Hernando County, Florida
Spring Hill
Mermaids, a dinosaur filling station, and a town that wanted to be called something else.
Weeki Wachee Springs sits on the doorstep: the live mermaid show, running since the 1940s, and Buccaneer Bay, Florida's only spring-fed water park.
What this place is
Why Spring Hill is here
The area first appeared on county maps in 1856, but the community itself was built in 1967 as a planned development by the Deltona Corporation and the Mackle Brothers.
Spring Hill was a product before it was a town - a mid-century Florida land development sold by the acre, and it still reads as one.
- 1856First on county maps
- 1967Deltona builds Spring Hill
Worth the trip
What to look for
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The Spring Hill waterfall at US 19 and Spring Hill Drive, the development's original gateway feature.
- 02
Harold's Garage, a dinosaur-shaped filling station, and the pink apatosaurus standing on US 19.
- 03
Nature Coast Botanical Gardens.
Hotels, inns, rentals and campgrounds
Where to Stay
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Campgrounds
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Vacation Rentals
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Campgrounds
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Campgrounds
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Vacation Rentals
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Hotels
Restaurants, seafood, cafes and bars
Where to Eat
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Restaurants · $$
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Seafood · $
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Bars Breweries · $
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Seafood
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Restaurants · $
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Restaurants · $
Parks, beaches, museums, tours and charters
Things to Do
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Parks Nature
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Parks Nature
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Tours Charters
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Tours Charters
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Roger's Park
Parks Nature
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Parks Nature
Spring Hill on the record
Pictures of the place
Archive and Creative Commons photographs of Spring Hill. Nothing here is generated; every image is credited to the person who took it.
74 guides, written from this town’s own record
Guides
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The Best Things to Do in Spring Hill, Florida
The name on the plat was **Spring Lake**. That is what the developers called it, what they printed on the brochures, and what they sold to people looking for a piece of mid-century Florida. The only problem was that the name was already taken down the road. So in 1967, the Deltona Corporation and the Mackle Brothers settled on **Spring Hill**.
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The Best Restaurants in Spring Hill, Florida
Spring Hill was almost Spring Lake, and the only thing that changed was the name on the map—everything else about this 1967 planned development still feels like a mid-century promise kept at highway speed.
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Where to Stay in Spring Hill: Hotels, Inns and Rentals
Spring Hill is a place that was named for what it couldn’t have, and that’s a fine way to start a lodging search.
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A Weekend in Spring Hill: What to See, Eat and Do
Spring Hill was almost called Spring Lake, right up until the developers found out another Florida town had the name first. So they shrugged, kept the hill, and built a city anyway.
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Spring Hill FL: 16 Things to Know Before You Visit
Spring Hill is a 1967 planned development that still reads as a product—a mid-century land sale with a waterfall for a welcome mat, a dinosaur for a landmark, and a mermaid show next door.
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The Best Time of Year to Visit Spring Hill
Spring Hill is a town that answers to a name it never wanted, and that turns out to be the best reason to visit in the months when everyone else is somewhere else.
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Spring Hill FL: Roadside Oddities and Natural Springs
Spring Hill is a mid-century land-sale product that still reads as one. Its real draw is the roadside oddities and natural springs on its doorstep, not the town itself.
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The History of Spring Hill in 7 Landmarks
Spring Hill is the rare Florida town that almost named itself into a lawsuit, a place where the map lied before it told the truth, and where the roadside attractions outlasted the sales pitch.
Public record
Spring Hill by the numbers
- 118,814Residents (2023)
- 2.6% Homes held for seasonal use
- 241 Places in this guide