The Sandpiper always likes to keep folks in the loop when it comes to incredible events and adventures in and around New Smyrna Beach, so here’s an idea that’s certainly not your grandma’s Sunday drive! Whether you choose to experience it by car, motorcycle or bicycle, riding along the Ormond Scenic Loop & Trail offers an extraordinary parcel of beauty you won’t soon forget.
Boasting over 30 miles of grandeur, the Ormond Scenic Loop & Trail winds along roads topped with spectacular natural canopies crafted by overhanging majestic oak trees and flanked by scenic waterways and unspoiled beaches and dunes that are alive with hundreds or possibly thousands of species of birds and other interesting wildlife.
A truly remarkable way to spend the day exploring, Ormond Scenic Loop & Trail also offers parks and historic sites along the way, such as a WWII watchtower built in 1942 and providing panoramic ocean views; Dummett Plantation Ruins dating back to 1777; and the enormous Fairchild Oak at Bungalow Creek State Park, which has withstood floods, wars and hurricanes for over 600 years. You will also find the historic winter home of John D. Rockefeller, restored with gorgeous gardens and fountains nestled within a beautiful setting on the Halifax River; and kayaks, canoes and bicycles for rent on the river side of Gamble Rogers State Park.
Directions for driving Ormond Scenic Loop & Trail provided by the Federal Highway Administration are as follows:
- Travel south on SR A1A to Granada Blvd. (SR 40).
- Turn right onto Granada Blvd.
- Follow SR 40 to North Beach St.
- Turn right on North Beach St.
- Turn left onto Pine Tree Dr. and drive west to Ormond Lakes Blvd.
- Return to the junction of Pine Tree Dr. and North Beach St.
- Continue on North Beach St., which turns into Old Dixie Highway.
- Follow Old Dixie Highway until Walter Boardman Lane.
- Turn right onto Walter Boardman Lane.
- Turn east onto Highbridge Road and go back to SR A1A.
- The byway corridor also includes John Anderson Dr. from SR 40, close to where SR A1A and SR 40 intersect, north to Highbridge Road.
