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!

Nice park. There is playground equipment for children to climb on which appears to be popular in…read morethe mornings. There is one tennis court which has been available on most occasions when I come. There is a fishing pier over the lake also seems popular with a few fishermen. The only drawback there are no large trees to make shade over the tennis court and playground. On hot sunny days it is very hot and hard to use. Other parks have canopies over the playground which would be nice to have. Second it would be nice if park personnel would blow off the sand and gravel off the tennis court. Overall nice park.

I visit Campbell Park today. I enjoyed the docks on the lake. I liked seeing the ducks on the…read morewater. They have a nice path to follow around the park.

Just off the Spring to Spring Trail in Deltona which extends from Green Spring Park to De Leon…read moreSprings State Park, lies Thornby Park, a 38 acre natural area where the 1916 Thornby homestead once stood. Historically this area on Deltona's southern shore of Lake Monroe has been home to both native tribes and early Volusia County pioneers. During the Second Seminole War, the US Army built Fort Kingsbury named after a soldier who died of a fever in nearby Ft. Mellon. It was a defense stockade built here in response to the Seminoles burning Palaka in 1835 which was a major port on the St. John's River and a critical entrance point into Central Florida. The last residents on this land were Dr. James H. Glass and his wife Anna Wells Glass who built a two-story house. It was one of the finest residences in the area and it stood until teen-aged vandals burned on September 15, 2003. In the 1990's the land was at the center of a preservation battle between residents and developers. The community successfully advocated for the city to purchase the land, leading to the land being acquired by Volusia Forever and the city of Deltona. A public park was established in 2011 but unfortunately it was too late to preserve the Glass House like nearby DeBary Hall. While the Glass House is long gone, Thornby Park does have a large play area for all abilities and which is ADA compliant. It is called the Inspiration Playground and it was completed in 2012 with swings, monkey bars, and slides. In this area there are also restrooms, benches, picnic tables, and a gazebo donated by the Friends of Thornby in honor of Dr. Glass. Near the playground you will find the entrance to the boardwalk that takes you to the Thornby Trail, a half mile, loop nature trail. This area is a haven for wildlife and it contains several interpretive signs along with an outdoor classroom. Halfway through the trail is the remains of a piece of old narrow gauge railroad trestle that was used by mules to haul citrus to the docks of Lake Monroe. I had enjoyable stroll along Thornby Trail taking in the nature and history of this peaceful preserve. Thornby Park is a testament to the tenacity of the activists who fought long and hard to keep this pristine area from being turned into another development.

Well there is not much to do at this park in terms of walking trails, there is a cool remnant of a…read morerailroad trestle that probably was mule driven and used to haul citrus and other produce to the docks on Lake Monroe. Now, this park does have a pretty cool kids playground, so if you have young children, this is a great place to head towards. On the path, you can definitely feel it's age. You know that this area has seen time since the dawn of time and the railroad trestle alone proves that this area was an integral part of early Florida life. I do not see myself returning here, but I am happy that I stumbled across this small park. Again, if you have small children, I would definitely recommend coming here to the children's play area. On that aspect, I would give here five stars. While the walking path is by no means impressive, I am glad that I saw the railroad trestle and that I took the time to see this part of unspoiled Florida.

Beautiful park for the kids right in the middle of downtown Sanford…read more Large playground area would swings. Lots of large beautiful oak trees for shade. Pavilion with picnic tables. Bathrooms Free books. Butterfly garden. Large open space for picnic Great place to talk a ball or football. Minutes from downtown Sanford restaurants and shops

No, this park is not gigantic but for the amount of space it's in they have quite a bit of great…read moreplayground equipment. We took our kids here recently after we drove by and saw it. We knew it was a must on our "park tour" that we have going on with our kids. The park is clean and best of all?? There's lots of shade from the trees! Shade at playground should be a requirement in Florida. I have been to far too many unshaded parks and it is BRUTAL. My kids particularly liked the big slide here. It's great! There's a bathroom here too and I didn't go in it but my husband says it's clean. The park is well kept and has a lot of great options for your kids to explore and enjoy.

Gateway Park, Debary, FL,…read more This was actually my first time coming to Gateway park to see the Christmas lights, and I have to say, they are great. Nothing over the top, but wholesome, and geared towards families and the surrounding community. We loved how the city utilized the pavilions for photo op areas and the exercise paths as the walkway to view all the beautiful LED lit sculptures. What really makes this park stand out is that kids can still play on the playground while the event is going on. Im sure an evening here allows moms and dads to catch a good night sleep for once, lol! Something else to note is that there is free hot chocolate offered here and the volunteers are using a stainless steel percolator to brew it, nice! An additional note, entry is free to the public, there are restrooms on site, and plenty of parking available. The only downside is tonight, 12/17/23, is the last night for the lights. Staff begins breaking everything down tomorrow. All in all, this was a great experience, and I look forward to returning next year.

