Things To Do in Lake Helen, Florida

Welcome Center and bookstore for the Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association (SCSCMA). Unique, world-renowned community of psychics, mediums, and healers. Located on land donated by George P. Colby in 1895, the Camp is the oldest continuously active religious community ​in the Southeastern United States. The primary road, Stevens Street, is named for Ann Stevens in acknowledgment of her support and assistance to Colby, Spiritualism, and the Association. The community was founded by a group of Modern Spiritualists who had successfully established a similar camp, Lilydale, fifteen years earlier. The Lilydale Camp is located next to Cassadaga Lakes, a chain of lakes south of Buffalo, NY. The Florida camp was named in honor of its predecessor. The Cassadaga Camp originally served as a meeting place for annual 6-week winter gatherings, an educational center for Modern Spiritualism, and a winter retreat to escape northern winters. It is now open throughout the year, and hosts quarterly gala days in February, May, August, and November.

A winter retreat for hundreds of manatees. State park with the largest spring in the Saint John's River and home of the West Indian manatee. Birding, boat tours, canoeing, fishing, kayaking, manatees, picnicking, scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, tubing.

The race track for the most prestigious race in NASCAR - the Daytona 500. The track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, IMSA, SCCA, Motocross, and Biketoberfest.

Historic district featuring shops, boutiques, art museum, Artisan Alley, restaurants, and festivals. Bounded on the West and East by Florida Avenue & Woodland Boulevard, and on the North and South by Rich Avenue & Howry Avenue.

Historic home for hat manufacturer John B. Stetson. Built-in 1886, this opulent mansion is one of the first homes in the world to be powered with Edison electricity. Tours are available by appointment.

Former homestead of George P. Colby, the spiritualist medium who donated land in 1895 to the Southern Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp Meeting Association (SCSCMA). The 124-acre park features an educational hiking trail with: historic markers related to Colby and the SCSCMA; markers highlighting native vegetation; and a marker for the Bamboo Gardens for the Hotel Webster, a 70-room hotel built in 1899 by relatives of Ann Stevens. The hotel is gone, but fortunately, the beautiful bamboo gardens remain. Additional park features include a picnic pavilion; playground; volleyball court; fishing & boating.

Ancient home of Mayaca Native Americans and their 800 year old owl totem, the largest wooden effigy ever recovered from a North American archaeological site. State park accessible only by park ferry or private boat and features: Hiking trails with evidence of Native American habitation dating back thousands of years, visitor center, boating, canoeing, canoe rentals, fishing, picnic areas with tables and grills, and a playground.

Lush 210-acre park with two story farmhouse and barn, two natural springs, walking trails, fishing, and playground. Every day, 6.5 million gallons of sparkling fresh water bubble up from the two springs. Used for farming since the 1800s, the land became a park in 1994. Farming operations included timber, citrus, tapping longleaf pine trees for turpentine, and cattle ranching.

Scenic park with unique green-hued sulfur spring, one of only a few in Florida. The spring was once part of a 19th-century health resort, and the surrounding area is an archeological site for early Native American settlements for Mayaca and Seminole tribes. This 31-acre park features nature trails, scenic overlooks, playground, and picnic pavilions.