Daytona is the famous beach you can drive on — the hard-packed sand that hosted racing before the speedway existed still carries ordinary cars today, on designated stretches reached by beach ramps. The rules are real, the passes are managed by the county, and this page's films include the county explaining its own system.

Episode 4: Exploring Daytona Florida Local Adventures

Expedition Portal

Expedition Portal's Jeep Beach 2025 feature tours the whole Daytona driving story in one film: the Jeep Beach main event at the speedway and the Cracker Ranch off-road course, the Motorsports Hall of Fame's beach-racing exhibits — the hard-packed sand course where speed records climbed from 68 mph in 1903 to 276 mph in 1935, including the Campbell Railton Bluebird — and the living tradition itself: roughly 18 miles of drivable, hard-packed beach with multiple access points, made for Jeeps and four-wheel drive. The single best film for why cars belong on this beach.

Key takeaways
  • About 18 miles of drivable hard-packed beach (as filmed in 2025)
  • Beach speed records: 68 mph (1903) to 276 mph (1935)
  • Jeep Beach brings the tradition to the speedway each April

Drive With Me On The Beach in Daytona Beach Florida!

Michael Bordenaro

Michael Bordenaro drives the length of the beach on camera (2021) and narrates how the system works: as filmed, $20 buys a full day of beach access with in-and-out privileges, residents can hold a seasonal pass, traffic keeps to the right at a 10 mph limit, and drivers stop for pedestrians just as they would on a road. He points out the beachside services every few blocks — chair and umbrella rentals, ice-cream and food trucks — and argues the convenience of parking at your own beach setup instead of hauling gear across one of Florida's widest beaches.

Key takeaways
  • As filmed in 2021: $20 per day to drive and park on the beach, with same-day re-entry
  • Speed limit on the sand is 10 mph; park on the right (land) side and yield to pedestrians
  • Rental kiosks and food trucks repeat every few blocks along the driving lanes

10 Things You Must Know Before Driving On Daytona Beach!

SFJ Offroad

A Daytona local of two years (SoFlo Jeeping, filmed ahead of Jeep Beach 2021) lists the ten things he wishes visitors knew before driving on the beach: as filmed, entry is $20 a day, $100 for a non-resident annual pass or $25 for residents and local students; headlights stay on and windows stay down so you can hear people around the vehicle; and the lifeguards are sworn law-enforcement officers who ticket for speeding, lights and lane violations. His strongest warnings: never drive in the salt water, park only on the land side of the driving lane, and wash the vehicle afterward — the salt air alone corrodes undercarriages.

Key takeaways
  • As filmed in 2021: $20/day; annual passes $100 non-resident, $25 resident/student
  • Headlights on and windows down while driving the beach — both are enforced
  • Daytona lifeguards are law-enforcement officers and can ticket or arrest

How it works, from Volusia County itself

The anchor film is the County of Volusia's official Park Volusia explainer — the longest and most detailed video on this page — covering how beach access passes work, including the resident pricing structure. A '10 Things You Must Know' guide and a tips film from Outlandish Overland fill in the visitor side: which ramps, when tides matter, and why the sand is not all equally hard.

Just drive it

Three films skip the lecture: a narrated drive-with-me along the beach, a 2026 beach drive, and a 2013 drive that shows how little the ritual has changed. The Expedition Portal film that opens the page ties the whole story together — Jeep Beach at the speedway, the off-road course, the Hall of Fame's beach-racing exhibits, and the sand where it started.

Park Volusia

County of Volusia

Volusia County's own radio program explains Park Volusia, the county's replacement for the old beach-toll system, with Public Works Director Benjamin Bartlett and Coastal Programs Director Jessica Fentress. As laid out in the September 2024 episode: the toll-vendor contract ended October 1, 2024, county residents no longer pay to drive on the beach, and a second phase from January 1 brings residents free off-beach parking as well — alongside the infrastructure and conservation changes the program funds. The officials also flag a reopened, still-quiet local secret: the fully ADA-accessible Edwin W. Peck Park in Daytona Beach Shores, rebuilt after the 2022 hurricanes with about 100 parking spaces.

Key takeaways
  • Park Volusia replaced the vendor-run beach tolls on October 1, 2024
  • Volusia County residents drive on the beach free under the program; phase two (from January 1) extends free access to off-beach parking
  • The program pairs access changes with coastal conservation and infrastructure work

Driving on Daytona Beach in my Ford Ranger | Tips for driving on the beach

Outlandish Overland

Outlandish Overland drive their Ford Ranger onto the sand during Jeep Beach (2022) and test what the beach actually demands of a vehicle: the hard-packed lanes near the water carry two-wheel-drive traffic easily, while the soft, rutted sand higher up is where inexperienced drivers get stuck. As filmed, the day pass was $20 with one re-entry, and the run from the International Speedway Boulevard ramp gives about five and a half miles of uninterrupted beach driving, with the Seabreeze Boulevard ramp continuing the route north.

Key takeaways
  • Two-wheel drive is fine on the compacted lanes; the soft upper sand is the trap
  • As filmed in 2022: $20 day pass includes one re-entry at another ramp
  • The International Speedway Boulevard ramp opens about 5.5 miles of continuous beach driving

DRIVE YOUR CAR ON DAYTONA BEACH,FLORIDA

klassy ride

Driving a car on Daytona Beach in 2026: current footage of the beach ramps, driving lanes and parked rows that keep the tradition running.

The parade that set a record

The closing film is Jeep Beach 2015's beach parade — thousands of Jeeps rolling the shoreline in a Guinness-record run. Everyday beach driving is quieter than that, but the right to do it descends from the same tradition: this shore was a racetrack first and a road ever since. Prices quoted in the films are as filmed (a $20 daily pass appears in 2021–2022 footage) — check Park Volusia for the current rate before you go.

Sources: the 8 videos on this page, including the County of Volusia's official Park Volusia film.

Watch: Driving On Daytona Beach, guided

2 videos · summaries from the actual guides

DRIVING ON THE BEACH IN DAYTONA BEACH, FL

RealCanadianRoadWarrior

A 2013 drive along the drivable beach — dashcam-era footage of ordinary cars cruising the hard-packed sand in the marked lanes.

Jeep Beach 2015 Guinness World Record Parade in 13 minutes | Jeephustler

Beach Bum Dennis

Jeep Beach 2015's Guinness World Record parade — thousands of Jeeps cruising the sand in formation, compressed into a 13-minute cut by Beach Bum Dennis.

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