Photos from Ocala, Silver Springs State Park, Santos MTB, and Ocala National Forest

View of the Silver River near Ocala, Florida, from our canoe - Photo: Stillgravity.
Canoeing in the Silver River near Ocala, Florida. This was the "African jungle" of the old Tarzan's movies - License our images here.        

Ocala has many things if you like the outdoors. We've traveled the area many times and still find places for the bucket list. Let's share what we know - check the images at the end of the post. 

Silver Springs State Park

This park with a campground on the margins of the Silver River is close to the city of Ocala. We've camped here multiple times and hiked and biked the trails. Once, we paddled a canoe upriver to the springs. 

This forest is a wild jungle. There are bears and even monkeys. The monkeys were the rhesus macaques freed in the first half of the 20th century. They were an attraction of the park on the springs, a popular destination since the 1820s. Alligators and turtles are common in the river. Hollywood shot six Tarzan movies here. 

Santos Mountain Bike Trails 

Santos - "saints" in Spanish - is "the place" for Florida mountain bikers. Named for the native town of two Brazilian slaves that lived here in the 19th century, we've come three times for the Santos Fat Tire Festival. In this yearly event you can test new bikes for free from well-known brands such as Scott, Specialized, Santa Cruz, Giant, Trek, and Cannondale. Mountain bikers walk around like kids in a chocolate factory. There is campground in Santos, but during the Fat Tire Festival is always full. 

Cross Florida Greenway

The Santos trails and the Cross Florida Greenway were born from the failed Cross Florida Barge Canal. This project planned to connect the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico through northern Florida. Construction began during WW2 but was stopped because of environmental concerns. This 110-mile-long linear park has many trails for hiking, biking, and horse riding. There are a couple of campgrounds along the way, but we only have stayed at the Ross Prairie Campground on the Highway 200. 

Ocala National Forest

This forest is huge and has many trails and dirt roads. Some recreation areas have spring-fed pools - Juniper Springs and Alexander Springs. In Juniper Springs you can paddle a canoe downriver in a 7-mile adventure. There are black bears in this forest, so follow the rules when hiking and camping - dispersed camping with vehicles may be problematic here. There is a 22-mile biking trail on the southeastern area of the national forest named Paisley Woods Bicycle Trail. Very sandy by the northern trailhead.   

Ocklawaha River

Once, we hiked the shores of the Ocklawaha River. The name means "muddy" in the Creek language but when we went the water was crystal clear. President Ulysses Grant traveled to Silver Springs and Ocala through this river in 1880. Ocala's population was under a thousand at the time. Check the number nowadays. 

Now the best part of the post: some images from these places. 

Images from the campground of Silver Springs State Park in Ocala, Florida - Photos: Stillgravity.
Images from different stays in the campground of Silver Springs State Park. One time we went with the tent.          

Collage of images of Silver Springs State Park showing the trails, the Silver River, the cracker's village, and campground - Photos: Stillgravity.
Collage of images of Silver Springs State Park. The Florida cracker's village, canoeing in the Silver River, the trails, and our camper in the campground. 

Collage of images of the Santos Fat Tire Festival in Ocala, Florida - Photos: Stillgravity.
Some photos of one of the Santos Fat Tire Festival. This event is always crowded and, yes, there is food. Advice: Reserve your campsite ahead. Once we ended camping an hour away in the Silver Lake Campground of the Withlacoochee Forest.          

Multiple images of the trails of the Cross Florida Greenway in Ocala, Florida - Photos: Stillgravity.
The Cross Florida Greenway is an amazing place. The paved trail is great for road bikes. This strip of wilderness is traveled by the Florida Trail. The Landbridge crosses the trail over the busy Interstate 75.          

The spring waters of Juniper Springs in the Ocala National Forest, Florida - Photo: Stillgravity.
Juniper Springs Recreation Area in Ocala National Forest. There are many spring heads in this section.         

Photos of the spring-fed pool, the mill, campground, and trail in the Juniper Springs Recreation Area - Photos: Stillgravity.
The pool with its mill, the campground, and one of the trails of Juniper Springs. The pool gets crowded in the weekends because there are many cities and towns around Ocala National Forest.          

The beauty of the Ocklawaha River near Ocala, Florida - Photo: Stillgravity.
The water of the Ocklawaha River mirroring the sky in a beautiful day. This river is on the western boundaries of Ocala National Forest and close to the city of Ocala.              

Images from the Ocklawaha trail in Ocala, Florida - Photos: Stillgravity.
More images from the Ocklawaha trail. Nice and shaded walk. 

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