Palm Bay Heights is one of the 5 districts in Paradise City. This district includes Big Surf Beach, and is the area that was displayed in the Burnout Paradise Demo along with a portion of the I-88 freeway. Palm Bay is mostly a commercial area with the exception of the Country Club. Big Surf Beach and numerous Ramps and Billboards make the district an excellent Stunt Run location.
Sub-district Landmarks & Thoroughfares[]
The list below describes many locations in-game that aren't always accessible, they provide Palm Bay Height's inhabitants with a variety of goods and services. Most of them (generally the most visible ones) are shown here so players can easily spot where they are and how far they are from the nearest shortcut or junction, without looking at the map.
Ocean View[]
Westernmost sub-district, it is built in the hills and features a Hollywood-like Paradise City sign.
- Maplemount Country Club - This is a country club located on Newton Drive marking the northern compass point race finish.
- AH Residential - The residential area inside the "U-" of the curve Newton Drive makes. Although inaccessible, it's entrance features 2 Split Ramps useful for Stunt Runs.
- West Acres Mall - Located in Ocean View, the West Acres Mall is a commercial venue running South along Lambert Parkway. The Mall itself is not accessible, but offers a shortcut with a pedestrian bridge that marks the gateway to Harbor Town's Park Vale sub-district.
- Paradise Amphitheater - This is a leisure venue located to the west of Lambert Parkway & 3rd Street's intersection. It marks the end of 3rd Street. This open-air theater is located between Lambert and Hubbard Avenue.
Big Surf[]
This is the northernmost sub-district which is home to Big Surf Beach. It is built on the coastline.
- Big Surf Beach - This is one of the two beach areas in Paradise City.
- Beachfront Stores - A series of stores along East Crawford Drive covering a portion of Big Surf Beach. They face in from the ocean. The shop names are: The 8-Ball Pool, Paradise City Surf, Beachfront Diner, and Daley's Donuts.
- Beachfront Promenade - The pedestrianized area adjacent and running parallel to East Crawford Drive, the Big Surf Pier and its Ferris Wheel can be spotted from this area. The Promenade stretches from the Coastguard HQ and goes west until the Newton Cave, passing in front of the Big Surf Festival Square. This pedestrian area features many jumps and drops as well as a Super Jump and a Billboard, making it a highly recommendable thoroughfare for Stunt Run events.
- Big Surf Festival Square - This round plaza located west of the McDairmont construction site and east of the Beachfront Promenade serves no real purpose gameplay-wise, but players can use the sloped stairs as a natural ramp to reach the buoys found behind it in the ocean.
- Ocean View Hotel - A hotel on East Crawford Drive which is on the corner of Hudson Avenue. Locating it from afar may help you to efficiently make the sharp turn onto Hudson Avenue as there is the Big Surf Auto Repair shop and the Big Surf Garage on this road. Note that the eastern section of the Big Surf Railroad is also located off to the side of the main road on Hudson.
- Coast View and Pine Hotels - Located on East Crawford Drive, near Hawley Avenue. These two slightly more down-market places feature an open parking lot where you can stop and wait for other drivers.
- D Ball's B Ball Court - An accessible basketball court adjacent to the Pine Hotel. Drivers can access it by driving through the parking garage next to the Hotel on East Crawford Drive. This zone is the starting point for Slam Dunk!, a 2 player Timed Freeburn Challenge.
- Ocean Villa Hotel - A useful landmark to help locate Moore Avenue. This street is particularly important as the I-88 on and off ramps are located a block south from the East Crawford and Moore junction.
- McDairmant Construction Site - This is actually a 2 block construction site which marks the middle of the beach area. There is a ramp on the west side of the site as well as a Super Jump from the east side.
- Big Surf Pier - This landmark will be the first one players will see when starting the game's intro cinematic. Incidentally they will also always see this landmark when in Palm Bay Heights, which can help during a race event. The pier and Ferris wheel themselves cannot be accessed.
Twin Bridges[]
The central sub-district directly north of Downtown Paradise. The Twin Bridges in question are the parallel bridges that are part of 7th Street. Historically the name was probably given when both bridges were built at the same time, or simply because they are parallel and identical to one another.
- Franke Avenue Fountain - This landmark doesn't actually have a name. It's the location of some freeburn challenges where players are required to Drift and/or Near Miss other drivers. The fountain is located on Franke Avenue, and is accessible by a stone path on the east side of the road.
- Dado's GYM - This is a fitness center located on the southwest corner of the Young Avenue and Root Avenue intersection and is one of a kind in Paradise City. Gameplay-wise this structure can be quite important to players as a shortcut runs under it which will help drivers cut the corner on which the building is built.
- Twin Bridges Mall - Located over Hamilton Avenue, this very large commercial venue is actually the largest building in the Twin Bridges sub-district. Two pedestrian paths stretch on either side of the road while the latter travels below a pedestrian bridge linking both paths. There are no Billboards in the vicinity.
West Acres[]
The second central sub-district. It is best known for the Palm Bay Junkyard and accessible West Acres Parking Garage along Hamilton Avenue.
- Bowl-a-Rama - This bowling alley located on 5th Street isn't accessible, but it helps players pinpoint their position. The building is easily visible and even more so at night, when the large pins found at the top of the entry sign glow with a neon light.
- The Eagle Monument - This one of the two eagle monuments featured in Paradise City. The other monument is located in Silver Lake. It is a stone sculpture placed on top of a large stone column, and is located at the northwest corner of 3rd Street and Young Avenue.
- Memorial Triangle - This a small triangular plaza featuring a small round fountain and several trees. It is located between 3rd Street, Young Avenue, and Hamilton Avenue. This small park cannot be accessed. The Palm Bay Junkyard and a Gas 5 station can be found south of here along Hamilton Avenue.
- Dokjor Disco's - A nightclub at the northwestern corner of 2nd Street and Hamilton Avenue. Behind the building, there is a parking lot which is a meeting point for a number of Freeburn challenges. This parking lot is also a shortcut cutting the intersection's corner leading you either:
- Northbound on Hamilton when traveling eastbound on 2nd Street.
- Westbound on 2nd Street when traveling southbound on Hamilton Avenue.
- "Last but not least (as I don't stray too far from the posh end of town) is the place where I like to go at the weekend, the Disco on Hamilton. All the fabulous celebs go there, and the parking lot makes an excellent place to hide or use as a shortcut. Of course I wouldn't know first hand, I don't hang around in parking lots behind nightclubs..."
- - Auntie Rich (Criteriongames)
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Trivia[]
- The name Palm Bay Heights is a direct reference to a track of the same name from Burnout 2: Point of Impact.
- In a similar fashion, the Big Surf sub-district is a reference to the Big Surf area that also appeared in Burnout 2.