Wait… ALL of This Is Happening in Daytona Beach Before the End of 2026?!

Okay, apparently Andrea and I haven’t been paying attention.

We spend a LOT of time in Daytona Beach. We own vacation rentals here, manage vacation rentals here, eat here, drink here, hang out here, and generally look for any reasonable excuse to call a trip to Daytona “work.”

And somehow, even WE didn’t realize just how much is happening between now and the end of 2026.

So we started putting together the calendar.

Biketoberfest. Turkey Run. Historic race cars. Pickleball. Art festivals. Triathlons. Christmas lights. Gymnastics. Boats. Martial arts. College basketball. Go-karts.

Daytona apparently looked at the last few months of the year and said, “Yeah… let’s just do everything.”

So if you’ve been looking for an excuse to sneak in another beach trip before 2027, we found several.

Here are some of the biggest—and a few of the wonderfully random—events still coming to the Daytona Beach area this year.

🏍️ THE BIG ONE: Biketoberfest — October 15–18

If you’ve never experienced Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach, put this one on the list.

The 34th Annual Biketoberfest runs October 15–18, bringing motorcycle enthusiasts into the Daytona Beach area for four days of riding, live music, bike shows, vendors, racing and everything else that happens when thousands of motorcycles descend on Daytona.

Between Main Street, Daytona International Speedway, A1A and the scenic rides around Volusia County, the entire area gets involved.

And yes—this is one of those weekends when places to stay disappear.

If Biketoberfest is on your 2026 calendar, this is NOT the weekend we’d recommend saying, “Eh, we’ll find somewhere when we get there.”

That’s how you end up sleeping somewhere halfway to Orlando. 😂

🚘 Daytona Turkey Run — November 25–29

Thanksgiving at the beach?

Already a pretty good idea.

Thanksgiving at the beach with more than 5,000 collector cars at Daytona International Speedway?

Now we’re talking.

The 53rd Annual Daytona Turkey Run takes over the Speedway November 25–29 and features one of the country’s enormous collections of classic cars, muscle cars, hot rods, vendors and automotive parts.

This event is HUGE.

It’s also one of the weekends we’re watching very closely for occupancy because Thanksgiving travelers and Turkey Run visitors hit Daytona at the same time.

Our advice?

Eat the turkey.

Look at several thousand ridiculously cool cars.

Then go sit on the beach and wonder why everyone back home is wearing a winter coat.

🏎️ HSR Classic Daytona 24 — November 11–15

This may be the event Andrea and I were most surprised we hadn’t paid more attention to.

The HSR Classic Daytona 24 brings historic race cars back to Daytona International Speedway—including cars and types of cars connected to legendary races such as Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona.

And this isn’t simply a car show.

They race them.

For 2026, Ford is the featured marque, making this one especially interesting for automotive and racing fans.

One of the coolest parts is the access. Fans can experience the paddock, see historic machines up close and get a much more intimate racing experience than you might expect at the World Center of Racing.

If you love automotive history, this could quietly be one of the coolest Daytona weekends of the entire year.

🏃‍♂️🚴‍♀️🏊 CLASH Endurance Daytona — December 4–6

Apparently swimming, running and riding a bike wasn’t difficult enough.

So naturally, somebody decided:

“Let’s do it at Daytona International Speedway.”

CLASH Daytona brings athletes from around the world to the Speedway December 4–6 for a full weekend of triathlon, duathlon, aquabike and cycling events.

There is even a Redline Relay that lets cyclists ride on the iconic Daytona oval.

And on Friday night, the Jingle Jog 5K runs through nearly one million holiday lights at ONE DAYTONA.

That’s actually pretty darn cool—even if our preferred cardio is walking from our condo to a restaurant.

🎨 Halifax Art Festival — November 7–8

Let’s slow things down for a minute.

No motorcycles.

No race cars.

No swimming followed by biking followed by running for reasons we still don’t completely understand.

The Halifax Art Festival takes over historic Beach Street in Downtown Daytona with more than 150 artists and artisans, live entertainment, food, children’s activities and a beautiful walk through the Riverfront district.

The festival draws tens of thousands of visitors and is one of Florida’s longest-running art festivals.

This is a fantastic weekend for couples and families who want a completely different Daytona experience.

Spend the morning at the festival, grab lunch downtown and finish the day back at the ocean.

