Ocala National Forest - Alexander Springs

Tom and I belong to a camping club, the Outlanders at the University of Central Florida. This trip was our first trip of the summer with them. It is always nice to go with a group of people who enjoy the same things as you. Plus, you get to split the costs!

This was very easy to find, as it wasn't primitive camping like our last few trips. The area is called "Ocala National Forest Recreation Area" on county road 445 in Altoona. It was well marked, once we got to the general area there were many signs pointing the way. It is also located close to a small town, so there are places to eat and do things.

The campsites are $18.75 a night, but if you book on the weekends you have to book two nights. If you want to stay for the day, it is about $5 a carload, but, as usual, around 11 a.m. they closed the park for overcrowding. The campsite comes with a picnic table, a lantern post, a fire pit, and a grill. It was nice to see the grill and the fire pit separate. The campsites were semi-open, you could usually see a few other groups but it wasn't crowded at all. An interesting note about this campground is they do not have RV hookups. Eveyone is tent camping, which is something you hradly ever see these days.

At the spring, the swimming area was really nice. The ground was mostly sand, rather than walking around on rocks or vegetation. The spring was quite beautiful, so make sure to bring goggles or snorkeling gear. It is also possible to SCUBA dive in the spring. The only thing I did not like was the small area available for swimming. At Blue Springs only about an hour away, the swimming area is more than twice the size (but full of rocks and vegetation -- you win some, you lose some!)

Right next to the spring is a 1.1 mile walking trail we went through, with a nicely kept up boardwalk and a couple of lookout areas. The farthest lookout area is away from the spring, so it is nice to sit out there and watch the river. It would have been a nice place to sit and bring lunch to, as there are benches. There is also a biking trail and hiking trail, but we weren't up for that on this trip (and we didn't bring the bikes...).

A unique aspect of the campground is bears. Apparently they frequent the area and steal people's garbage if it is left out. They also said to not even leave it in your tent, as they will sniff it out and come into your tent. Then you will have an unexpected bedmate! At first I didn't really believe them, but after seeing the dumpster, I was a believer. The dumpster was covered in claw marks. We, however, did not see a bear during our trip.

All in all, I would say this is a great campground to visit, especially for tent campers! (and they allow alcohol...)

Til next time,

The camping bug

Canaveral National Seashore - July 11th and 13th, 2009

Tom, even though he is a Florida Native, has never seen the shuttle go off from the Space Coast. I knew we had to remedy that, and the best way was to involve a park! We set off Saturday morning to see the shuttle launch from a primitive island campsite at Canaveral National Seashore, a national park. First off, let me tell you there are many entrances. We started at the southern most entrance in Titusville, which is not where the primitive camping is located. We drove about another 40 minutes to a town called "Oak Hill". There, you will find a sign that says "Seminole Rest" on Canal Street. Another entrance is to turn right at Halifax, or the blinking yellow light in the town. If you see a RV campground called "Mosquito Lagoon", you are in the right place. The national park entrance is right next door. The northern most entrance is in New Symrna, which is also not correct for primitive camping.


All you can see from the road is a parking lot and some restrooms. Trust me, this is actually the entrance. Get out of the car and follow the path to a gorgeous yellow home. This was built in the early 1900's on top of an Indian shell mound. It is one of the last remaining in Florida. A woman bought the mound and the surrounding property in order to preserve it. You gotta love the early pioneers of what is now the park system. Here you can pick up your permit for island backcountry camping. Here is a link to a backcountry map: http://www.nps.gov/cana/planyourvisit/upload/camping-02.pdf



Island camping is $10 a night for up to six people. Where else can you get your own island so cheap?? It comes with a picnic table and a fire pit, although ours had a manmade structure for a toilet and a trail someone made with stone. This is primitive camping, which means no electricity and no bathroom. Fun! From the Seminole Rest home, it only took us about 30 minutes to canoe to site 10, with site 9 being even closer and sights 11, 12, and 13 not being far off. From our island we could clearly see the Vechicle Assembly Building, which is where the shuttle is stored.






Out in the canoe, we saw a school of dolphins who swam around us...it was quite lovely. There were also several manatees, jumping lady fish, and many types of birds. Some of the other boaters had fishing poles and seemed to catch many fish, though we thought of it too late. The bugs were minimal at our site, though this time we had the Off! clip on spray hanging in our tent. Let me tell you, that stuff works. We were able to set up our tent facing the water, and it was beautiful. Sadly, once we arrived at the island the shuttle launch was scrubbed. Hopefully we will be able to try again in the future.



I would recommend this trip as a nice getaway. There is also the ability to primitive beach camp here, but it is currently closed for turtle season. Hopefully we will make it there in the fall.

1. Wekiva River, Lower Preserve - July 2nd and 3rd, 2009

This trip proved to be a challenge for even the hardiest of campers...mostly because we got lost. However, the trip started out well. When we arrived at Wekiva Springs State Park, we checked in at the ranger booth. We had already booked a primitive camp site called "Buffalo Tram". It is the closest site to where we put in at, Wekiva Island. More on that in a minute. As it was one day after the start of the fiscal year, it was the first park we had gone to after the price increase. Not a big deal, the primitive campsites went up $1 per person per night, to $5. I wish they would have told us on the phone, but no big deal. What was exciting was that WESH 2 news pulled up about the same time as us, noticed the car and asked to speak with us. Of course, we were more than obligied. They asked us what we thought of the rate increase, and also informed us 19 parks would have closed without it. Well, there you go. That sealed the deal for us. We certainly don't want any parks to close. They taped the car driving away, and we sure got a kick out of it.

Now, when you go to Wekiva Springs, you do not want to put a canoe at the spring. You have to carry (not even drag because of the concrete) the canoe for a good 15 minutes. Not recommended. Instead, drive down to Wekiva Island (right next to the State Park) and launch your boat from there. Wekiva Island charges $6 per boat, whereas the State Park is $6 a car. The state park is a little cheaper. Wekiva Island also charges $5 a night if you park overnight, which you will if you camp. However, if you are just going to swim, drive to the State Park. Also, get there early on busy weekends -- the park closed at about 11 a.m. on July 3rd (a holiday) due to overcrowding.

Now, once we put in at Wekiva Island, we had been told by the park ranger that it was about a 2 hour canoe ride to Buffalo Tram. Well, apparently we are fast canoers, because, unknown to us, we passed it after about an hour. I would start looking early. The sign is rather small, on the left hand side of the river. You will come to a small island where you cannot go to the left because of underbrush. Go to the right, but then immediatly look to your left. You will see the sign ------->

If you come to a downed tree a canoe can barely go under, you are about 45 minutes too far. Tom and I went 2 hours to far, turning it into a 5 hour trip. I felt like Gilligan.

Once we made it to the site, it was very nice. The grass had recently been mowed and there was a fire pit. Some sort of old, wrecked boat was off to the side, which we may have explored if we had more time. Most interestingly, a raccoon, who was not scared of us at all, wandered through camp. We made sure to keep our food in the tent. There were also a lot of bugs - I would recommend some sort of standing bug spray, like the new Off! clip on. We got bit quite a bit. It is a private site, with other people who canoe by not even usually seeing you, as it is hidden a little. It would be a great spot to camp in the winter, when it is a little cooler and the bugs have exited.

All in all, it was a great trip. I will post again I am sure about the spring and kayaking, as this is the closest state park to my home.