{"id":42582,"date":"2021-12-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.travellens.co\/best-things-to-do-in-cassadaga-fl\/"},"modified":"2024-01-04T14:22:43","modified_gmt":"2024-01-04T14:22:43","slug":"best-things-to-do-in-cassadaga-fl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.travellens.co\/best-things-to-do-in-cassadaga-fl\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Best Things to Do in Cassadaga, FL"},"content":{"rendered":"
Put Cassadaga in Florida as the centerpiece of your holiday trip if you want a vacation with a spiritual flavor to it.<\/p>\n
After all, this small unincorporated town of Volusia County in east-central Florida has earned fame as the “Psychic Capital of the World.”<\/p>\n
Cassadaga began building this reputation in the mid-1890s when it was established as a winter retreat for spiritualists from Lily Dale, NY.<\/p>\n
The town\u2019s founder, George P. Colby, claimed that the Native American spirit guide, Seneca, led him to Cassadaga.<\/p>\n
The name that Colby adopted for the town is a Seneca Indian word meaning “water beneath the rocks.”<\/p>\n
This alone is a hint at the myriad of joys to discover not only in Cassadaga but also in east-central Florida.<\/p>\n
Here are the 15 best things to do in Cassadaga that you can calendar for an extraordinary visit to Florida: <\/p>\n
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JWCohen \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n
Tackle the short uphill path of Seneca Street from the Colby Memorial Temple to the enchanting Horseshoe Park and Fairy Trail.<\/p>\n
Horseshoe Park preserves the lush woodlands of the meandering horseshoe-shaped roadway in the original survey of the Cassadaga community.<\/p>\n
The northern side of the park serves as the whimsical setting of the Fairy Trail under the shadow of thick tree canopies.<\/p>\n
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JWCohen \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n
This trail is short, looping at just 0.2 miles, but here, you can imagine yourself within the realm of sprites, pixies, gnomes, and other kindred nature spirits.<\/p>\n
Like other past trail visitors, you can hang sparkling and colorful beads on tree limbs as your memento for the place.<\/p>\n
Along the trail, you will have photo-ops in its labyrinth and fairy houses, as well as with the fairy wings strategically placed near the trail\u2019s entrance and exit.<\/p>\n
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JWCohen \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n
Access the 146-acre Colby-Alderman Park at 1099 Massachusetts St. for a soothing outdoor experience in Cassadaga.<\/p>\n
This park\u2019s name is honorific of spiritual medium George Colby, founder of the nearby Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp, and the Alderman family, donor of the parkland.<\/p>\n
Lake Colby spreads adjacent to this park, providing a scenic backdrop to its lush trees and vegetation.<\/p>\n
The Colby-Alderman Park provides a boat ramp for fishing and boating in the lake.<\/p>\n
In this park, you can follow a 1.5-mile, out-and-back nature trail suited for walking, jogging, or biking.<\/p>\n
The park also offers two pavilions, picnic tables, an outdoor volleyball court, a kids\u2019 playground, and ample parking spaces.<\/p>\n
Check out the C. Green\u2019s Haunted History Museum housed in a historic one-story structure at 1079 Stevens Street.<\/p>\n
This museum features more than 2,000 square feet with 25 rooms where you can experience the macabre and paranormal in its collection.<\/p>\n
Family-friendly in concept, it features more than 300 items on display that includes haunted dolls, crystals, Ouija boards, and a 1900s rental casket.<\/p>\n
The museum is open Friday to Saturday, and if you visit the museum early, you can return later with your ticket for the haunted house tour at no added cost.<\/p>\n
Psychic readings are offered in the mini-garden of this museum, where you can also buy crystals and jewelry.<\/p>\n
Drop by the Cassadaga Spiritualist Psychic Center at 1048 Marion Street for readings on your life journey.<\/p>\n
This center offers the psychic reading services of a brother-and-sister tandem, Chris and Kathy.<\/p>\n
These two are certified mediums for psychic readings, life coaching, tarot cards, and other spiritual services.<\/p>\n
As a full-time international psychic, Chris is not only a holistic life coach but a healer as well, offering one-on-one sessions either in person or by phone.<\/p>\n
His sister, Kathy, is a fourth-generation psychic reader who is also a mystic and can do readings by phone too.<\/p>\n
