Ocala National Forest

The next stop on the caravan’s adventure was Ocala National Forest and we camped at Salt Springs Recreation Area. We think this park is a Florida gem. There are four crystal clear springs in the forest. They are Juniper Springs, Salt Springs, Silver Glen Springs and Alexander Springs. You can picnic or swim at the springs, and the water averages a cool 72 degrees year around.

Camping with friends

The primary reason we came here was to see our long time friends, Carol and Ann. Because of the pandemic, it has been almost two years since we have seen them. It felt so good to see our friends again!

Charlee found our conversation quite boring.

The campsites at Salt Springs are very nice with full hook ups. The landscape is a pine scrub forest with greenery between the rows so you never are back to back with other campers.

We camped next to Carol and Ann. Behind us across the greenery were Loretta, Traci and Lois. We could all see each other. It was a nice set up.

The moon peeped through the trees during our first night.

We had a picnic at the springs and watched people swim in the cool water. We plan on swimming in the springs, but it was on a weekend and quite crowded.

Wildlife Entertainment

The wildlife is abundant. The squirrels here are fiesty and fun to watch. They provide quite a bit of entertainment.

Have you ever seen a squirrel eat a pine cone? This little guy is really going at it!

These sand cranes seem quite comfortable moseying along the forest.

These beautiful birds are fun to watch. They are laid back, not so much in a hurry….maybe there is a lesson to be learned here. 🙂

Biking in the park

The campground is quite spread out so riding a bike is fun. You can ride to the springs and explore the park. There is also a large primitive camping area with a place to launch your kayaks.

There are many service roads throughout the national forest where you can ride your bikes. We explored this dirt packed road that is next to the campground. We turned around before reaching the end. One of the park volunteers told us the road goes to Lake George.

Kayaking at Salt Springs

We put in our kayaks at the campground boat launch. We enjoyed the quiet morning and the water was calm.

It was very relaxing paddling around the lake. There there were lots of mullets jumping in the air from one part of the water to another. It was amazing how high and far they could jump. We just sat still in our kayaks and watched them. After numerous shots of blank water we actually captured one fish in the air!

Reflections on the water

Enjoy these reflections on the water. We sure did!