Canoes are popular at DeLeon Springs where visitors sometimes take to the water after cooking their own pancakes over old-fashioned griddles. Birdwatchers and hikers throughout the area take foot in the wilds and woodlands. Miles of trails wind along the floodplains of the St. Johns River at the Lake Monroe Conservation Area in Osteen and around the impoundments of the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge in DeLeon Springs. The refuge, known internationally for its birding opportunities, draws about 70,000 visitors a year, says Brian Braudeis, assistant manager. A dirt trail in the Spruce Creek Preserve takes ambitious walkers to a bluff overlooking the scenic marsh.
Animals too take advantage of the tens of thousands of acres of protected land.
In the midday sun, gopher tortoises graze alongside the road in the Canaveral National Seashore in New Smyrna Beach. Deer and bear feed in Tiger Bay State Forest near new camping and picnicking areas. By mid-afternoon people watching becomes a popular activity on the beach. Parents allow themselves to be buried under mountains of sand and strive to protect soft baby skin from the ravages of the sun. The aroma of lotion and sunscreen wafts across the breeze.