Location

• Daytona Beach is located in eastern central Florida, along route I-95 along the Atlantic Coast. The city sits along the 23 miles long sand beach of the Atlantic. The climate of Daytona Beach is skate-friendly, the average temperature 59.3 degrees Fahrenheit in winter, and 78.5 degrees Fahrenheit in summer.
  
  

History

• According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, nearby Port Orange was home to the first skateboard park in the U.S., the ScatBoard City (later Skateboard City), which opened in 1976. This was a time when several skateboard parks opened around the country. In the late 1970s, there were four professional skateboard parks in Daytona Beach, but they subsequently closed due to bad business conditions. The last, Stone Edge Skate Park, was in disrepair when it was taken over by Jacksonville's Kona Skate Park in 2002.
  
  

Stone Edge Skate Park

• The Stone Edge Skate Park was originally built in the 1970s and was close to being torn down when it was taken over by the owners of Kona Skate Park in 2002. It re-opened in 2005, after extensive renovation.
  
  Many features from the original 1976 park have been kept, like the concrete "Nine Bowl." The park also has a wood bowl and a wooden street course.
  
  

Bethune Point Skate Park

• Daytona Beach City opened a new skate park in the citys Bethune Point Park in 2009. The park was designed by California's Spohn Ranch Skateparks and has a number of features which are not found in other Florida skate parks.
  
  It has a large precast concrete clam shell, precast Skateable Art pieces such as the “Roll-Over Whip” and “Broken Pyramid,” and an extra-wide “Bent Penny” precast bank textured with grooves. There is also a in-ground bowl with pool-tile coping. The park is also available for BMX bikers and inline skaters.
  
  

Safety

• The Daytona Beach skate parks enforce a strict policy of wearing helmets, and knee and elbow protectors. Minors have to be accompanied by an adult, and visitors have to sign a waiver form to ensure that the park is not liable for any injuries. For visitors, that means is best to have an appropriate insurance policy.