Ocala National Forest is the southernmost national forest in the United States. Here are some of the local favorites for campgrounds and cabins.

The Ocala National Forest offers a wealth of natural getaways, from more than 2 dozen primitive campsites to complete resort facilities. Here are a few favorite campgrounds and cabin rental opportunities:

Ocala National Forest Camping:

The campground and Juniper Springs is a forest favorite.

JUNIPER SPRINGS RECREATION AREA. A perennial favorite, Juniper Springs recreation area offers camping in semi-tropical scenery along the scenic Juniper Creek. The 7-mile spring run is among the most popular canoeing destinations in the state. The unique swimming area at the spring’s source dates from the 1930s. Primitive camping is available to backpackers at Hidden Pond in the Juniper Prairie Wilderness. Campsite fees begin at $13 a night, and showers are available. Canoe rentals begin at $23 for the day. The Juniper Springs Recreation Area is located on SR 40, about 17 miles east of Silver Springs. For information, contact the Ocala National Forest Visitor Center, 3199 NE Hwy. 315, Silver Springs Fl 34488. Phone: (352) 236-0288. (Learn more about Juniper Springs.)

SALT SPRINGS RECREATION AREA. Since the turn of the century — when visitors sought the healing power of its slightly salty water — Salt Springs has been a popular destination for campers. The park was completely renovated in 1999. Local activities include fishing, snorkeling, bird watching, hiking and swimming in the spring’s headwaters. The recreation area is located on State Road 19 in Salt Springs, just north of Highway 314. In addition to tent camping, the recreation area offers full-hookup camping for trailers and motor homes. Showers are available. Primitive campsites cost $13 a night, or $17 with full-service hookups. For additional information, contact the Salt Springs Visitor Center, 14100 North Highway 19, Salt Springs, FL 32134. Phone: (352) 685-3070.

ALEXANDER SPRINGS RECREATION AREA. This scenic spring has been popular with the locals for something like a thousand years. Archaeological excavations have uncovered evidence of native Timucuan Indian settlements dating back to 1,000 A.D., and these are explained on the short nature trail near the campground. The spring provides swimming and snorkeling year-round, as well as one of the better canoe runs in the region. Campsites cost $15 a night, and canoe rentals cost $26 per day. For additional information, contact the Pittman Visitor Center, 45621 South SR 19, Altoona, FL 32702. Phone (352) 669-7495 or (352) 669-3522. (Learn more about Alexander Springs.)

Other popular campgrounds include Hopkins Prairie, Delancy West, Delancy East, Lake Eaton, Fore Lake, Lake Door, Clearwater Lake and Big Bass.

Ocala National Forest Cabins:

One of many rustic cabins in the Ocala National Forest.

The Forest Service itself offers a handful of rustic cabins that provide visitors a way to enjoy the natural beauty of the “Big Scrub” without the need to rough it. Here are a few local favorites:

Sweetwater Cabin. This secluded forest paradise is located about halfway down the Juniper Creek run. Built in the mid 1930s as a Civilian Conservation Corps project, it was later the home for the crew of the 1945 movie “The Yearling” starring Gregory Peck. The film won two Oscars in 1947. The book by Marjorie Kinan Rawlings was modeled after the Long family, which lived on nearby Pat’s Island. The cabin sleeps 12 people, has a full kitchen and facilities, along with a private deck over Sweetwater Spring. Since it’s off-limits to canoeists and kayakers, you’ll have the place to yourself. If you’re lucky enough to win the lottery, that is. The forest service gives away 52 weeks’ stay each year in a lottery starting January 1st. If you win the lottery, you’ll pay $800 per week. Call (352) 625-0546.

Elite Resorts at Salt Springs is situated on the shores of Little Lake Kerr, one of the forest’s fishing hotspots. The 70-acre RV park has 475 sites and 38 cabins. The cabins are 2 bedrooms each and sleep up to 12 people. Full sized kitchen and cable TV are included. The resort has a variety of amenities. For information call 1-800-356-2460.

Salt Springs is a favorite retreat in the Ocala National Forest. Lodging options include camping, cabin rentals and the Elite Resorts RV Park.

Mill Dam Lake Resort offers inexpensive lakefront cabins starting at $195 per week on the off season, or $249 per week after November 4th. Mill dam is a 168-acre lake that has a nice swimming area and respectable fishing opportunities. The cabins include cable and WiFi, and a diner is on the premises. Shopping is three miles away. For information, call (352) 625-4500.

