Lakes? Hey, part of The Villages is in Lake County and it’s named that for a reason!
This area is great if you enjoy the water. Now we don’t live in The Villages but we do live close. We live in the Lake Weir Living addition near Lake Weir. That’s just a bit northeast of The Villages. Lake Weir does have a really great County ramp at Carney Island too if you have a boat like us. Ocklawaha, on Lake Weir, is where the FBI shot Ma Barker and one of her sons.
We also have a good county ramp at Moss Bluff just off of our housing addition. From there you can go South on the Ocklawaha River (oh, and, it’ll take a while to get used to the names of everything here) about 15 miles into Lake Griffin. Lake Griffin is just East of The Villages. From Lake Griffin you can take a canal to Lake Eustis and then go into Lake Harris. I don’t know for sure if the canals are still open but, you might even be able to go to Lake Dora and Lake Apopka too. This is all called The Harris Chain of Lakes.
Going North on the Ocklawaha River, it’s about 15 miles to the Silver River. This is the historic, and one of the first, tourist resorts where the glass bottom boats are. And, you can take your private boat up the six-mile, pristine, river to the headwaters and see it yourself without paying. There’s also a good county ramp on that river. And, if you keep going north on the Ocklawaha, you’ll go into the St. John’s River and can go all the way to the Atlantic at Jacksonville. So, we are a seaport here!
The Silver River is where the old Tarzan movies were filmed. Also, Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Yearling with Gregory Peck. Oh, and remember Lloyd Bridges and ‘Seahunt’? Well, that too! He was a hero of mine!
And, speaking of The Yearling? The book was written in nearby Cross Creek and the author’s house is still there. Beautiful place to visit! And, one of the most interesting and good restaurants is there too;
The Yearling Restaurant - Cross Creek Florida's Fine Cracker Cuisine.
OK, a little further East on SR 44 is the St. John’s River. Right at 44 there is a really great boat ramp. You can go north to the Atlantic or south to the lakes near Sanford. I suggest stopping at Hontoon Island State Park!
Well, I’m getting this pretty long so feel free to ask any other questions you might have. We’ve lived her 23 years and know the area well.
And there’s not that many folks moving here from the West! We moved her from Oklahoma, thus the Gypsy’Sooners! LOL!