Florida Hikes

Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

Turtle Mound view

New Smyrna Beach

One of Florida’s oldest communities, historic New Smyrna Beach is home to Canaveral National Seashore and miles of waterways and trails.

Resources

Resources for exploring the area
50 Hikes in Central Florida Central Florida Orlando Explorers Guide book cover Hikers Guide to the Sunshine State book cover Paddlers Guide Florida
 
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Exploring New Smyrna Beach

In 1768, Dr. Andrew Turnbull established a colony near the mouth of Mosquito Inlet using 1,255 indentured servants he recruited from Greece and Asia Minor.

Working and living conditions were harsh. Nine years later, most survivors left for St. Augustine and did not return.

New Smyrna, named for the region where Turnbull’s servants and wife came from, persisted.

Sugar plantations produced sugar until the Second Seminole War, when the Seminoles destroyed the sugar mills.

Settlers returned in earnest after the Civil War with the arrival of the railroad, cultivating orange groves. The 1920s land boom created the core of the downtown district still in place today.

Old Spanish fort with palm trees
A hotel was built atop the old Spanish fort now downtown

Trails and Parks around New Smyrna Beach

Paddling Mosquito Lagoon A Paddle I Will Never Forget Taking on a remote stretch of the Indian River Lagoon paralleling the wildest part of Canaveral National Seashore, our group of paddlers turns back until only two kayakers are left, fighting the wind to reach our goal.
Oceanfront ramp and saw palmetto Canaveral National Seashore Canaveral National Seashore protects 58,000 acres of maritime hammocks, dunes, and coastline north of Cape Canaveral, a natural sandy cape that formed where ocean currents meet.
Concentric rings of tree tunnel Castle Windy At Canaveral National Seashore, Castle Windy is the only trail that takes you from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian River Lagoon, a shady walk through a coastal hammock to a windswept shoreline.
View of creek from tall bluff Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve Protecting miles of frontage along the sinuous path of Spruce Creek, Doris Leeper Spruce Creek Preserve offers a diverse collection of trails to explore.
East Central Regional Rail Trail East Central Regional Rail Trail Spanning 36.2 linear miles across southern Volusia County, the East Central Regional Rail Trail offers a long ride that also makes up a portion of several major Florida bike trails.
Trail through lush hammock Eldora Hammock Trail Near the ghost town of Eldora, the Eldora Hammock Trail loops through the beauty of a lush coastal hammock, highlighting a semi-tropical understory in deep shade.
Walkway in front of an 1800s home on a river Eldora Village Settled in the late 1800s south of New Smyrna, Eldora thrived as a rural agricultural community for more than a decade. Today, the Eldora State House tells its story.
Footprints on a remote beach Klondike Beach Along a thin slice of dunes bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River Lagoon, Klondike Beach is one of Florida's longest stretches of undeveloped coastline.
Man looking over boardwalk at water lilies Lake Ashby Park Explore the cypress-lined shore of Lake Ashby on a gentle trail system consisting of a boardwalk and easy pathways beneath deep shade along the lakeshore.
Paddling Mosquito Lagoon Seminole Rest The accessible Seminole Rest Trail interprets a historic and archaeological site at Canaveral National Seashore along the shores of the Indian River Lagoon.
Rolling oceanfront dunes with palms Smyrna Dunes Park At Smyrna Dunes Park, this 2.4-mile hike scenic coastal hike is largely along an accessible boardwalk, with side trips off to the sea and inlet via more rugged approaches.
Sugar Mill Gardens Sugar Mill Gardens Sugar Mill Botanical Gardens has a long history, from the Dunlawton Plantation to a stint in the 1950s as Bongoland, a roadside attraction with dinosaurs.
Coquina wall with forest beyond Sugar Mill Ruins Park At Sugar Mill Ruins Park in New Smyrna Beach, an interpretive trail tells the story of the Cruger-dePeyster Sugar Mill, established in 1830 and abandoned in 1835 after a Seminole raid.
Lagoon and islands from atop a high spot Turtle Mound At Canaveral National Seashore, savor an outstanding Atlantic Coast panorama from atop 1.5 million bushels of oyster shells piled up more than a thousand years ago by the Timucua.

Featured Articles

Paddling Mosquito Lagoon A Paddle I Will Never Forget (3/1/2019) Taking on a remote stretch of the Indian River Lagoon paralleling the wildest part of Canaveral National Seashore, our group of paddlers turns back until only two kayakers are left, fighting the wind to reach our goal.
50 Hikes Central Florida graphic The new 50 Hikes in Central Florida (10/5/2018) 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.

More Articles

Where to Stay in New Smyrna Beach

While New Smyrna is too close to home for us for an overnight stay, we’ve had the pleasuring of visiting The Riverview Hotel, which is right at the drawbridge to Flagler Avenue. It’s a beautiful slice of Old Florida.

Seahorse Inn, right at the beach, is a well-maintained reminder of 1960s road trips. US 1 is a hotbed of retro mom & pop motels, most of which look great from the road: ask to see a room.

Camping? Head for New Smyrna Beach RV Park and Campground set under the live oaks near Sugar Mill Park. Tent campers can range farther west to pretty Lake Ashby Park.

NEARBY: Daytona Beach, Deland, Edgewater, Mims, Oak Hill, Osteen, Titusville | PART OF: Central Florida