I love a good day trip! Living in Orlando, it can be hard to venture beyond the usual attractions that our famous theme parks have to offer. But like any major city, there is so much more to do in the surrounding area than meets the eye. This year, I am trying to be intentional about trying new things and seeing new places. Enter: Cassadaga, Florida.
Dubbed the “Psychic Capital of the World,” Cassadaga is an unincorporated community located just over 30 minutes north of Orlando. Back in January, my boyfriend and I took a day trip to tour this historic little community. Mo had been there years before but I had no idea what to expect. We ended up booking a tour, which I highly recommend.
We booked the tour through the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp website (Cassadaga Historical Tour). Tickets are $8.50 for children and $16.00 for adults. The tour was part lecture style and part walking, but the community is really small so it isn’t too much walking. I really enjoy learning about history and culture but the lecture portion is 30-45 minutes, so keep that in mind. I did find it really interesting, since I knew next to nothing about Cassadaga and its history before going. We met for the tour at the Cassadaga Bookstore & Welcome Center, where you can find all kinds of spiritual knick knacks. From there we were brought to a little building for the informational lecture where we learned all about how Cassadaga came to be known as the psychic capital of the world. It is host to legitimate practicing mediums and psychics, who have all gone through the extensive spiritualist camp training. Fun fact, all mediums are psychics but not all psychics are mediums.
After our lecture, we had a short walking tour of the area and were shown a church where Sunday services are held. Our tour guide did not solicit tips, which I found to be different than any other tour I’ve taken. We had plenty of daylight left to explore more of Cassadaga after our tour and I felt more oriented. Like I keep saying, it’s small but there are plenty of landmarks to visit. One of the most famous, probably, is the fairy trail.
The fairy trail was about a 2 minute walk from where our tour ended. It is located in a portion of Horseshoe Park and only takes a few minutes to explore, depending how long you like to look around. As a child, I had a slight obsession with fairies, so I have to say this was my favorite part of the day! There were little trinkets left by “fairies” and visitors throughout the trail. The photo ops were cute too. The trail even features a vortex, which encourages you to walk through with a chosen word or intention, lay it down in the center, and walk back out using the same path. It was a cool experience.
Overall, I really don’t think you need more than a day here nor is it somewhere I would visit more than once or twice a year. But that is not to say you shouldn’t visit if you can! Everyone was kind, it was clean, and there were plenty of things to put on the agenda.
You should be able to squeeze in a tour, a trip to the fairy trail, and even a palm reading or visit with a psychic, without staying the night. To describe it in my own words, the community of Cassadaga is whimsical, frozen in time, and in its own bubble away from the rest of the world (in a good way).
xo Jessica
