Spring
Garden Ranch Restaurant and Training Track DeLeon Springs, FL
(about 120 miles roundtrip starting and ending in Leesburg)
Riding
through Emeralda Marsh, an area of wetlands adjacent to Lake Griffin,
the Oklawaha River, and Emeralda Island, is a relaxing, scenic way to
start your ride to the Spring Garden Ranch Restaurant in DeLeon Springs,
a small community just north of Deland in Volusia County. From February
1st to April 30th, you can watch from the
restaurant as the trotters and pacers participate in qualifying races on
the track. On other days you might see horses training on the track.
Currently, Spring Garden Ranch Restaurant is only open from Oct 15th
to April 30th (the horse training season). You might want to
call (386-985-0526) before riding over to be sure the restaurant is
open. (Key: US—Federal Highway; SR—State Road; CR—County Road)
- Depart Gator HD south
on US441 (get in far-left lane).
- At 1st
traffic light (less than 1 mile from Gator HD) turn left on to SR44.
- Travel east on SR44.
Several miles up the road you will go through a traffic light.
- Just past the traffic
light, turn left off SR44 on to Emeralda Avenue (there is a BP Service
station at the corner of Emeralda Avenue and SR44).
- Go to the stop sign
and turn left on to Emeralda Island Road.
- Continue on Emeralda
Island Road through the marsh and lakes (it winds around and includes
several hairpin curves.)
- At intersection of
Emeralda Island Road and CR452, continue straight across CR452.
Emeralda Isle Road is now called Em-En-El Grove Road.
- At stop sign
(intersection of Em-En-El Grove Road and Thomas Boat Landing Road)
turn left on to Thomas Boat Landing Road.
- At the ‘Y’
intersection on Thomas Boat Landing Road, stay to the right.
- At the stop sign turn
right on to CR450 and travel east to Umatilla.
- Turn left on to SR19
at the traffic light and travel north on SR19 about ¼ mile where CR450
again intersects with SR19.
- At intersection of
SR19 and CR450 turn right to continue traveling on CR450.
- Turn right at stop
sign (intersection of CR450 and CR42) on to CR42.
- Travel east on CR42
until it dead-ends at SR44.
- Turn left on to SR44
and head east toward Deland.
- A couple of miles up
SR44, turn left on to Grand Avenue (a Citgo Service Station is located
at the intersection of 44 and Grand Avenue. If you cross railroad
tracks on SR44, you’ve gone past Grand Avenue).
- Follow Grand Avenue
until you come to Wheeler Street.
- Turn right on to
Wheeler Street and follow it to US17.
- Turn left (north) on
to US17.
- Turn right on to
Spring Garden Ranch Road. It takes you to Spring Garden Ranch
Restaurant and training track for trotters and pacers.