This is an absolutely great place to launch a kayak from. Easy access to spruce creek--a beautiful…read morepaddle with a view of a lot of interesting houses. We always see a huge alligator when we're out. There are also mountain bike, hiking, and equestrian trails. Last time I was there, they had taken away all the port a potties, so there was no where in the whole park to go.

Nice nature reserve and park. Has trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. Disc golf course…read moreand fenced dog park. Picnic pavilion and port a potty.

This is my absolute favorite place! A most beautiful national park. And to top it all off, the…read morebathrooms have the warmest hand dryers you've ever had the blessing of being dried with. A must-visit!

A very dry…read morepark The Tom Hoffman Park was named after one of the founders of the student outreach program that organizes students and adults into groups to collect food for the homeless and toys for underprivileged children. Some really altruistic and nice stuff. The park itself if about ten acres but much of that is just a big dry hole. Obviously there use to be a lake in this dry hole at one time but because of the severe drought in this part of Florida the water is now gone. Just the big hole remands. It has a short hiking trail going around the big dry hole and a little playground, a nice pavilion, a picnic area and some clean bathrooms but not a whole lot else. I'm sure the park would look a whole lot nicer if it had some water and a bit more greenery . Unfortunately a lot of other small parks and ponds are also looking a bit rough and dry. The area needs a whole lot of rain to change things but the park still is a nice idea. A thoughtful memorial to a man who dedicated his life to helping make the world a better place.

Love this park to take my dog. They have balls for the dogs and poop bags and trash bins. They keep…read moreup w the park!

Brought the kids here (12 - 8). They loved it. A little bit of everything including a water splash…read morepad to help cool off!

This playground is incredible! A community funded project, this playground is not to be missed - it…read morehas designs and features I haven't seen anywhere else! We love stopping to play here if we are in the Deland area. Freedom Playground has plenty of parking, bathrooms, pavilions with picnic tables, and playground equipment that can be used by a wide range of ages and body abilities. I love that the park has one main entrance gate to keep kids contained and also has the little kid area separate from the big kid area. There are accessibility features like wheelchair accessible ramps for the playground equipment and a ground level merry-go-round. There's plenty of slides, climbing and obstacles, a zip line, pirate ships, pretend play houses, and all the features you would want in a playground. I love the nods to Florida with multiple gators throughout! Freedom Park is a Florida gem!

From what I've read online, DeLand faced the exact same issue that so many municipalities around…read morethe country have faced and continue to face regarding what to do with their playgrounds. At one point in time it was a thing to build these large destination playgrounds made out of wood. While a nice idea on paper, eventually the upkeep proves to be problematic and expensive. Eventually the municipality is faced with the hard choice of costly renovations that will need to be redone in the not too distant future, demolishing the structure or trying to replace it with something more modern/contemporary. Either way it equals a lot of money that usually is nowhere to be found. Thankfully a few years ago DeLand along with residents, area companies, school children and a newly formed non-profit committee figured out how to replace the original wooden structure. Amazingly over 300K in private donations were raised along with DeLand kicking in the rest and what you have today is an amazing structure/facility. In my own area there have a been a few success stories with places like this: www.savekidscastle.org/ But there have also been a few mismanaged disasters with places like this: articles.mcall.com/2004-11-19/news/3571642_1_playground-jungle-gym-time-capsule What works here: * Lots of parking * Solidly clean bathrooms * Lots of shaded areas * Super safe recycled rubber ground which means no tracking mulch into the car * A very needed water fountain * Lots of different structures/play areas/misters that offer a ton of diversity What doesn't work: * At least when we were here the zipline was in sad shape. It needs to be raised up or just gotten rid of it because it was way too low to be enjoyable. I don't want to lay on the hyperbole but honestly aside one other park (Kids Castle in Doylestown, PA) this place is the nicest that I've ever seen and even though my kids are arguably a bit on the too old side to be enjoying a place like this, they still did. Great job DeLand! What an awesome place for the community!

What an amazing oasis this place is. There's so many hiking trails. I wouldn't even know where to…read morebegin. My visit was brief, but beautiful. I would have to take a whole day to even begin to remotely explore this springs Park. I was hoping to see the fluorescent green water, but it wasn't that way this time of year. Either due to the weather or the time of year, I'm not sure. But I will be back. I will see that water yet!

Such a beautiful Florida hidden gem! Green Springs is a small, easy hike that's perfect when you…read morewant to get outside without committing to anything too long. The spot where the river and spring meet is pretty cool, and the water is the prettiest turquoise blue -- absolutely unreal. Definitely worth checking out!

Had an awesome time bringing the dogs to the dog beach! It's a nice little strip of beach with…read moreshallow water under the fishing pier. Would recommend bringing some kind of shade covering for beach area but there's a covered picnic table area by the restrooms and hoses designated for the dogs to rinse off and community dog bowls for drinking in case you forget your own. Worthy to note- walking on The pier is not permitted for dogs after 10 am because apparently it gets too hot to walk on so there's alternate sand paths, you can definitely bring a wagon to help cart your stuff, an umbrella or shade to protect you from the sun might be needed since there's no natural shady areas, it's $11 to park all day with ability to go in & out throughout the day, and they have a hose to rinse down the dogs so WOULD RECOMMEND FOR A NICE DAY OUT IN NATURE, AT THE WATER WITH THE PUPS!!

Beautiful park, but be prepared to walk.They have a great boardwalk to make it easier to get to the…read morebeach. Love that most of the beach has off beach parking.

This park has a decent playground for children had a small walking path, but does not offer much…read moreelse. It is directly across the street from another park though, which was a lot more pleasant to walk. There is decent parking for this park and, as I said, for kids, this is a good place to take them to play. There are also a few pavilions with benches underneath them for the parents to chill and watch their children enjoy the playground. All in all, this is a good park to head towards if you have children. Since we had a four-year-old with us, the kid really loved this park. Afterwards, it was nice to walk around the lake at the park across the street, which is called Mill Lake Park. Both of these parts sit on the corner of East Blue Spring Avenue and South Holly Avenue.

This park features free parking, a beach access ramp, picnic tables, a public-use, charcoal grill,…read morea pet-waste clean-up station, restrooms, and a water fountain. We happened to pass by this spot as we were looking for beach access. We're so glad we did! The area was clean and peaceful. Please note, it is a very small picnic area.