I love everything Mew Smyrna Beach has to offer. Well maintained , great surfing ... beautiful…read moreplace to spend the day

This is a great beach to bring your dog to. It has an extensive shoreline & lots of beach area. You…read morecan find some private spots even when it's a busy beach day. There is a very long boardwalk to the beach & there are lookout towers along the way. There is a path to the beaches for dogs & their owners to follow with a water station along the way as it's a long walk to get to the shoreline. There are wash stations at the exit to rinse off your dog so no worries if your pup likes the surf. I really love taking my dog to this beach.

I must say this park is 10x better than it was before! The remodel is absolutely amazing. It has…read morebeen warming up and I wanted to take the kids to a park and this one is local to us. I really appreciated that the kids playground was covered so the metal wasn't too hot to play on. I actually checked and felt it. I do wish the benches there were more in the shade too though. The splash pad was pretty big and tons of fun for the littles. The park also inches a skate park, ball field, basket ball/racket ball areas, and a dog park. Lit up very well with maintenance and security roaming around, which I also appreciated. It seems to be very well taken care of and will be on the list for fun activities this summer for sure.

Using the dog park regularly. It is close to home, however it's basically a sand pit and not…read morepleasant in that regard. It's not very big either considering the size of the park in a whole. Wish they would have made it bigger and wish they would do something about the sand. Otherwise it's a beautiful park and well maintained.

Love this park to take my dog. They have balls for the dogs and poop bags and trash bins. They keep…read moreup w the park!

Brought the kids here (12 - 8). They loved it. A little bit of everything including a water splash…read morepad to help cool off!

Interesting history here. I can't go somewhere without checking out some of the sites. There's not…read morea ton of things to do in Daytona but when I saw 'Lighthouse Park', I knew we had to go. One of the workers in the gift shop gave us an intro when we bought our tickets. You should definitely start across the street at the hotel/museum. That hotel/house has history all its own aside from the lighthouse. The family that lived there and ran it. I loved the house and it seems to have stayed in great condition after hundreds of years. In the hotel/house, you start with a short movie in the side room and then you can tour the house at your leisure. The house has multiple items displayed from over the years. There are also boards with a bit of history as you make your way through. Outside of the hotel/house is a relaxing area by the water. You could relax there or it'd be a perfect place for a wedding or special occasion. Once finished there, you can make your way back across the street to the lighthouse. On the lighthouse side, there are other buildings where people that took care of the place stayed. There's also a small storybook trail. It's not long at all but it has these storyboards around it talking about this cat named Nelly. That's all fun and stuff... but at the end of the trail, you see a little cat graveyard with cats that have been on the property over the years. When we walked up and I noticed Nelly was already buried! THE HORRRRRRRRRRORRRRRRR! On to the lighthouse; You can climb up to the top of the lighthouse. I think there is a sign that mentions 222 steps or something. It gets very steep near the top. Great exercise and it made me forget all about the cat graveyard. It's a cool place. I was intrigued by the Cincinnati Reds connection too. Other notables: Across the street is a restaurant and ice cream place. I don't think those two spots are related to the lighthouse itself but it's nice that they're there. We tried out both and they weren't bad at all. We didn't venture further down the road but we were told more restaurants/locations are further down. If you like history or inlets or just lighthouses, check out this place if you're in the area.

I visited the beach here one afternoon. It costs $10 to get in, so come prepared for that…read more There are bathroom facilities and outdoor showers, which I appreciate, though the bathrooms are pretty gnarly, so I'd avoid those if you can help it. The beach itself was pretty small, and it was crowded. The water wasn't too rough. There were a lot of kids and families, so clearly a good place for the kids to swim. My favorite part were all of the dogs. There were so many puppers on the beach! Overall, I'll give it a 3. It was fine, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go here for a beach day.

This beach was super peaceful and empty the sand is hard on a section since the cars can drive on…read moreit. Super easy to walk on it. Parked and paid .25cents. The homes are beautiful on the beach as well and the sounds immaculate. I will definitely be back to this beach.

Nice crowded place vast place to walk sunshine all day be careful shack hunts here! We enjoy the…read moretour our friend gave us.

While on our Florida Mini Vacay, Deacon, Kayla Beth Fields & I stopped at New Smyrna Beach area to…read morecheck out the Sugar Mill Ruins. This was Deacon's first historical site with his maw maw YoYo on her trek to see all things historical. He seemed to enjoy the adventure. The Cruger-de-Peyster Plantation Sugar Mill Ruins are superb. There are hiking trails in to the jungle like funa but we didn't have bug spray. I keep it in my car but we were enjoying Kayla's new rocking rover!!! We saw quite a few lizards. I guess they are a local staple to the wildlife here. Their little throats blow out a orangish bag, weird to us West Virginians....lol!! This park is nice! Pets allowed Small parking lot. FREE TO ENJOY! Well marked with signage to the location. Highly recommend if you are in the area.

