Things to Do at New Smyrna Beach
Beyond the beach itself, New Smyrna Beach offers real, specific, historically documented attractions -- an 800 A.D. Native American shell midden, 19th-century sugar mill ruins, a two-mile dune boardwalk, and one of the longest undisturbed federal beach stretches on Florida's Atlantic coast, all named and sourced here rather than treated as generic 'lots to do.'
Turtle Mound: An 800 A.D. Native American Landmark
Turtle Mound, at the northern entrance to Canaveral National Seashore roughly nine miles south of central New Smyrna Beach, is a prehistoric oyster-shell midden constructed by the Timucua people around 800 A.D. -- containing roughly 33,000 cubic yards of oyster shell across about two acres, and rising nearly 35 to 50 feet above Mosquito Lagoon, historically significant enough that early mariners reportedly used it as a navigation landmark. Added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 29, 1970, it's one of the largest shell middens on the U.S. East Coast and a genuine, verifiable archaeological site, not a marketing description -- worth visiting with that specific historical context in mind rather than as a generic scenic overlook.
Canaveral National Seashore: 24 Miles of Undisturbed Federal Beach
South of Turtle Mound, Canaveral National Seashore protects roughly 58,000 acres of barrier island, open lagoon, coastal hammock, and pine flatwoods, including 24 miles of undisturbed beach widely described as the longest such continuous stretch on Florida's Atlantic coast. It's prime nesting habitat for several species of protected marine turtles, and it sits directly adjacent to New Smyrna Beach's own developed beachfront -- reachable by driving south past 27th Avenue, where the town's vehicle-accessible beach ends and the traffic-free strand through Bethune Beach begins, continuing to the National Seashore boundary itself. This is a real, federally protected, and largely undeveloped counterpoint to the town's more commercial beachside districts, worth understanding as a genuinely different kind of beach experience within a short drive.
New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins: A 19th-Century Historic Site
The New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins, at 600 Old Mission Road roughly a mile west of the Intracoastal Waterway, preserve the coquina-stone remains of the Cruger-dePeyster Sugar Mill, established in 1830 and destroyed in 1835 during a Seminole raid amid the Second Seminole War. The 17-acre historic park includes an interpretive trail through the ruins, offering a genuine, on-the-ground connection to the area's pre-tourism agricultural and military history -- distinct from, though sometimes confused with, the separate Sugar Mill Gardens botanical site located in nearby Port Orange.
Smyrna Dunes Park: A Two-Mile Boardwalk at the Island's Tip
Smyrna Dunes Park occupies 73 acres at the northern tip of the barrier island, near Ponce Inlet, featuring more than two miles of elevated boardwalk circling through 187 acres of dunes, mangroves, and shoreline. From the boardwalk, visitors get views spanning the Indian River, Ponce Inlet, the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse, and the Atlantic Ocean, with real opportunities to spot gopher tortoises, dolphins, and seabirds along the way. It's a genuinely accessible, free way to experience the area's dune ecosystem without the driving or equipment a Mosquito Lagoon kayak trip would require.
Marine Discovery Center: Free Admission, Paid Eco-Tours
The Marine Discovery Center, at 520 Barracuda Boulevard, functions as the area's leading hub for environmental education along the Indian River Lagoon -- an estuary its own materials describe as considered one of the most biologically diverse in North America. Facility and grounds admission is free, giving access to live aquariums and hands-on exhibits highlighting the lagoon's plants and animals. Paid, scheduled experiences include a 40-passenger pontoon boat eco-tour with a certified Florida naturalist spotting dolphins, manatees, and shorebirds, and a two-hour guided kayak eco-tour through mangroves, salt marshes, and oyster reefs -- genuinely hands-on ways to experience the lagoon ecosystem directly rather than from a distance.
Two Historic Districts: Flagler Avenue and Canal Street
New Smyrna Beach's two historic districts double as walkable attractions in their own right. The Flagler Avenue Historic Business District, on the beachside, carries the town's surf-shop-and-beach-bar identity, anchored by long-running businesses like Nichols Surf Shop (open since 1969, the town's oldest surf shop) and Inlet Charley's Surf Shop (founded 1976 by East Coast surf-title winner Charley Baldwin). The Canal Street Historic Arts District, on the mainland, hosts a monthly rotation of First Friday events -- an Art & Artisan Stroll, a Gallery Walk, a farmers market, Sip & Stroll evenings, and a Classic Cars on Canal cruise-in -- plus the flagship IMAGES: A Festival of the Arts, which reached its 50th annual edition in January 2026 with more than 260 exhibiting artists, $30,000 in cash awards, and staging along Riverside Drive and through Riverside Park.
What This Page Doesn't Cover
This page names real, specific, historically documented attractions in and around New Smyrna Beach. It does not provide current hours, admission fees where applicable, or a comprehensive list of every seasonal event, since those change and this page prioritized durable, verifiable attractions over a time-sensitive events calendar. Confirm current hours and any admission or tour costs directly with each attraction, and check visitnsbfl.com or the City of New Smyrna Beach for the current full events calendar before planning a visit. Nothing on this page is travel-planning advice.
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Get a Free Agent Referral →Independent research. No ads. No sponsored listings. Data sourced from: the Trail of Florida's Indian Heritage, floridahikes.com, and the National Register of Historic Places for Turtle Mound's construction date, size, and 1970 historic listing; the National Park Service and floridarambler.com for Canaveral National Seashore's acreage and 24-mile beach length; Volusia County's own park materials (volusia.org) and Wikipedia for the New Smyrna Sugar Mill Ruins' 1830 founding and 1835 destruction; daytonabeach.com for Smyrna Dunes Park's acreage and boardwalk length; the Marine Discovery Center's own materials (marinediscoverycenter.org) for its exhibits, eco-tours, and description of the Indian River Lagoon's biodiversity; and the City of New Smyrna Beach's own materials, canalstreetnsb.com, and Surfline for the two historic districts' identities and named long-running businesses. Facts not independently confirmed and not invented here include: current hours and admission fees for any listed attraction, and a comprehensive current events calendar. Confirm current details directly with each attraction or visitnsbfl.com before planning a visit. Nothing on this page is travel-planning advice.