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Ebyabe<\/a>, CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n The Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp is your logical first stop for an immediate grasp of the town\u2019s psychic character.<\/p>\n The hub of this camp, which was designated in 1991 as a Historic District and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is at 1325 Stevens Street.<\/p>\n The Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp spreads over 53 acres and hosts a 55-home neighborhood where the residents worship at the Colby Memorial Temple.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ebyabe<\/a>, CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n Visitors are welcome in this camp, and you can seek the apartments or homes of the camp\u2019s residents who offer their services as healers and mediums.<\/p>\n The camp also holds tours, workshops, and seminars that you can check out at spiritualists\u2019 administrative office at Stevens Street.<\/p>\n On this same street, you can shop for books on spiritualism and metaphysics as well as other related items at the Andrew Jackson Davis Bookstore & Information Center.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ebyabe<\/a>, CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/p>\n Book a room at the Cassadaga Hotel that was built in 1922 precisely to accommodate the growing visitors of the Spiritualist Camp.<\/p>\n This small, 14-room hotel reminiscent of intimate travel accommodations of the 1920s is located at 355 Cassagada Road, just across the spiritual camp\u2019s administrative building.<\/p>\n This hotel claims that it is haunted but also swears that its resident ghosts are friendly spirits.<\/p>\n Many Cassagada visitors were said to have taken pictures of spirit energies in and around this offbeat hotel.<\/p>\n The hotel\u2019s gift shop offers a wide variety of specialty books andsouvenirs, such as candles and sterling silver jewelry.<\/p>\n For an exquisite dining experience, you can try the Italian dishes of Sinatra’s L’Aldila Restaurant inside the Cassagada Hotel.<\/p>\n Cassadaga features two other parks worth exploring for their spiritual attributes\u2014Seneca Park and Medicine Wheel Park.<\/p>\n Seneca Park is located at 1099 Marion Street and was developed to celebrate the spirit guide of George Colby, Seneca.<\/p>\n Embraced by lush trees, this park has a centerpiece gazebo overlooking Spirit Pond, ideal for meditation.<\/p>\n You can also turn to reflection and meditation at Medicine Wheel Park, which was developed to honor sacred Native American traditions.<\/p>\n Sitting in an incline near the Fairy Trail, this park is located at 535-501 Lake Street.<\/p>\n Book a ticket to the Cassadaga after Dark: Find the Spirits Tour typically held each Friday starting from 8:00 p.m.<\/p>\n This tour\u2019s tickets can be bought at the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp\u2019s bookstore at 1112 Stevens Street.<\/p>\n During this two-hour tour, the psychic investigators of the camp will guide you on the scientific side of spiritualism.<\/p>\n In this tour, you will have a nighttime walk-through of the Victorian-era community of Cassadaga and enter two of its spiritual hotspots.<\/p>\n You will learn how the camp\u2019s psychics probe, analyze, and classify spirit manifestations.<\/p>\n With your digital camera, you may be able to capture images of these manifestations that can come out as energy orbs for you to fathom later.<\/p>\n This learning tour about Spiritualism, Mediumship, and Physical Phenomena will take you to rugged terrain, so be sure to dress appropriately.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sean Pavone \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n Include an excursion to Daytona Beach<\/a> when visiting Cassadaga, as just some 20 miles separate these two amazing Florida destinations.<\/p>\n Located northeast of Cassadaga, Daytona Beach offers 23 miles of white-sand coastline and plenty of water-based recreational activities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sean Pavone \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n Your choice in this east Florida coastal attraction includes not only swimming and sunbathing.<\/p>\n Dubbed as \u201cThe World’s Most Famous Beach,\u201d Daytona Beach is also a haven for surfing, parasailing, and fishing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tom Hirtreiter \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n Daytona Beach is accessible to visitors for free 24\/7, and parking is allowed in several designated beach areas.<\/p>\n In addition, you can enjoy a mile-long zone surrounding the Daytona Beach Pier open to pedestrians only.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sean Pavone \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n The Daytona Aquarium is one interesting place to visit coming from Cassadaga, especially if you love keeping and growing exotic tropical fish.<\/p>\n Only about 17 miles northeast of Cassadaga, the Daytona Aquarium is located at<\/p>\n 3131 West International Speedway Blvd.<\/p>\n This aquarium boasts 30 years of experience in tropical fish breeding, raising, and selling.<\/p>\n The Daytona Aquarium\u2019s specialization is cichlids, but it also offers a large variety of freshwater fish.<\/p>\n On its site, this aquarium maintains more than 30,000 gallons of fresh water in its tanks, all filled with tropical fish in an amazing rainbow of colors.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Katherine Welles \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n Located just 20 miles northeast of Cassadaga, the Daytona International Speedway conducts daily tours of its site at 1801 West International Speedway Blvd.<\/p>\n In this tour, you will see up-close the behind-the-scenes in one of the world\u2019s centers of car racing.<\/p>\n All these tours notably include a digital photo package that should preserve more than enough memories of your Daytona experience.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grindstone Media Group \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n There is also a camping option that allows you to set up your RV or trailer camp somewhere in the 180-acre infield of this famed speedway.