What do you do when you’re feeling mighty old?👵Go to the Fountain of Youth! This is not the same Fountain of Youth that’s in St. Augustine, but it’s pretty cool all the same. In fact, the water is 72 degrees year-round cool. 😜

De Leon Springs State Park is a really unique place. Like many state parks, there are visitor’s centers and nature trails where various plants and wildlife are abundant. At De Leon Springs, you can find manatees, alligators, and bald eagles. There are also narrated boat tours and the Sugar Mill Restaurant where you can enjoy some delicious pancakes! 🥞

There is also a swimming area where you can enjoy the refreshing spring water and feel rejuvenated! 💦 Do we really believe this is the Fountain of Youth? Not likely, lol, but it was a fun place to visit and the water felt wonderful. You can either enter using the steps or there’s a rock outcropping you can climb and use. We didn’t go in past our knees, but there were a few people swimming in the springs. 🏊

Here are some videos we took of the Fountain of Youth:

The grounds at the park has some incredibly interesting artifacts. You can see the sugar mill wheel from the original sugar mill which operated in the 1800’s. 🛞You can also see the ruins of the old sugar mill. Interesting tidbit we learned, this was the only water-powered sugar mill in Florida!  🤯

Here is a video we made a video of the mill machinery:

We thought is was so cool that in 1831, John James Audubon visited Spring Garden (as it was previously known as before the name was changed to De Leon Springs State Park). They even have a sign showing some of his bird paintings that he made of the birds that he viewed while he was there. 🦆

Back in 1880, the name was changed from Spring Garden to Ponce De Leon Springs and was advertised as the Fountain of Youth to increase tourism. They claimed the water was “deliciously healthy” and they built a small fountain where you could drink the water. The water no longer flows into the fountain, but the structure is still there. ⛲

All in all, it was a pretty neat place to visit and a great way to spend our day. We may have to go back for some pancakes! 🥞

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