreds of native flora and fauna, including beautiful cypress trees, alligators, pileated woodpeckers and osprey. The grounds also feature rustic trails and historic buildings including a "cracker-style" house built in 1907 by James Gamble (of Proctor and Gamble), the Snow White House, modeled after the Walt Disney animated film, and a citrus packing house.

Cracker Creek Canoeing • 18.6 miles

1819 Taylor Road, Port Orange, (386) 255-0285
Located adjacent to the Historic Gamble Place, providing canoe and kayak launch and rentals, eco-history, pontoon boat tours on the western end of Spruce Creek in Port Orange.

New Smyrna Beach • 18.7 miles

1819 Taylor Road, Port Orange, (386) 255-0285
A somewhat quieter beach alternative when Daytona Beach is too loud and noisy; New Smyrna Beach also offers historic sites, such as the Turnbill Ruins and Old Fort and the New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins State Historic Site; take A1A Highway, 6 miles south of Daytona Beach.

The star attraction in New Smyrna Beach is its 13 miles stretch of white sandy beaches. Sunbathing, swimming, bicycling, strolling or doing nothing at all is the choice of most visitors. But the beach is also well known to surfers, offering some of the finest wave action on the Eastern Seaboard, treasure hunters in search of rare coins and jewelry and anglers who say surf fishing is the only way to go.

Traffic lanes are marked with traffic lane signs. Park your vehicle between the conversation zone and the traffic lanes. Traffic-free zones are also provided. If you are visiting with children, you may want to choose a traffic-free zone. They are located North of the jetty of Smyrna Dunes Park and 27th Avenue South to the Volusia County line. In addition there are off-beach parking areas near traffic-free zones. They are located at Smyrna Dunes Park (2995 N. Peninsula Ave), 27th Avenue Park at 3701 South Atlantic Avenue, Matthews Blvd, Hiles Blvd, Mary McLeod Bethune Park located at 6656 South Atlantic Avenue.

Smyrna Dunes Park - New Smyrna Beach • 18.7 miles

2995 N. Peninsula Ave, New Smyrna Beach, FL
Perched on 73 acres of pristine land at the northern tip of the New Smyrna Beach peninsula, the area is surrounded by water on three sides. Waters from the Indian River flow through Ponce Inlet and into the Atlantic Ocean providing a variety of fishing or swimming venues for park goers.

The park also provides a unique opportunity for naturalists, ecologists, students and the general public to see a wide variety of animals, birds, reptiles, marine life and vegetation in their natural habitat. To protect the natural habitat, more than two miles of elevated boardwalks, picnic areas, pavilions and an observation tower have been erected.

The park consists of five ecosystems (ocean, river, dunes, scrub zone, saltwater marsh). The principal system is vast sand dunes. To protect the sensitive sand dunes from foot traffic, two miles of elevated walkways, picnic areas, pavilions and an observation tower were built, allowing visitors to travel through the park in a natural environment.

Smyrna Dunes Park is one of a few County parks where man's best friend may enjoy the amenities. However, pets must be leashed at all times. Guided nature walks and educational programs are available. Admission is $5.00 for vehicles of eight passengers or less. Yearly passes are available.

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