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De Leon Springs State Park is a 72-degree spring about 45 minutes north of Orlando. It’s the one Florida spring where breakfast is part of the attraction. You swim in the spring boil and paddle Spring Garden Creek. Then you cook your own pancakes on a griddle built into your table at the Old Sugar Mill Pancake House next door. The park opens at 8 a.m. and charges $6 per vehicle. The pancake house alone is worth the drive.
I’ve made this one of my go-to Orlando-area day trips with my nieces and nephews. It solves two problems at once. The spring is shallow enough for kids near the edges. The pancake house is a lunch spot where nobody gets bored waiting for food, because they’re the ones cooking it. Pack a full change of clothes for everyone. Between the spring and the batter, somebody always goes home wearing both.
De Leon Springs State Park hours
De Leon Springs State Park is open 8 a.m. until sunset, every day of the year. The park lists no seasonal closures for the grounds. Hours don’t shift the way they do at some of the other central Florida springs.
Sunset moves around the calendar, so a December visit gives you a shorter window than a June one. Arrive by mid-morning if you want a parking spot near the spring. The lot fills by late morning on weekends, and so does the table line at the pancake house.
The $6 gate fee covers more than the spring. It also gets you the nature trail, the picnic pavilion, a small interpretive exhibit on the mill’s history, and a boat ramp. Bring a picnic if the pancake house line looks long; the pavilion tables are shaded and free to use.
The spring was drawing visitors long before the state took it over. Naturalist John James Audubon described it in his own journal, noting the circular basin and the steady boil at its center. That basin is the same one you’ll be swimming in.
De Leon Springs State Park entrance fee
The entrance fee is $6 per vehicle, per the park’s fee page. It covers everyone inside the car. That’s a flat rate no matter how many kids you’re hauling, which is one reason this trip is cheap for a group.
The gate fee is separate from the pancake house and the boat tour. Both are concessions inside the park, and both set their own prices. Budget for all three if breakfast and a boat ride are part of the plan, not just the $6 at the gate.
| What | Details |
|---|---|
| Vehicle entrance fee | $6 per vehicle |
| Park hours | 8 a.m. to sunset, daily |
| Fountain of Youth eco tour | 50 minutes, 4 departures a day |
| Pancake house hours | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., daily |
Deleon Springs pancake house hours
The Old Sugar Mill Pancake House — formerly known as the Old Spanish Sugar Mill — is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, per the park’s own page. Park admission is required to dine here, and there’s a take-out window for sandwiches and snacks if you don’t want the full sit-down griddle experience.
The dining room sits inside a 100-year-old replica of the original 1830s sugar mill. That original mill, per the park’s history, turned a sugar cane press and later a grist mill for corn. It’s run today by DeLeon Springs Adventures. Every table has a built-in electric griddle, and a server drops off a pitcher of batter and a timer, not a plate.
You pour it yourself and flip when the edges bubble. That’s a genuinely different pace for a sit-down breakfast. Bring the nieces and nephews here and nobody complains about the wait, because the wait is the entertainment. The weekend line is long. It’s still worth it.
The batter is a stone-ground mix of five flours, in plain, buckwheat, and multigrain versions. Toppings on the table include blueberries, bananas, pecans, chocolate chips, peanut butter, apples, and applesauce. Kids can build their own plate without asking permission.
Beyond pancakes, the kitchen sends out bacon, sausage, ham, eggs, and French toast for breakfast, plus sandwiches and salads for the lunch crowd. We don’t list prices here since menus change. Nothing on it is expensive by sit-down-breakfast standards, and portions are generous enough for two kids to split one order of batter.
De Leon Springs kayak rental
The park has a canoe and kayak launch right at the spring run. Rentals are available on site if you didn’t bring your own boat. Spring Garden Creek is calm, shaded, and easy for a family paddle. We point nieces and nephews here before we’d ever put them on the open St. Johns.
