Lake Beresford

Lake Beresford is a lake on the western boundary of DeLand and Orange City. The lake's surroundings are a sparsely-populated area with the entrance to the Hontoon Island State Park and access to the St. Johns River.

Get in

By car

There are multiple sides of Lake Beresford that are reached differently if traveling by car. The main road in the area is New York Ave (FL-44), which west-east to the north of Lake Beresford. South of New York Ave is Old New York Ave, an approximately parallel route south of New York Ave. Old New York Ave goes much closer to the lake and intersects New York Ave on its west side near the St. Johns River and on its eastern side at the junction with Hazen Rd. Take either of these, and then go south on Hontoon Rd west of the railroad to enter the peninsula between Lake Beresford and the St. Johns River, not far from the lake's western shore.

W Beresford Rd leads to Lake Beresford's east side and Fatio Rd leads south from this one to Lake Beresford Park. Confusingly, W Beresford Ave does not go to the lake.

By boat

The St. Johns River is commonly used for boating, and there are marinas along various points of the river.

By train
  • 🌍 DeLand Railway Station (Amtrak Silver Silvar & Silver Meteor), 2491 Old New York Ave (north of the Lake Beresford area). No SunRail connections. Cross platform transfers with SunRail are only in Winter Park, Orlando Health and Kissimmee. (updated Dec 2020)

Get around

By car

The Hontoon Landing area is reached via Hontoon Rd, but then turning east on River Ridge Rd a few hundred yards before the end of Hontoon Rd. This is easy to miss on online maps.

By boat

There is a ferry between the mainland and Hontoon Island. Many people use boats or travel in boat tours along the St. John's River, which flows through Lake Beresford and throughout the area. The river splits around, and therefore creates, the island.

See
  • 🌍 Sandra Stetson Aquatic Center (Bartram Garden & Trails), Alhambra Ave (east of Hontoon Rd, on the west shore of the lake). Stetson University, based in DeLand, constructed the building and the surrounding preserve using $6 million donated by Sandra Stetson, John Stetson's great-granddaughter. The Batram Garden is named after the Bartram explorers of the 18th century. Many universities use the site. (updated Oct 2021)

Do
  • 🌍 Hontoon Island State Park, 2309 River Ridge Rd (Hontoon Rd south until the junction with River Ridge Rd; left on River Ridge Rd to the parking lot on the left), ☏ +1 386 736-5309. Hontoon Island is surrounded by the Saint John's River west of DeLand. There is a ferry that goes from the parking lot on the mainland across the St. Johns River to Hontoon Island. On this side is a forest, visitor center, and forest with trails. Free. (updated Jun 2018)
  • 🌍 Lake Beresford Park, 2100 Fatio Road (west from the junction of Fatio Rd and Deerfoot Rd). Approximately 200 acres of park on the eastern shore of the lake. Free. (updated Oct 2021)

Eat

Sleep

Lodging

Camping
  • Hontoon Island Getaway (Camping at Hontoon) (0.3 mi (0.48 km) from the dock), toll-free: +1 800 326-3521. Some small cabins on Hontoon Island are available for rent. There is also a traditional (tent) camping site. You can reserve a cabin or tent by going to the Florida State Parks reservations webpage and typing "Hontoon Island State Park" into the search engine in the top-left corner. Click on the link and, if necessary, "search," and the options should appear under "Hontoon Island State Park" > "AREA HONTOON ISLAND SP" on the right side of your desktop screen. On mobile, the steps may require separate screens. $30 four-person cabin; $35 six-person cabin (2021). (updated Oct 2021)

Go next
  • DeLand with Stetson University is a couple miles east of Lake Beresford.
  • Ocala National Forest is to the northwest.
  • Mount Dora is the next town to the west along FL-44, about half an hour's drive away.
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