The 603 acres of DeLeon Springs State Recreation Area offer a variety of activities.

What we see all the time at the Park: Alligators, Great Blue Herons, Ospey, Limpkin, Vultures, Anhinga, Egrets, Kingfisher, Ibis, & Hawks.

There is excellent swimming in the spring, which year-round remains at 72 degrees.

Swimming is not allowed in the spring run, but anglers will find an abundance of bass and bream. A Florida freshwater fishing license is required for persons 16 years of age or older.

Canoes & Kayaks are available for rent year-round through the Old Spanish Sugar Mill inside the DeLeon Springs State Recreation Area. You leave from the state recreation and return to us as there is no road across into the Woodruff Federal Wildlife Refuge area in which you will be paddling. The waters flowing from DeLeon Springs feed into Spring Garden Run which continues approximately 3.5 to Lake Woodruff. The paddling is easy and the birding and fishing are good.

DeLeon Springs provides access to Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, where canoeists can explore 18,000 acres of lakes, creeks and marshes. Maps are available at the park concession. Canoe, paddleboat rentals and snacks also are available at the park concession.

Scuba diving is limited to open-water instructors and six students. A certification check is required. Instructor Permit is required.

Visitors can visit the remains of an abandoned sugar mill or enjoy a half-mile nature trail that meanders through a floodplain forest. A variety of plant and animal life awaits.

Picnickers can gather under the live oak trees that grow around the spring.

For more information, contact DeLeon Springs State Recreation Area, P.O. Box 1338, DeLeon Springs, FL 32130; (904) 985-4212.