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
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
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