Paddlers can go as far as about 8.5 miles down the creek, with Lake Woodruff as the natural turnaround point. You don’t have to go nearly that far. An hour or two covers the pretty stretch past cypress and moss, without turning it into an all-day trip for smaller arms.
Go early. The creek is glassy and shaded before 10 a.m. Afternoon wind on the open stretch near the lake can make a return paddle slow going for a kid-sized boat. Life jackets are required for kids and available at the launch; bring your own if you have a favorite that actually fits.
Fountain of Youth boat tour
If paddling isn’t your thing, the park runs the Fountain of Youth Eco/Heritage boat tour. It’s a 50-minute guided ride that leaves four times a day and travels through the park and into Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge. It’s a sit-and-look trip, good for grandparents or anyone who’d rather not paddle.
The refuge is a 21,574-acre stretch of marsh and swamp along the St. Johns River. It’s the kind of place where you’ll spot wading birds and turtles without trying hard. Book the tour before you arrive on a weekend; it’s a small boat, and it fills.
How far is De Leon Springs from Orlando?
De Leon Springs sits about 45 minutes north of downtown Orlando, closer to DeLand than to the theme parks. It’s an easy add-on to an Orlando weekend if you want a half-day away from the crowds. It also works as a cooler-weather alternative on a trip built around Disney World.
We’d treat it as a half-day: pancakes, a swim, maybe a short paddle, then back on the road by mid-afternoon. Leave the theme-park clothes at the hotel. You will get wet, and you will get batter on something.
It’s a nice pairing with the rest of central Florida’s spring country, and we cover the whole run of them in our Florida springs guide. November through February is our favorite window. The crowds thin out, the 72-degree water feels like a treat instead of a shock, and the pancake house line moves faster.
Can you swim at De Leon Springs?
We think this is one of the more relaxed springs in the state for a family swim, and yes, you can swim here. The spring boil sits at a constant 72 degrees. It runs from about 18 inches deep near the edges to 30 feet at the boil itself. That leaves a shallow shelf for smaller kids and real depth for anyone who wants to dive.
The swimming area is roped off from the boat and paddling traffic. It’s small enough that you can keep an eye on everyone at once. That’s the detail that actually matters with a group of nieces and nephews. It’s why we’ll pick this spring over a bigger, busier one for a day with kids.
How deep is De Leon Springs?
The swimming area runs from about 18 inches at the shallow edges to roughly 30 feet at the spring boil in the center. Most families stay in the shallower water near the banks, where you can stand. Let older kids swim out toward the boil once they’ve shown you they can handle the current.
How cold is De Leon Springs?
It holds at 72 degrees year-round, like every spring-fed swimming hole in this part of Florida. That reads cold in July and mild in January. That’s exactly why winter is our favorite time to visit. The spring feels warmer than the air, not colder than it.
De Leon Springs alligators?
Alligators live in this part of Florida, including in Spring Garden Creek and the wider Lake Woodruff refuge. Treat any water outside the roped swimming area as gator territory. Stay inside the marked swim zone, keep dogs off the banks near the creek, and skip a swim at dawn or dusk, when gators feed.
Deleon Springs pancake house menu
Plain, buckwheat, and multigrain batter, plus fruit, nut, and chocolate toppings, with bacon, sausage, eggs, and French toast alongside. It’s a build-your-own breakfast, not a fixed plate. That’s what makes it work for a table of picky kids who can’t agree on anything else.
Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.
Other springs near De Leon: Wekiwa Springs and Blue Spring, both ranked in Florida springs near Orlando.
Published October 1, 2026.
Photo credits: (1) featured, De Leon Springs State Park in Florida — Ebyabe, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons; (2) De Leon Springs State Park in Florida — Ebyabe, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons; (3) De Leon Springs State Park in Florida — Ebyabe, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons; (4) De Leon Springs State Park in Florida — Ebyabe, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons; (5) De Leon Springs State Park in Florida — Ebyabe, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons.