Hontoon Island State Park, Florida, United States
4.5 (273 reviews) Saturday: 8:00 AM - 1:00 AM Spent Ranking #2 in DeLand State Parks
Love This Island!
ACCESSIBLE ONLY BY PRIVATE BOAT OR PARK FERRY The island has pine Flatwoods, palm and oak hammocks, bald cypress swamps, and marshes. Hontoon Island is surrounded by the St. Johns River, the Hontoon Dead River, and Snake Creek. Activities include horseshoes, cycling, boating, canoeing, kayaking, and fishing, as well as hiking, camping, picnicking, and nature viewing and photography. The island can be circumnavigated with a nine and a half-mile (14 km) day trip; Blue Spring State Park is a short paddle up the St. Johns (3.5 miles) one way. Amenities include canoe rentals, bike paths, eleven tent sites, and six rustic cabins. The park also has overnight boat slip rentals, playground equipment, picnic tables, and a 3.4-mile (5.5 km) nature trail. The park has a lending library with picture books for children aged four to nine. The park is open from 8:00 am till one hour before sunset year-round.
Address
2309 River Ridge Rd, DeLand, FL 32720-4302
Mobile
Website
https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/hontoon-island
Working hours
Monday : 8:00 AM - 1:00 AM
Tuesday : 8:00 AM - 1:00 AM
Wednesday : 8:00 AM - 1:00 AM
Thursday : 8:00 AM - 1:00 AM
Friday : 8:00 AM - 1:00 AM
Saturday : 8:00 AM - 1:00 AM
Sunday : 8:00 AM - 1:00 AM
Current local date and time now
Saturday, May 11, 2024, 15:52
User Ratings
4.5 based on (273 reviews)
Reviews
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5Tim J 5:00 PM May 25, 2021
The happiest place on earth
Peace, quiet and nature. This is Florida the way it should be experienced! I took my son for an early birthday present. We had a wonderful time. The staff was courteous and very friendly. Sadly, I can't remember the names of all of the staff but Ranger Acuna and his fellow park employees deserve the highest praise. He initially was concerned about my snake hook but after a brief conversation he understood why I brought it. Read the rules and regulations BEFORE you go and there will be no surprises. We enjoyed the resident Red-shouldered hawk each morning! The resident Great-horned Owl serenaded us each night! My special moment was when a large male American Alligator bellowed his challenge to a jet flying overhead one evening! This nature nut was hooked! Bypass the mouse and the super heroes! Hontoon Island is the happiest place on earth!
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4dboal 5:00 PM Jan 1, 2020
Had fun camping here!
We rented a cabin over Christmas Break and had a good time. Brought the grandkids and some games and fishing equipment and had some fun. The cabins are pretty "rustic", but comfortable, the park is beautiful, and the staff are all so helpful and friendly! It was cool that the park store has games you can borrow too. During our visit (last week of December) it was rainy, but we were lucky in that the rain was mostly overnight. The weather had been warm this fall, so the mosquitos were still pretty bad. (we were hoping for a December freeze to help with that!) We used our Thermacell repellent devices, and they were pretty effective. We didn't do a lot of hiking because everything was pretty wet, but the area by the office was nice, we walked up to the docks and went fishing and the kids played around on the playground. We were trying for a low-key trip to rest and rejuvenate, so we didn't go in search of any other activities, across the river. This park is so unique, it is definitely worth checking out even for a day trip. If you camp, the process is different than you might expect - you load your stuff onto wheelbarrows, come over on the ferry (free of charge), and then wheel your things to the loading area for the van. Then a ranger drives you and your stuff to the campground. When you are ready to head home you pack up, call for the van and reverse the process.