Simple free walkthrough. With signage as to what it was and what they did. A little hard to find as…read moreit isn't a large sign

Nice boat launch, plenty of parking& areas to fish off dock. Beautiful views of the water.And…read moreyou'll probably see some dolphins and or manatees swimming by.

Love this little park! Just the right amount of parking spaces. Restrooms nearby. Boat launch…read more There is plenty of parking for trucks and trailers too. They have a dock overlooking the water that you can also fish off of. Playground for the kiddos. Plenty of beach area for swimming and for launching kayaks. The boat ramp was pretty active with decent sized boats coming in or launching so we felt more comfortable using the beach. Out in the water we saw jellyfish, dolphins, crabs, hermit crabs, oysters, and lots of fish. There are a lot of sandbars and oyster beds out here so it's a good idea to have water shoes so you don't slice your foot open on an oyster shell. You can manage without them if you're really careful, but I don't recommend it. We had to get out a couple times and carry our kayak over a sand bar. We saw some in a small boat have to do the same. If you are kayaking be mindful of the motorboats and stay by the shore. Bug spray! We forgot to bring it. it wasn't terrible but I think we were fortunate. Fishing. We didn't go fishing but fish were literally jumping out of the water all over the place. If I owned fishing gear I would absolutely fish in this area. We did see a few out fishing. Even heard someone exclaim "another one!!!" With great excitement from across the bay. Haha. If you enjoy bird watching, you'll enjoy going through the nearby mangroves.

I've paddled the Emerald Cut a few times now. Initially I didn't like the idea of paying to launch…read moremy own paddleboard. However, it's only $10 now that I have my own life jacket (saving me additional cost of $5 to use one of theirs, as required). Well worth the low cost for some soul-enriching, communing with nature. I have never made a reservation. I normally arrive around 10:30, most recently on a Friday. Parked for free on Baptist Camp Rd. Just a bit of a walk from there with my inflated paddleboard, but I don't mind the extra exercise. You can unload your stuff closer, if preferable. There are port-a-potties available. You can count on there being a line in the check-in office. Various recreation supplies are available there for purchase. The process moves reasonably enough. A reservation will guarantee your entrance, however, and possibly aide quicker personal info collection. I always plan to do the Emerald Cut in roughly 3 hours round-trip, allowing myself several stops to enjoy the surroundings. You do run into (quite literally at times) novice paddlers along the way, which can be a bit tricky, yet not a real nuisance for me. In general, there's friendliness along the waterway. Slighty rowdy, party vibes in some spots, but also opportunities for solace and zen in various nooks. Encountering wildlife, fragrant elderberry, and other captivating flora along this stretch is always gratifying. It's a popular recreation destination for good reason.

Many tourists don't realize Florida is home to stunning crystal-clear spring rivers--perfect for…read moreswimming, kayaking, and tubing aka "hidden gems". My Hubby and I love kayaking, so we booked an excursion months in advance for Rock Springs through TripAdvisor. Our Tour Operator was Get Up And Go Kayaking located at Kings Landing in Apopka, FL. I LOVE saying Apopka ;) The good news: Apopka is a quick 1 hour drive from Orlando. Make sure you don't miss the turn to King's Landing, because the entrance is located on a narrow dirt road. You must drive past Kelly Park (which fills up fast). There is a Park Ranger located here who will guide you to King's Landing. As you get closer and if you see a parking spot, grab it! Check in is located in the Cabin like office where you will have to sign a waiver. If you do not want to take a clear bottom, guided Kayak tour, you can either rent or BYO Kayak versus taking a semi private, clear, guided kayak tour. NOTE: ONLY use their Sunscreen/lotion which is provided at no cost. It protects the wildlife and the Springs. We wanted the full experience as we have previously enjoyed renting clear Kayaks. Our guide for the morning was: Megan, who was fantastic! Full of energy, information and helpful tidbits about the Springs and its human and wildlife inhabitants. Our group was small and capped at 10. We paddled through both narrow and open stretches, and stopped to swim in the warm, crystal-clear water. One highlight was a banyan tree with an 8-foot natural "jump hole"--such a cool experience! It was a serene, memorable day, and fun fact: this is the very spring featured in the Visit Orlando commercials! Yeah, definitely take a day away from crowded Orlando to relax and enjoy Mother Nature! You will Thank Me ;)