Are you a new or prospective resident of Plantation Bay Golf & Country Club? Perhaps a new Florida resident unfamiliar with the area?
While you might know Plantation Bay as one of ICI Homes’ premier properties here, you might not be as knowledgeable about its hometown of Ormond Beach.
There’s a great way to rectify that without hours of googling and driving around (although exploring on your own can be great fun). Enter the Ormond Beach Historical Society’s bus tours!
Plantation Bay’s hometown is one of east central Florida’s iconic beach towns — long on colorful history, jaw-dropping Atlantic beaches, and an energetic downtown bursting with vibrant arts, cultural and dining scenes.
How’d it all come together? Grab bus-tour tickets, friends and family members, and perhaps even a new Plantation Bay neighbor or several. Plan your historical excursion back to the future (see what we did there?) to find out about the amazing area you now call home.
Here’s more information about the Ormond Beach Historical Society’s bus tours.
Key takeaways
- Plantation Bay residents can get to know Ormond Beach through guided historical bus tours hosted by the Ormond Beach Historical Society.
- The tours offer an easy way to explore the area’s history, landmarks, and scenic beauty without having to plan it all yourself.
- Stops and sights along the route highlight some of Ormond Beach’s most notable historic sites, riverfront scenery, and the Ormond Scenic Loop.
- It’s a great example of how living at Plantation Bay puts residents close to unique local experiences beyond the gates of the community.
The details
Tours take place from 10 a.m., until noon on the first and third Saturday of each month. Tickets are $30 for adults (12 years and older) and $20 for children (12 years and under). The Ormond Beach Historical Society uses small, comfy buses that seat only 13 people per tour, so plan ahead to secure your spot(s). Note that ticket sales are final, per the organization’s website.
The two-hour tour begins at The Casements (John D. Rockefeller’s winter home in Ormond Beach), located at 25 Riverside Drive. It then follows the Ormond Scenic Loop & Trail (more detail below).
The Loop
The Ormond Scenic Loop & Trail — known locally as “the Loop” — is a Florida Scenic Highway and National Scenic Byway that runs for 34 miles between downtown Ormond Beach to its south and North Peninsula State Park to the north.
It forms a double loop beside the Halifax River and Tomoka Basin, and along A1A, Florida’s Atlantic coastal highway that often parallels gorgeous area beaches. The western side of the Loop traverses a two-lane section of Dixie Highway, which travels through historic acreage and under giant live-oak canopies.
Even better, Plantation Bay residents are five minutes west of the Loop’s northern access, making scenic, historic drives an any-time, back-door excursion.
What you’ll see
If you didn’t know this section of Florida’s east central coast hosts centuries of formative, often dramatic happenings, you will after an Ormond Beach Historical Society bus tour.
Among the notable sites in Ormond Beach: the circa-1910 Ormond Yacht Club on the Halifax River/Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the circa-1877 Pilgrim’s Rest Church (the oldest building in Ormond Beach), the ancient Ormond Timucua Burial Mound, the 18th-and-19th-century Three Chimneys Sugar Mill ruins, and the circa-1915 Anderson-Price Memorial Building.
Among other notable sites along the Loop: the 500-year-old Fairchild Oak at Bulow Creek State Park and multiple historic homes.
Ready for your Plantation Bay lifestyle? Talk to ICI Homes here.
