Marion County Waterways

Ocala Florida Real Estate Listings Home Page

Ocala Florida Real Estate Listings Site Map

Florida hotels and motels

Ocala Marion County Florida has so many natural wonders it's hard to count them all. Rivers, lakes, first magnitude springs as well as many smaller springs, if you like swimming, boating, fishing, water skiing, canoeing or kayaking, you'll be right at home here!

The Rainbow River flows into the Withlacoochee River

RAINBOW SPRINGS & RIVER --  canoed and rafted by over 200,000 people annually! A trip here almost never fails to produce something! A hot spot for the locals is the small public beach on the W. side of the river's junction with the Withlacoochee River. There is also what appears to be a sunken barge or steamer on the E. side of the same junction. On the upper river, look for rope swings, dive platforms, nails in trees where climbing ladders once were.  The best way to see and dive the river is to take a boat from the Withlacoochee boat ramp (Hwy. 41 bridge over Withlacoochee in Dunnellon) and go East until you see the clear Rainbow Spring's Run (Blue River) about 1 mile East of the ramp.

The Rainbow River is a tuber's, canoer's, kayaker's, snorkeler's and fishermen's paradise!

The Silver River has many springs along it's length The Silver River flows into the Oklawaha River

SILVER SPRINGS --  visited by millions annually, and this site is mentioned in Spanish and English documents from the 1500's on! William Bartram is known to have dropped coins in the main spring to judge its depth. In the Silver River, near its confluence with the Oklawaha River, are the remains of the 1800's river steamer METAMORA, which sank March 19, 1903, with the loss of two lives (so it sank suddenly). To reach the river, go E. of Ocala on Hwy. 40 to the Oklawaha River crossing, and look for the boat ramp on the S. side of the bridge.

Salt Springs flows into Salt Springs Run

 

 

SALT SPRINGS -- another site in the vast Ocala National Forrest visited by hundreds each day in the summertime, this spring is at the head of Salt Spring's Run, which is littered with ancient pottery shards and spear-points all along its three-mile length! There is a boat ramp off Hwy. 19 in the town of Salt Springs that offers excellent access to the millpond and spring. Salt Springs pumps out millions of gallons of slightly salty water daily

There are many ancient shell mounds along salt Springs run

Towards the lower reaches of Salt Springs Run, there are the remains of three ancient shell middens that are commonly used as swimming sites by boaters and campers, rope swings come and go with the seasons.

Shell mound on salt Springs Run

Shell mound in the Ocala National forest near Lake George on Salt Springs Run

Silver Glen Spring in the Ocala National Forest is accesible from Lake George on the St Johns River

SILVER GLEN SPRING --  probably a Spanish Mission Site, though this is still under study. The spring was one of the ones visited by William Bartram in the 1700's, and he would habitually drop coins in the springs to determine depth. Bartram mentions this one specifically in his literature. Today, thousands of people swim in the spring and its run to Lake George each year. Easy to visit, it is just off Hwy. 19, 5 miles north of the Hwy. 19 & 40 intersection.

Fore Lake is just one of hundreds of lakes in the Ocala National Forest

FORE LAKE -- (N29° 16.30 W81° 54.94)  Fore lake is off Hwy. 314 (Salt Springs Highway) which connects Hwy. 40 out of Ocala and Hwy. 19 out of Palatka.