De Leon Springs State Park

What to expect

De Leon Springs is not a hot spring. Nothing in Florida is. The water rises from the aquifer at about 72°F22°C and stays there through the year, so this is a place to cool off in July and take a brisk dip in January. Come for the swim, the paddling and the pancakes, not a soak.

The spring is the centerpiece of a 625-acre state park in Volusia County, a second-magnitude spring and a designated Outstanding Florida Spring. It does not look wild. A low concrete wall and a concrete walk ring a roughly semicircular pool about 190 feet across, a holdover from the decades when this was a roadside attraction. Water flows up through a cavern and chimney in the north part of the pool, where the boil is about 30 feet deep. The edges are as shallow as 18 inches, and the roped shallow zone is where kids and non-swimmers have to stay.

The history is thick. People lived around the spring for at least 6,000 years. In the 1800s it was the Spring Garden plantation, with what Wikipedia describes as Florida’s only water-powered sugar mill. After the railroad arrived in 1886 it was renamed Ponce de Leon Springs and sold as a “Fountain of Youth” resort, though no records tie Ponce de Leon to it. The state and Volusia County bought the spring in 1980 and the park opened in 1982.

The old mill building is now the Old Sugar Mill Pancake House, open since 1961, where each table has a griddle and you cook your own pancakes.

Getting there

From DeLand, take US 17 north about six miles, following the state park signs, then turn left onto Ponce de Leon Boulevard and drive about a mile to the entrance at 601 Ponce De Leon Blvd. From Daytona Beach, head west to DeLand first and pick up US 17 there. From Orlando, I-4 to DeLand is the usual way.

Parking is beside the swimming area, so it is a few minutes’ walk from car to water. Stairs with handrails lead into the pool, and the park has a swimmer chair lift on request.

When to go

Year-round. Because the water temperature never changes, the main thing that shifts is the crowd. Summer weekends and holidays are busiest. Go early on a weekday, eat breakfast at the Sugar Mill when it opens at 8 a.m., then swim.

Current conditions (October 2026): from Sept. 30, 2026 the fishing pier, boat dock and boat ramp are closed because of flooding, and all boat tours are suspended. The swimming area was not listed as closed. If paddling or the tour is the point of your trip, call the park at 386-985-4212 first.

Hours: the park’s main page gives 8 a.m. until sunset, every day. Its hours page lists 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., which matches the restaurant. Swimming runs until 30 minutes before sunset. Some facilities stay open later in the spring break week and in summer (May 30 to Aug. 9 in 2026).

Rules and fees

• Entry: $6 per vehicle with two to eight people, $4 for a single-occupant vehicle or motorcycle, $2 per pedestrian, cyclist or extra passenger.
• No lifeguards. You swim at your own risk year-round, and the pool closes when lightning is within 6 miles.
• Floats: allowed, but round ones may be no wider than 5 feet and rectangular ones no larger than 4 by 6 feet.
• No swimming in Spring Garden Run and no free-diving into the spring cave.
• Scuba: instructional diving only, with a certified, insured instructor holding a Florida State Parks dive permit ($200 plus tax). Students pay park entry.
• Snorkeling: inside the swimming area only.
• Artifacts and metal detectors: artifacts in the spring are protected by state law, and metal detectors are banned.
• Alcohol: not allowed anywhere in this park, even though some Florida state parks allow it in designated areas.
• Pets: on a hand-held leash of 6 feet or less, never left alone, and not in the sunbathing area.
• Pavilions: two large ones with electricity ($75 plus tax) and two smaller ones ($45 plus tax) can be reserved except from April 1 through Labor Day weekend. One more is free, first come, first served.

Paddling and trails

Spring Garden Run leads out of the park into Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, about 22,000 acres of lakes, creeks and marsh. Guest Services, Inc. normally rents kayaks, canoes and paddleboards from the boathouse, and runs the 50-minute Fountain of Youth boat tour; check whether rentals are running while the dock is closed. You can also launch your own boat at the canoe and kayak launch.

On land, a half-mile paved, wheelchair-accessible nature trail loops through floodplain forest to a bald cypress estimated at about 600 years old. The 4-mile Wild Persimmon Trail crosses hammock, cypress swamp and old fields; register at the ranger station before you go, and expect flooding and insects in the wet season.

Where to stay nearby

The park has no campground or cabins.

• DeLand, about 7 miles south, has the nearest hotels and restaurants.
• Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, south of DeLand, has a campground and six cabins, and is the natural pairing for a two-spring trip.
• Daytona Beach is the closest large hotel market on the coast.

Safety notes

• No lifeguards: watch children closely. The drop from shallow ledge to deep boil is sudden.
• Cool water: 72°F22°C chills you faster than it sounds on a long swim.
• Lightning: Florida summer storms build fast in the afternoon. Get out when staff clear the pool.
• Flooding: the 2026 floods closed the dock and ramp. Trails can be underwater in the wet season too.
• Wildlife: the refuge has alligators. Paddle and fish with that in mind, and never feed wildlife.