De Leon Springs State Park

Here's one of our favorite places to visit while in central Florida: De Leon Springs State Park. De Leon Springs is home of one of the largest natural spring upwellings in Florida, gushing out an astonishing 14 MILLION GALLONS of pure spring water every day! The water temperature is at a constant, year-round 72°, which is pretty flipping cold when it's 95° out. It takes a bit of nerve to get in, but once your body adjusts, it's so nice and cool that it's hard to get back out again! The spring was used by local natives for thousands of years. When "discovered" in the 16th century, it was thought to be the fabled "Fountain of Youth" that was sought by famed conquistador Juan Ponce De Leon. (Dropping your butt into 72° water certainly makes you feel alive, lemme tell ya.) In the 1880s, the spring became an "excursion destination", with a set of train tracks being laid right beside the spring, to bring Victorian-Era holidaymakers an opportunity to cool off from the sub-tropical Florida heat. A concrete "bowl" was built around the spring with a spillway out into the swamps, making the spring like a giant spring-fed swimming pool. From the spillway, you can see all manner of wild creatures, from alligators and manatees to herons and egrets. And the parking lot is surrounded by huge 8-10 foot diameter oak trees that shade 50 cars apiece!


The state of Florida has one of the most extensive State Parks systems, preserving the natural wildeness that Florida once was... if you ever visit Florida, skip a day at Disneyworld and go see some of these natural preserves... while the're still here.