Daytona Beach

The sand here is compacted fine enough to carry vehicles, and from 1903 that made it the place to attempt land speed records - fifteen were set on this beach before the surface stopped being adequate for the speeds involved and the attempts moved to Bonneville in the 1930s. Beach racing continued on a course using the sand and the parallel road until 1958. Bill France then built Daytona International Speedway, and the Daytona 500 has opened the NASCAR season there since 1959; the banking on the turns is thirty-one degrees, steep enough to be awkward to walk up. Driving on the beach is still permitted on marked sections at a ten-mile-per-hour limit, seasonally and tide-dependent.

What you actually see

• A beach firm enough to drive on - at ten miles per hour, in marked sections.
• The land speed record history - fifteen records set here before the 1930s.
• Daytona International Speedway - thirty-one degree banking, tours available.
• The old beach-and-road course - raced until 1958.

When to go

October to May; race weeks in February and July are the peaks. A full day.

Honest expectations

Beach driving is suspended at high tides and in some seasons, and access points close. Race weeks fill the city entirely. Spring break changes the character in March. Summer is hot with daily storms.

Nearby

Ponce Inlet lighthouse is south; St Augustine is north.