I'm just now getting the time to post my Christmas photos from Gateway Park…read more I have lived only 15 minutes from this park for over 20 years and never knew that they did Christmas lights. So I was excited to finally get to see them. I love how they had photo areas all around the park. They really did a good job of creating a perfect army creating a perfect ambience for families and couples. The night we were there they were giving away free hot chocolate. They also have a playground and the kids were enjoying themselves. Definitely going to put this on my list for next year! This park can also be rented for small birthday parties.

The park is nice but could have better options for the playground area maybe add a jungle gymread more

Trailblazer Park is a great find in Lake Mary in Seminole County! It has a cool playground,…read morepavilion with picnic tables, and splash pad. There are a few trees for shade near the playground but the splash pad is mostly in the sun. The splash pad is seasonal and $2 cash per person, is fenced in, and has an attendant. The playground has swings and couple fun climbing structures. The bathrooms are clean and there is a changing table in the women's restroom. We would come back to this nice park again!

This is a twenty acre park that is a pleasant respite from the grind of the modern world. I would…read moredefinitely recommend this park to go chill oh, maybe grab some lunch and eat it there.

This is a 20 acre park located in Orange City. It's amenities include picnic pavilions, a play…read moreground, athletic fields, and a tennis court. I visited on Sunday because the park was used as the staging area for the Manatee Festival. For a $8 cash only entrance fee the festival had bounce houses, small rides, vendors, exhibitors, food booths, and a dog show. Valentine Park provided parking so you could board the bus that took you to nearby Blue Springs to see the manatees. From what I saw this was a nice park that locals would enjoy.

In memory of Manny…read more The Manny Rodriquez park is a seven acre park that is tucked away in a quiet part of Deltona. I suspect a lot of people go right by it since most of it isn't obvious from the street. The park was dedicated in 1994 and is named in honor of Manny Rodriquez, a man very active in the Deltona community for many years and committed to improving the parks and playgrounds of the area. The park has a small play area, basketball courts, some benches, and two ballfields. The area looks small at first glance but actually curves around to another street and ends with another baseball field. Certainly a whole lot larger than it first looks. This is a nice place to relax, play some ball or run wild. Plenty of room to do pretty much what you want. Just the kind of place Manny wanted in the city.

Me and my dog Pixie stopped by here yesterday. August 2025…read more I didn't know there was a dog park here. They have a very nice large and small dog park with a pavilion. No one was there so she was able to run both. I then took her over to the playground area because she likes to slide down the slide. So she ran around there and then two kids showed up and we played for about 30 minutes. Nice Park It has the dog park, basketball and a kids playground. Today I went it was very clean and well kept. Plenty of parking. Bathrooms were clean.

This park offers a lot of activities such as baseball, basketball, tennis courts, shuffleboard and…read moremore. They have a kids playground and even a small lake on the property, though swimming is prohibited. There is adequate parking and they have rest rooms on the property. They also have a couple of pavilions to hang out either after you play a sports or if you just want to chill for a bit. This park offers a lot of tranquillity and I enjoyed my time here. The park is decently maintains and while I was here on a Monday afternoon, there were quite a few people here with me. The park is a bit off of the beaten path, so you will have to go down a few back roads to get here. Perhaps that is part of its charm up here. It is definitely a place for the neighborhood. It would be worth your time to come check here out, enjoy a minute or two. Be advised that I did not see any walking path, but there were people with dogs walking across the sport fields. Come check out out yourself.

This small quiet park along the St. John's sports tennis and basketball courts, soccer field, and…read more hideaway fishing pier boat launch. While there are some who seem to over-use the amenities, they're not always there and that's when we go. Should say there's also a small play area for play area sake, and bathroom facilities.

A park with water…read more Mariner's Cove Park is an almost fifty acre park that has just about some of everything. Basketball courts, tennis court, baseball and soccer fields, a play ground, hiking trials, picnic areas, clean bathrooms and even a fishing pier and small boat ramp. The park has access to Bethel Creek and from there you can head into Lake Monroe, The St. John's River and across half of Florida. Lots to do in the park but if you want to do absolutely nothing that is fine too. Plenty of peace and quiet and a great place to get aquainted with nature. Lots of huge aquatic birds and if you're lucky you might even see a gator or two. A cool park that never seems to be crowded but always is friendly and welcoming. A place that has just about anything you could want in a park and lets you discover something new everything you go.