BY JOE BALOG

Upon entering DeLeon Springs State Park, an almost mystical sense of calm accompanied me. We’re all drawn to places that transform us. It’s nice having one just up the road.

Perhaps it’s the live oaks. Nowhere else in our area is home to such majestic curators, these having witnessed the Revolutionary War. Perhaps the legend of the Fountain of Youth is true, giving the 300-year-old trees longevity beyond reason.

The truth is, any correlation with Ponce DeLeon is a stretch in this part of Florida. Modern historians confirm that he never made it to the St. Johns, instead spending his exploratory time on the coasts. Even more disappointing, there’s no mention of healing waters in any records.

Ponce was added as a tourist draw when rail and steamship transportation opened up the Florida interior, converting what was known as Spring Garden Ranch to Ponce DeLeon Springs. A hotel and casino were here, later adding roadside-attraction flair through jungle tours and a water-skiing elephant. The state took ownership in 1982, expanding to include protection for the spring.

The spring remains the focal point, though DeLeon Springs State Park offers more activities each time I visit.

Getting back to our story, Pedro Menendez de Aviles is credited as the first Spanish explorer to venture south of Astor through our region, where he met a combative force of Native Americans. These people were not Timucuans, but Mayacans, hunter-gatherers who capitalized on the St. Johns River’s endless bounty of fish and shellfish. Inhabitants around the majestic spring date back 6,000 years. The two oldest dug-out canoes ever found in the Western Hemisphere came from here.

The area’s first permanent settlement came when Maj. Joseph Woodruff homesteaded more than 2,000 acres and started a plantation. A mill — the first powered by water in Florida — would be added in 1831 after Woodruff’s death. Sugarcane was the harvestable product, worked into a syrup for rum production and a dense, hardened product for export.

The property and mill would be partially destroyed during the Second Seminole War, rebuilt, then again disbanded by Union troops in an attempt to deprive the Confederate Army in 1864. The granddaddy oaks saw it all.

Sugarcane can still be found on the property as part of the Heritage Nursery, an old-Florida gem operated by the Friends of DeLeon Springs State Park, and offering sales to the public Tuesday mornings. Deborah Griffith is the district director for Florida Green Clubs, and calls DeLeon her home base, bringing volunteers the opportunity to grow beautiful additions to the landscape, many propagated from the park’s grounds.

Plant life throughout the park is indescribably perfect. The blooming season for azaleas is showstopping, but my trips always include a visit to an old friend.

Methuselah is the name given to the majestic cypress that towers through the forest. A boardwalk takes visitors neatly across a living cypress swamp, a perfect educational experience for those interested in the way our river system survives. The walkway ends at Methuselah, giving me a real-world Jack in the Beanstalk feeling as I struggled to look up, up, above it all, to a place only the eagles and the ospreys visit.

No one knows for sure how Methuselah survived the onslaught of timber harvests in the early 1900s, when an estimated 99 percent of the native cypress were taken from the valley, powering the largest cypress mill in the world at Palatka. Like the oaks, Methuselah remains a defiant link to the park’s past. Her view of the landscape goes back the furthest, to a time before even the Spanish, when only the Mayaca walked beneath her canopy.

My walk was easy, thanks to an asphalt path leading through the park’s natural area. From here, more rugged hiking adventures branch off, including the 4-mile Persimmon Trail, a favorite of mine, but temporarily closed due to flooding. Here, signs caution of snakes, though the wildlife most commonly viewed on my visits include wading birds and deer. You’ll need to sign in with the Ranger Station before venturing out on the Persimmon. A few old farm roads run through the same woods, so keep your map handy.

A visit to the spring itself is always in order, the water holding a pleasant temperature all year. This cool, crisp autumn morning was too cool for a swim, though many visitors were taking the plunge.

Still, I couldn’t resist dipping a hand in. There remains a unique feel to the water, a tactile sense I get each time I make contact with our local springs. Perhaps an expert could explain this phenomenon through discussions of salinity or mineral content. But, to me, this indescribable feeling still links to the childhood wonder of the Fountain of Youth, and the first time I witnessed a Central Florida spring. I snuck a sip, just in case.

Pancakes were cooking somewhere, retracing the childhood love of a warm breakfast. My nose led me to the restored sugar mill, home to DeLeon Springs State Park’s famous breakfast establishment. Here, guests cook their own cakes tableside, combining a hearty meal with irreplaceable family time. I visited quickly with folks from Orlando who’d been here years ago, but were visitors for the first time with their children, a tradition that will hopefully continue for generations to come.

DeLeon Springs defines everything a Florida state park should be. There’s no pickleball or golf courses; RVs can visit, but not stay. What there is, though, is wonder. Sights that bring your attention and then force you to refocus and look again.

It’s Florida’s natural beauty. “Nature’s Cameraland,” as it states on the park’s nostalgic entrance sign. Sitting in that live-oak cathedral, I couldn’t agree more.

I hope to see you out there.