Lake in the Forest Black Bear Resort is an ideal base camp for a week of fishing on Half Moon Lake, which produces many of the area’s trophy largemouth bass. The family-operated campground has RV sites, a pool, and recreation center. Six cabin rentals are available. The 1-bedroom cabins sleep 4-6, and include a sleeping loft. The rate is $84 per night or $400 per week. For information, call (352) 625-4500.

Horseshoe Lake Cabins. This retreat and conference center is located 2.5 miles east of Orange Springs on CR318, at the north end of the Ocala National Forest. The park surrounds a spring-fed lake and offers nature trails, fishing, canoeing, and swimming. Cabins are equipped with central air and heat, refrigerators, screened porches, picnic tables and barbecue grills. For info, call (352) 671-8560.

For local hotel and motel information in Ocala and Silver Springs, visit the Ocala Chamber of Commerce for more lodging information. You’ll also find Ocala rentals by owner on Ocala4sale.com, a local classified site. For a complete list of Florida campgrounds that you can filter and sort based on your needs (such as amenities, activities and region) check out the campground comparison tool at FindTheBest.com.

Deep inside Florida Caverns State Park near Marianna, FL.

Florida is full of caves. But unless you’ve got scuba equipment, special certification, and what some might call a death wish, you’ll never get to see most of them.

Since Florida’s water table is so close to the surface, few of its caves are dry. Florida Caverns State Park (with an elevation of 180 feet) is a rare exception. It contains the only dry, commercially operated cave in the state.

The ground below the park may as well be Swiss cheese. Between 30 and 40 caves have been found in the 1,280-acre park. Of these, 23 have been mapped and one is open to visitors. The caves are formed when rainwater, containing carbon dioxide, percolates through the soil, which contains humic acid.

The wedding cake formation inside Florida Caverns.

The resulting carbonic acid slowly chews away the underlying limestone. Slowly is an understatement–these caves were formed at a rate of 1 cubic inch every 100 years. The caves are home to crayfish, salamanders, crickets and rats. But bats are the best known residents. Five species of bats are found in the park.  Bats eat half their weight in bugs each night.

Park officials estimate that bats in the Marianna area eat 206,792 pounds of insects each year. But that’s down from 858,880 pounds before the region was developed. Indians lived near the caves as early as 10,000 years ago.

When the Spanish visited the area, they met Choctaws and Apalachicolas. The parking lot at the visitor’s center was once an Indian village. Local Indians hunted nearby and tended vegetable gardens. They lived in mud huts thatched with palmetto fronds. The cave entrances were used as temporary shelters 1,100 years ago, and in 1818 Indians used the caves to hide from Andrew Jackson.

But the caverns weren’t deeply explored until recently. The fires used for light would ruin the air in the caves, making it nearly impossible to explore, according to one park ranger.  The main cave was discovered in 1934 when a tree became uprooted. In 1942 the state bought the property and the Civilian Conservation Corps dug out portions of the cave to create walking space for visitors.

The cave entrance, a deep hole in a limestone bluff, is suitably creepy. The dark crags are festooned with stringy moss, and the heavy door at the bottom suggests something ominous beyond.

The cave is cool inside, a constant 65 degrees year-round. The depth of the cave averages 45 feet below the surface, and is 65 feet deep at its lowest point. The lower portion often floods during periods of heavy rain, but shortened tours are still offered.

The principle attraction inside are the calcite formations, which range from the fantastic to the grotesque. The walls and ceilings are the work of a maniacal decorator: A giant wedding cake is surrounded by nightmarish faces, prickly stalactites called “soda straws” cover portions of the ceiling, and fossilized sharks teeth accent the bare limestone.

Florida Caverns State Park

Several weddings have been performed in this unique atmosphere. The wedding colors are determined by the type of rock: the limestone is white, the clay is orange, and the decayed humus is brown.

Since these are dry caves, all of the stalactites (ceiling) and stalagmites (floor) are formed by seeping rainwater.”Rainfall is strictly the life of the cave,” according to the ranger. The formations are delicate. Light causes algae growth, so the lights turn off automatically as tours pass. Finger oil stunts the growth of the formations, so touching is discouraged. The tour lasts about an hour.

The cave is small compared to Carlsbad Caverns or Mammoth Caves, but the details are no less interesting. In addition to the featured attraction, the park contains another oddity–the Chipola River, which disappears underground for 900 feet. The park also has a good trail system that wanders along limestone bluffs overlooking a floodplain. Horseback riding is allowed.

Florida Caverns Park Info:

Florida Caverns State Park is located three miles north of Marianna in the Florida panhandle. Admission is $5.00 per vehicle up to 8 people, or $4.00 for a single occupant. Campsites cost $20.00 per night and include water and electricity. For more information, call (850) 482-9598.