That’s our kind of itinerary.

🏓 Pictona Open — October 29–November 1

Yes.

Pickleball has officially become serious business.

Just up the road in Holly Hill, Pictona’s annual fall tournament brings hundreds of regional players together on a massive pickleball campus.

The tournament runs October 29 through November 1 and includes men’s, women’s and mixed competition across multiple ages and skill levels.

And Pictona has 49 courts, so when we say pickleball tournament, we’re not talking about four people arguing over a line call behind the local YMCA.

This place is impressive.

If you’re a pickleball player—or married to someone who has recently become suspiciously obsessed with pickleball—this may be your weekend.

🎄 Daytona Beach Christmas Parade — December 12

Here’s one that could make for a really fun December beach weekend.

Daytona Beach’s annual Christmas Parade takes over Beach Street beginning at 6 p.m. on December 12 with bands, festive floats and local organizations celebrating the holidays.

Christmas lights.

Palm trees.

The beach.

And no snow shovel required.

We’re starting to think Florida may have figured December out.

🏁 Daytona KartWeek — December 27–30

Think racing at Daytona ends when NASCAR leaves?

Nope.

The World Karting Association’s Daytona KartWeek takes over Daytona International Speedway December 27–30.

Competitors from across the country race in Dirt Speedway, Sprint and Enduro disciplines during an event that has now been running for more than 50 years.

It’s another one of those Daytona events that flies under the radar unless you’re already part of the racing world.

And that’s exactly why we love finding these things.

What a great excuse for a trip between Christmas and New Year’s.

And We’re STILL Not Done…

Here are a few more events happening around Daytona before the end of the year that you might otherwise completely miss:

Bethune-Cookman University Homecoming — September 13–19
Homecoming week brings thousands of Wildcats back to Daytona, with festivities wrapping up this week.

Daytona Boat Show — September 18–20
Central Florida’s final boat show of the season. Boats + Daytona Beach seems like a pretty reasonable combination to us.

Daytona Beach Bash Gymnastics — September 19–20
Young gymnasts from around the region compete at the Ocean Center right across from the beach.

International Martial Arts Festival — October 16–18
This one happens at the Ocean Center during Biketoberfest weekend—because apparently Daytona felt that weekend wasn’t busy enough already.

Ignite Dance Competition — October 24–25
Another family-oriented competition weekend at the Ocean Center.

Sunshine Slam College Basketball — November 22–24
College basketball comes to the Ocean Center just before Thanksgiving and Turkey Run weekend.

And as December arrives, Daytona begins shifting into holiday mode with lights, Christmas events and plenty of excuses to trade cold weather for the Atlantic Ocean.

🏖️ Here’s the Part You Don’t Want to Overlook

All these events have something in common:

People need somewhere to stay.

And for several of the bigger weekends—especially Biketoberfest, HSR Classic 24, Thanksgiving/Turkey Run and the December event weekends—availability around Daytona Beach can tighten quickly.

Lummerville Resort currently has SIX Daytona Beach vacation rentals to choose from.

We have different layouts and options, but they all have one thing in common:

You’re coming to Daytona Beach—not sitting in some hotel wondering why you didn’t rent a place at the beach.

Andrea and I personally own three of our Daytona properties and manage the others for their owners. We take a very hands-on approach to hosting because these aren’t just listings on a computer screen to us.

Daytona is a place we genuinely love.

We’re here ourselves.

We eat at the restaurants.

We attend the events.

We find the weird little places nobody tells tourists about.

And every time we discover something new, we get to share it with our guests.

🌴 So… Which Weekend Are You Coming?

That’s the real question.

Motorcycles?

Classic cars?

Historic racing?

Art?

Pickleball?

Christmas at the beach?

Or maybe you don’t need an event at all and “it’s 78 degrees and there’s an ocean” is enough justification.

We completely support that decision.

Check out all six of our Daytona Beach vacation rentals at Lummerville Resort, see what’s available for your dates and come spend a few days with us.

Just don’t wait until the biggest weekends are already full and then send us a message saying:

“Hey Duane… you wouldn’t happen to have anything hidden somewhere, would you?”

😂

We warned you.

Come stay. Have some fun. Make some memories.

— Duane & Andrea
Lummerville Resort | Daytona Beach, Florida