Rockets, race cars, and reunion revelry. On the surface, these are the defining qualities of East Central Florida. And with good reason. It’s home to America’s original spaceport, Cape Kennedy. Bikers and springbreakers fill Daytona Beach’s streets and saloons to capacity each year, and the town’s namesake speedway draws race fans from around the world.
But there’s much more to discover along this swath of Florida’s east coast. Just a few miles inland, the headwaters of the St. John’s River provide a meandering maze of channels, wetlands, and wooded hammocks that delight paddlers, hikers, and birders. Highway A1A meanders along coastal barrier islands dotted with laid-back beach towns and shoreside nature preserves. Sport fishing fleets moored near coastal inlets await adventurous deep-sea anglers, while bustling Port Canaveral is the starting point for day sails and extended cruise vacations to the islands.