Fern Hammock Springs is located at the end of the short Juniper Run Trail in the Ocala National Forest.

As the sun rises over the tall grass and scrub pines of Juniper Prairie Wilderness, lighting up the mist on Hidden Pond, the only sound is the gentle breeze in the trees and the occasional call of scrub jays or the echo of woodpeckers. Here in the nation’s southernmost wilderness, six miles by trail from the nearest road, dawn comes quietly and reveals a landscape barely changed by the passage of time.

Located in deep in the heart of Ocala National Forest, about half an hour east of Silver Springs, the wilderness if strictly off-limits to motor vehicles. So to experience this untouched corner of Florida, you’re limited to walking or paddling. Either way, it’s worth the effort.

Canoe or Kayak Juniper Springs

The seven-mile canoe run from Juniper Springs is one of the best canoeing opportunities in central Florida. The canopied creek winds through dense, primeval forests that seem untouched by man — on weekdays, anyway. Come early in the morning and you’ll paddle through dappled light that filters through the trees down into crystalline water.

At first glance, the run looks too narrow to navigate, but it grows in size steadily as it meanders past ancient cypress trees and lush semi-tropical forests. The narrow creek is filled with obstacles, and it takes some effort to avoid submerged snags and squeeze under overhanging branching. Whether you find it fun or frustrating may depend on your canoeing skills.

For the best experience, avoid the place on weekends and holidays. As many as 50 or 60 canoes and kayaks may crowd the creek during peak days, but during the week you may only have to share the run with the local wildlife.

Regardless of when you go, you’re bound to spot several species of wading birds during the last half of the canoe run, where the creek is wide and bounded by cattails. With a bit of luck, you may even spot a bald eagle. The creek is also home to a family of playful otters. These animals aren’t shy, and they boldly approach passing canoes. There are alligators too, which is one reason wading or tubing is not allowed on the creek.

The run takes between three and five hours, but it’s worth spending the whole day. The landing at the half-way point is a popular spot to stop for lunch. (Throwaway containers, such as bottles and cans, are prohibited on the run, and violators may be fined $25.)

A shuttle service for canoeists runs between Juniper Wayside Park (at the bridge on U.S. Highway 19) and Juniper Springs. The last shuttle leaves each day at 4:30 p.m. The shuttle is free if you rent a canoe, and $5 per person otherwise.

Hike Juniper Prairie Wilderness

If you’d rather walk into the heart of Juniper Prairie, the Florida Trail cuts through the center of the wilderness. The scenic trail stretches the entire length of the Ocala National Forest (and much of the state), but the prairie offers the best hiking in the area. It’s also the only section of the Florida trail that runs through a designated wilderness area. Eventually the Florida Trail, which was started in 1966, will include 1,300 miles of continuous trail from the Big Cypress National Preserve to the Gulf Island National Seashore.

From Juniper Springs, it’s a 12 mile round-trip hike to Hidden Pond, located in the center of the wilderness area. Here you can rest and enjoy lunch under the shade of the scrub pines, or fish for bass or panfish on one of the nearby ponds. If you bring a tent and a sleeping bag, Hidden Pond makes an ideal primitive campsite. Primitive means no toilets, and water is only available from the ponds — but it must be boiled or treated because of the presence of a parasite called Giardia, which causes diarrhea.

Although the trail itself sees a lot of human traffic, it’s easy to get away from people if that’s what you want. Just be sure you know how to use a map and compass (or GPS unit) because it’s easy to get lost in the network of side-trails.

Since only a few feet of elevation change can create a dramatic change in the landscape, the trail provides a good overview of the various biological communities in central Florida, from swamp to sand pine to prairie. And this variety of habitats also means a good chance of seeing many types of wildlife. The extensive wildfires in recent years have opened up the prairie in some areas and dramatically increased the bird life.

Save some time before or after your adventure to take the short (3/4 mile) nature trail along the beginning of Juniper Creek and Fern Hammock Springs. Together, Juniper and Fern Hammock Springs produce about 15 million gallons of water a day. (It’s significantly smaller than than the nearby First-Magnitude springs such as Silver Glen Springs, Alexander Springs and Silver Springs.) A bridge over Fern Hammock Springs provides a close look at the sandy boils where the water originates.

And don’t forget to bring a swimsuit, especially during summer. The 72-degree spring is one of the finest old-fashioned swimming holes you’ll find anywhere, and it makes a great place to cool off after a day of exploration.

If you go:

Call Juniper Springs Recreation Area for canoe rental and campground information: (352)625-0546