Halifax River

The Halifax River is a tidal waterway in northeast Volusia County, Florida, and forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It begins at Tomoka Bay, next to Tomoka State Park, where the Tomoka River, Bulow Creek and Halifax Creek meet. From there it flows south for about 25 miles past Ormond Beach, Holly Hill, Daytona Beach, South Daytona and Port Orange. Near its southern end it joins Spruce Creek and the Mosquito Lagoon, then reaches the Atlantic Ocean through Ponce de Leon Inlet. Its drainage basin covers most of eastern Volusia County. The waterway was first called the North Mosquito River. It was renamed for George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, during the British occupation of Florida (1763-1784). Six bridges cross it, from the Granada Bridge in Ormond Beach south to the Port Orange Causeway.

Public access is run by the river's cities and by Volusia County. Port Orange Causeway Park is a 30-acre city park at the Port Orange Bridge with seven boat ramps and three fishing piers. Seabreeze Park and Boat Ramp sits under the Seabreeze Bridge in Daytona Beach, and its ramp is open 24 hours a day. Cassen Park in Ormond Beach covers 3.7 acres and has boat docks and a fishing pier that runs under the Granada Bridge. Kayak and canoe launches include Seabridge Riverfront Park, Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park and Port Orange Riverwalk Park. State manatee speed zones set in 1991 apply on the Intracoastal Waterway in Volusia County. Zone types include idle speed, slow speed, 25 to 35 mph limits, seasonal zones, shoreline buffers and slower nighttime speeds. In 1988 the City of Ormond Beach designated the Tomoka River, a tributary, as a manatee sanctuary.

The Halifax Harbor Marina in Daytona Beach has more than 500 slips. People first settled along the river about 7,000 years ago; they were ancestors of tribes such as the Timucua.