Backpacking

Backpacking Areas

• Apalachicola National Forest

  

  The Apalachicola National Forest is home to some of the most unique animal and plant species in the world. Here, visitors can enjoy safe, family-friendly activities such as fishing, hunting, hiking and trail-riding while surrounded by tranquil, diverse ecosystems.

   

• Hickory Landing
• Bradwell Bay Wilderness
• Trail of Lakes
• Clear Lake Wilderness Study Area
• Porter Lake
• Ocala National Forest

  

  Nestled between well-known theme parks and white, sandy beaches, the jewels of the Ocala National Forest attract visitors from around the world.

  A travel destination in its own right, the Ocala features more than 600 lakes and rivers where visitors enjoy swimming, fishing, snorkeling, canoeing and boating.

  From migratory birds and playful manatees to delicate freshwater springs and some of the world's rarest plants, the Ocala is a haven where people (and animals) escape to one of Florida's remaining wild places. Here, opportunities abound for all to bask in the wonders of Mother Nature 365 days a year.

   

• Alexander Springs Recreation Area

  

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

  Only 27 first-magnitude springs exist in Florida, and Alexander Springs is by far one of the easiest to enjoy. A broad and naturally gently sloped spring pool is a constant 72°F and extraordinarily clear. Ripples play across the sand bottom as small fish dart about. Surrounded by a floodplain forest of maples, sweetgum and cabbage palms, this recreation area feels almost tropical.

  Camping

  • 67-unit campground accommodates tents and RVs up to 35 feet. All campsites require reservations by calling 1-877-444-6777 or at recreation.gov.
  • Maximum stay is 14 consecutive days in a 30-day period.
  • No electrical, water or sewer hookups. Hot showers and dump station.
  • Concessionaire sells snacks, groceries, ice, charcoal, firewood, beach items and personal items.

  Backpacking

  • Alexander Springs is one of several refreshing stops along the Florida National Scenic Trail. A 0.5 mile blue-blazed trail leads from the camping area to the main Trail, which is blazed orange. Alexander Springs to Clearwater Lake is 9.7 miles south. Alexander Springs to Farles Lake is 7 miles north.

  Boating

  • An on-site outfitter rents canoes for the paddle down Alexander Run into the Alexander Springs Wilderness. You’ll need to paddle back to the springs unless you’ve arranged for your own take out farther downstream.

  Nature Viewing

  • Birding is fabulous along Alexander Run.

  Picnicking

  • Plenty of picnic tables are available under the oaks, all within sight of the splashing fun of the springs.

  Scuba Diving

  • Alexander Springs is the only place in the Ocala National Forest where scuba diving is permitted. Open water diving enables you to explore the broad mouth of the spring.

  Swimming

  • Alexander Springs is one of the best swimming holes in the Ocala National Forest, with a gently sloped beach leading into the gently sloped spring basin.

  Walking the Trail

  • Day hikers will appreciate the shady Timucuan Trail, a 0.9-mile interpretive loop with a boardwalk through a jungle of palms along the spring run and more challenging terrain leading into the Big Scrub.
  • Enjoy the beauty of a turquoise spring basin on a walk around Alexander Springs. A paved path leads along the south side of the basin from the canoe launch to the trailhead for the Timucuan Trail. There, the interpretive trail continues as a boardwalk through the lush palm hammock along the spring's edge to observation decks along the spring run.

   

• Alexander Springs Wilderness
• Clearwater Lake Recreation Area

  

  Enjoy a quiet getaway along the southeastern edge of the Ocala National Forest, just outside the community of Paisley. A longleaf pine forest and wiregrass ecosystem surrounds the 32-acre lake and provides a beautiful, shaded, wooded setting for the campground, a day-use picnic area, beach and a nature trail.

  Boating

  • Paddle your canoe or kayak across our placid waters in search of a quiet spot along the reedy shoreline. It's slightly more than a mile circuit around the edge.

  Camping 

  • Nicely shaded, the 42-space Clearwater Lake Campground provides breezy lakefront sites. It accommodates both trailers and tents, and has bathhouses with showers.

  Fishing

  • Cast a line from your campsite or wade out into the grassy shallows for a chance to catch both bream and catfish.

  Hiking & Backpacking

  • The Clearwater Lake Nature Trail is a 1.3-mile loop starting at the day use area. It is an easy walk that traverses the major habitats around the lake, including pine flatwoods, freshwater marsh and oak scrub, providing interpretive information and numerous benches for birding or resting.

  Mountain Biking

  • Explore 22 miles of singletrack along the Paisley Woods Bicycle Trail between Alexander Springs Recreation Area and Clearwater Lake Recreation Area.

  Swimming

  • A swimming beach along Clearwater Lake provides a place for families to frolic in the water.

  This site is operated by Naventure.

• Farles Prairie Recreation Area
• Hopkins Prairie Campground
• Juniper Prairie Wilderness

  Protecting the heart of the Big Scrub, the 14,283-acre Juniper Prairie Wilderness is perhaps the best known of the four wilderness areas in the Ocala National Forest thanks to its frontage and prominent signage on SR 40 - the Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway - and SR 19.
  