<\/p>\n From your campsite, you can thus relive the heat of the thrilling Daytona races, particularly at the speedway\u2019s famous banked turns curved at 31-degree angles.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grindstone Media Group \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n The Stetson Mansion is located at Northeast Camphor Lane in DeLand<\/a>, about 8 miles to the north of Cassadaga.<\/p>\n It is often endearingly called \u201cthe house that hats built\u201d because its owner is the famous hat maker John B. Stetson.<\/p>\n Built in 1886, the Stetson Mansion is reputed as the most historic home in all of Florida and the state\u2019s lone Gilded Age mansion.<\/p>\n The Stetson Mansion is also considered the grandest and most innovative home ever built in Florida before the 20th century.<\/p>\n It was the first Florida home with Edison electricity, indoor plumbing, steam heating, and a call bell system.<\/p>\n The mansion\u2019s opulent details include a parquet wood floor in 16 different mosaic patterns, 10,000 antique glass panes, and various handcrafted wood adornments.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Paul Juser \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n The Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens is a 10-acre historical site as well as a botanical preserve.<\/p>\n This point of interest in east-central Florida is located in Orange, 24 miles northeast of Cassadaga.<\/p>\n The Plantation\u2019s history began even before Florida became a state of the US in 1845.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Paul Juser \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n Located near the Halifax River, Dunlawton was one of the big plantations that drove the sugar industry of Florida, then under Spanish jurisdiction.<\/p>\n During the Second Seminole War of 1836, the Dunlawton Plantation was the scene of ferocious battles that destroyed the mill and eventually crippled Florida\u2019s sugar industry.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Paul Juser \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n The plantation became the site of the Bongoland amusement park, and when this was closed, the restoration of the Dunlawton Sugar Mill ensued.<\/p>\n Various plant collections in different gardens were integrated with this restoration project which also introduced a master gardener demonstration area.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Paul Juser \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n Have a unique experience in a tour of the Reptile Discovery Center at the corner of U.S. Highway 92 and Big John Drive in DeLand, 11 miles north of Cassadaga.<\/p>\n In this facility, you can stroll along its nature trail, where you will see various reptile species, including tortoises, lizards, and alligators, in their enclosures.<\/p>\n It also features indoor exhibits for various kinds of snakes, like mambas, cobras, and rattlesnakes.<\/p>\n For a more exciting visit, schedule it either a Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday, as on these days, you have a chance to witness live venom extraction at the center.<\/p>\n The center is also home to the Medtoxin Venom Laboratories, a commercial venom production facility, hence the extraction drills demonstrations for visitors on certain days.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n U. Gernhoefer \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n Blue Springs State Park is located at 2100 West French Avenue, Orange City<\/a>, which is less than 10 miles west of Cassadaga.<\/p>\n You can enjoy swimming in the 73-degree waters of this park\u2019s spring, the largest on the St. Johns River.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n U. Gernhoefer \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p>\n The park\u2019s waters have been designated as manatee refuge, but swimming with these endangered creatures is strictly prohibited.<\/p>\n The park provides a hiking trail, several picnic areas, and air-conditioned cabins for overnight stays.<\/p>\n Camping in this park is also an option, and facilities are available for you to enjoy boating and fishing in the St. Johns River.<\/p>\n A visit to Cassadaga can be full of exciting surprises, given that this town has built a reputation around mysticism.<\/p>\n Additionally, the strategic location of Cassadaga in east-central Florida enables the town\u2019s visitors to immediately swing to other endearing points of interest in the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n Keep Cassadaga in mind when planning a holiday break, as the trip will surely be worth it.<\/p>\n Things to Do in Ormond Beach, FL<\/a><\/p>\n Things to Do in DeLand, FL<\/a><\/p>\n Things to Do in Edgewater, FL<\/a><\/p>\nStay at Cassagada Hotel<\/h2>\n
Explore Seneca Park and Medicine Wheel Park<\/h2>\n
Join the Cassadaga after Dark: Find the Spirits Tour<\/h2>\n
Other Things to Do Nearby<\/h2>\n
Get a Sun Tan at Daytona Beach<\/h2>\n
Shop for Tropical Fish the Daytona Aquarium<\/h2>\n
Visit the Daytona International Speedway<\/h2>\n
Visit the Stetson Mansion that Hats Built<\/h2>\n
Wade Deep in History at Dunlawton Sugar Mill Gardens<\/h2>\n
Tour the Reptile Discovery Center<\/h2>\n
Explore Blue Springs State Park<\/h2>\n
Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n
Discover More of Volusia County, FL<\/h3>\n