Hiking Lake Ashby Park, Wiregrass Prairie Yellow Loop, DeLeon Springs

Lake Ashby Park

Recently, we have decided to take up hiking in various areas around Central Florida. Using floridahikes.com, we are making our way through all the spots listed there. We have already done Smyrna Dunes Park, Sugar Mill Ruins and part of Spruce Creek but here are few more we explored in the past month.

We started with Lake Ashby Park and it is just stunning. The trail is in shade (huge plus in Florida!) and goes past Lake Ashby, a gorgeous hidden gem in Volusia County. Unfortunately, the next stop we decided to make was Wiregrass Prairie Yellow Loop. I wanted to like this place but after hours of wandering around the overgrown trail in the full sun, I hated it with a passion and heat that rivaled the blistering sun that attacked us with fury the entire hike. It does have a lot of beautiful wildflowers and an abundance of blackberries but it does not seem very well cared for and again, no shade. Maybe if we came back in the winter or early morning with a machete, we would have enjoyed it more. After that, we couldn't take anymore heat and made our way back home for the most refreshing shower I've ever had.

Old Spanish Sugar Mill

A few weeks later, we made the 45 minute drive to DeLeon Springs for some pancakes and light hiking around the park. The nature walk showcases a 500 year old cypress tree that used to be part of the boat tour done in the 1950's at DeLeon Springs. They have a more challenging trail but we weren't prepared that day for it, so we hope to come back another day to check it out! The coolest part of DeLeon Springs is that you can make your own pancakes on the special griddle tables they have at the Old Spanish Sugar Mill. You have to make sure to get there early (right when they open is best!) to beat the crowds and the heat.

DeLeon Springs