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    Tom Hoffman Park

    3.0 (3 reviews)

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    Thornby Park - Mossy tree.

    Thornby Park

    4.4(9 reviews)
    6.0 mi

    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.

    Photos
    Thornby Park - Remains of railway.

    Remains of railway.

    Thornby Park - Old railroad trastle

    Old railroad trastle

    Thornby Park

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    Freedom Playground - Park entrance

    Freedom Playground

    4.8(22 reviews)
    11.9 mi

    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!

    Photos
    Freedom Playground - Pano of younger kids side

    Pano of younger kids side

    Freedom Playground - Younger kids side

    Younger kids side

    Freedom Playground

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    Tom Hoffman Park - parks - Updated May 2026

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