De Leon Springs State Park

Offering visitors a Florida experience that blends its recreational swimming area with its fascinating history.

Once called Acuera, or “Healing Waters,” by Timucuan Indians who inhabited the area, De Leon Springs is a place to cool off in clear waters, roam trails through a lush subtropical forest that features a massive old-growth bald cypress tree, and immerse oneself in a rich history. The spring run was once used to turn a sugar cane mill followed by a grist mill to turn corn into flour during the Civil War.

The famous naturalist John James Audubon visited the springs in 1831. “This spring presents a circular basin, having a diameter of about sixty feet, from the centre of which the water is thrown up with great force, although it does not rise to a height of more than a few inches above the general level,” he wrote in his journal.