Silver River State Park, Ocala, Florida

This park is located in Ocala, Florida. It is one of the state's newest parks. It was designed and laid out with the new, larger RV's in mind. The campsites are all large, easy to get into and have a good amount of privacy. There are great hiking trails, and the beautiful Silver River to kayak or canoe on. This is a spring fed river so it is crystal clear. You will see a lot of birds and some alligators and turtles. There are a few places to get out and stretch your legs but you need to be careful of gators before you get out. You can put your kayak in in the park but you have to tow it 1/2 mile down the river trail. We have kayak carts so we roll them down to the river. You then are close to the headspring, which is the prettiest part of the river. You can kayak up to the Silver Springs Attraction, but cannot get out on their property. There are beautiful deep springs you can float right over and it in credible to look down into the bottom of an 80 foot deep spring. There are glass bottom boats coming and going so you need to stay out of their way. You can occasionally hear their captains explaining the history of the springs. Many old movies were filmed there.

View of the river from my kayak Twins?

WILD MONKEYS There are wild monkeys on the river. The story is that many years ago they were brought in for movie and released to an island, thinking they would never escape. They did and apparently have thrived. We made a kayak trip upriver one summer and were lucky enough to see many of them, including some very young babies.

BEARS We had been told someone saw a Florida Black Bear running around in the campground just a few days before we were there. There are signs on the hiking trails warning to be aware of bears, however we had never seen one. We found a little book that showed what different animal's prints looked like. We noted what a bear print looked like and then started a hike. Almost immediately we saw this print. We both knew immediately it was from a bear. We never saw the bear but knew he had been there! It was the highlight of our day. One day we hope to see one in the wild.

CAMPSITES All of the campsites are great, but our favorites are 20 and 22. They did have some trees go down after a hurricane in 2004, but they are still our favorites. You can't go wrong with any of these sites, even if you have a larger motorhome.