  As a wilderness area, it remains roadless, untouchable by motorized vehicles or equipment. This special designation provides certain challenges in a flammable habitat such as the sand pine scrub for which our forest is famous, since firefighting options are limited. As a result, portions of the wilderness may seem denuded after a forest fire. But the scrub regenerates quickly, pushing up saw palmetto and young sand pines to provide shade and habitat for wildlife.

  The wilderness contains a mosaic of habitats bound together by the flow of open prairies, many with ponds, across the landscape. By hiking, backpacking or paddling through the wilderness, you can enjoy the flora and fauna of pine flatwoods, hardwood swamps, shallow lakes, grassy prairies, sand pine scrub, oak scrub, sinkholes and sawgrass marsh.

  Backpacking

  • Backpacking is one of the more popular ways to see the Juniper Prairie Wilderness.
  • A portion of the Florida Trail traverses the entire Juniper Prairie Wilderness between Juniper Springs and the Pat's Island Trailhead, with side trails to the historic Pat's Island settlement along the Yearling Trail (signposted) and to Juniper Run (unmarked).
  • Fans of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings’ book "The Yearling" know that Pat's Island, at the northeastern corner of the wilderness, was settled by the Long family around 1840. The historic settlement is where portions of the 1949 movie starring Gregory Peck was filmed and is accessible from the Yearling Trail across from Silver Glen Springs on SR 19.

  Boating

  • Canoeing is a great way to see the variety of ecosystems and abundance of wildlife in the Juniper Prairie Wilderness. 
  • The canoe rental at Juniper Springs Recreation Area provides paddlers with the opportunity to explore the wilderness by water with a haul back to your starting point.
  • Visitors can bring their own canoe or kayak and put in at Juniper Springs for a launch fee. To self-shuttle, limited parking is available at the Juniper Wayside along SR 19 for take-out.

  Camping

  • The prime overnight destination is Hidden Pond. This backcountry camping area has no amenities but is situated on a ridge between a spring-fed pond and a broad wet prairie, providing natural air-conditioning when a breeze sweeps across either watery landscape. When it's not general gun hunting season, you're welcome to pitch your tent anywhere under the stars. 

  Nature Viewing

  • On a paddling trip down the seven-mile canoe run, you might glimpse alligators, wading birds, deer, snakes, raccoons, fox, and even wild boars.
• Juniper Springs Recreation Area

  

  Juniper Springs is one of the oldest and best-known recreation areas on the East Coast. Located between Ocala and Ormond Beach along SR 40, this complex of swimming and picnic area, campground and trails was constructed in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps. This setting houses hundreds of tiny bubbling springs and massive springs gushing out of crevices in the earth beneath a dense canopy of palms and oaks, an oasis within the heart of the desert-like scrub ecosystem.

  Boating

  • Juniper Run is a narrow, winding waterway set under a dense canopy of old-growth forest and few places solid enough to get out of your canoe. Just before the take out point near SR 19, the waterway broadens to encompass wetlands teeming with wading birds and wildlife.

  Camping

  • Who doesn't love camping under a dense canopy of live oaks? Juniper Springs is one of the nation's top destinations for camping, not just because of the many activities available on site but also for its well-shaded setting.

  Interpretive Area

  • As a Civilian Conservation Corps-era recreation area and campground, Juniper Springs is a historic site with an interesting story to tell. Stop in the old Mill House to learn why and how the swimming area and campground were built, and how the mill used to provide electricity for the campground.

  Nature Watching

  • The dense, jungle-like forests surrounding Juniper Springs and Juniper Run - as well as the waterway itself - are home to wildlife that you might not commonly see elsewhere. Among the more interesting residents of our natural communities are the albino gray squirrels seen near the Mill House, the otters that play along the edges of the spring run and the American eels that migrate out to the Sargasso Sea to spawn, returning to Juniper Springs to live. 

  Swimming

  • Juniper Springs is notable as a crystalline pool of spring outflow, shallow at one end and deep enough to jump into at the other. Natural tapegrass grows along the bottom of the spring. Don't be surprised to see an American eel amid the greenery.

  Day Hiking / Walking / Backpacking

  • Backpackers often use Juniper Springs as a stopping-off point while working their way along a 72-mile unbroken segment of the Florida Trail.
  • Current Boardwalk area is closed to the Public for necessary renovations. Please stay tuned for project updates and related detours in the area.

  This site is operated by Naventure. 

• Lake Delancy West OHV Campground
• Little Lake George Wilderness
• St. Francis Trailhead
• Osceola National Forest

  

  The Osceola National Forest is a peaceful place where people come to escape their busy lives and reconnect with the land. Flatwoods and swamps transport visitors back in time, and provide a tranquil setting for first-rate hunting, fishing and swimming opportunities.

• Cobb Hunt Camp
• Ocean Pond Campground
• West Tower Hunt Camp