We must have been insane to camp here during the middle of the summer. The campgrounds were flooded, the no-see-ums were horrendous and we slept terrible, but still…
Some details about the park first.
The address/marker on the above map is not Hontoon Island…it is the entry point to Hontoon Island. Drive there during business hours and the rangers will come get you (for free) on a ferry.
Hontoon Island is just south across the river.
Native Americans have used Hontoon Island for generations. Take the 1.5 mile Hammock Hiking Nature Trail (3-mile round trip) to an ancient shell mound. There are 8 miles of trails on the island.
When we arrived to our campsite it was completely under water. Luckily, we were able to switch to an open site nearby that was only 2/3 flooded, enough for us to stake a tent on soggy ground.
The no-see-ums were terrible. The entire family was covered in bites by the end of our trip and it took about 1.5 weeks for the bite marks to completely fade. I don’t recommend camping here when it is wet.
However, we did not let the water and bugs ruin our trip.
We had a great camp fire.
We had a great hike to the shell mound.
We got another stamp for our state park passport.
We had fun playing next to St. Johns River (which did not have bugs by it).
The park and the ferry service is free, but camping will cost you $18 a night, renting a cabin will cost $30/$35 a night. I imagine that camping here during the fall and winter would be amazing.
A good tip to know is that popular Blue Spring State Park is a short canoe trip downriver. Blue Spring often reaches capacity early in the morning on weekends, even so, paddlers are still allowed to paddle in (for free).
Hontoon Island State Park is located at 2309 River Ridge Rd, DeLand FL 32720. Phone is 386-736-5309.
Well, that’s another state park in the books! Let’s close with a couple back-in-the-day photos.
