Hontoon Island State Park is a 1648 acres (6.7 km²) Florida State Park

Florida State Parks

The Florida State Parks encompass the majority of the lands that fall under the authority of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. There are 160 such entities, including nature reserves, recreation areas, and historic sites, which can be found in every corner of the state...

 located on Hontoon Island between the St. Johns River

St. Johns River

The St. Johns River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant for commercial and recreational use. At long, it winds through or borders twelve counties, three of which are the state's largest. The drop in elevation from the headwaters to the mouth is less than ;...

 and the Hontoon Dead River

Hontoon Dead River

The Hontoon Dead River is a tributary of the St. Johns River in Volusia County, Florida. Hontoon Island, home of Hontoon Island State Park is surrounded by the Hontoon, the St. Johns, and Snake Creek....

 in Volusia County

Volusia County, Florida

Volusia County is a county located in the state of Florida. The U.S. Census Bureau 2010 official county's population was 494,593 . Its county seat is DeLand, and its most populous city is currently Deltona....

. It is six miles (10 km) west of DeLand

DeLand, Florida

DeLand is the county seat of Volusia County, Florida. In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 24,375. It is part of the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 436,575 in 2006...

, off SR 44

State Road 44 (Florida)

State Road 44 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of Florida. It runs from Crystal River on the Gulf of Mexico east to New Smyrna Beach on the Atlantic Ocean, passing through Inverness, Wildwood, Leesburg and DeLand....

, and can only be reached by boat or park operated ferry

Ferry

A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

. The island has pine

Pine

Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...

 flatwoods

Flatwoods

Flatwoods, Pineywoods, Longleaf Pine-Wiregrass Ecosystem refers to an ecological community in the Southeastern coastal plain of North America...

, palm

Arecaceae

Arecaceae or Palmae , are a family of flowering plants, the only family in the monocot order Arecales. There are roughly 202 currently known genera with around 2600 species, most of which are restricted to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate climates...

 and oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

 hammocks

Hammock (ecology)

Hammocks are dense stands of hardwood trees that grow on natural rises of only a few inches higher than surrounding marshland that is otherwise too wet to support them. Hammocks are distinctive in that they are formed gradually over thousands of years rising in a wet area through the deposits of...

, bald cypress swamp

Swamp

A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...

s and marsh

Marsh

In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....

es. Hontoon Island is surrounded by the St. Johns River

St. Johns River

The St. Johns River is the longest river in the U.S. state of Florida and its most significant for commercial and recreational use. At long, it winds through or borders twelve counties, three of which are the state's largest. The drop in elevation from the headwaters to the mouth is less than ;...

, the Hontoon Dead River, and Snake Creek.

Activities include boating, canoeing, kayaking, and fishing, as well as hiking, camping, picnicking, and nature viewing. The island can be circumnavigated with a nine-mile (14 km) day trip; Blue Spring State Park

Blue Spring State Park

Blue Spring State Park is a state park located west of Orange City, Florida in the United States. The park is a popular tourist destination; available activities include canoeing, SCUBA diving, kayaking, fishing, camping, hiking, wildlife watching, and swimming. The spring is the largest on the St....

 is a short paddle up the St. Johns. Amenities include canoe rentals, bike paths, twelve tent sites and six rustic cabins. The park also has overnight boat slip rentals, playground equipment, picnic tables,and a 3 miles (4.8 km) nature trail. The park is unique in having a lending library with picture books for children aged four to nine. The park is open from 8:00 am till sundown year round.
The Timucuan Indians were the first inhabitants of Hontoon Island.Evidence of their presence can be seen by the large shell mounds that still exist.