From California, Any Nice Lakes?
 

We recently bought a house in the Briar Meadows area. We are from California and not familiar with the area. We camped at Silver Springs near Ocala and found that very nice. We would enjoy finding a nice lake with a beach, if any, and hopefully with a little privacy.

Anyone have any suggestions. We see a lot of water on the maps but how do you find an accessable non private lake?

Let us know?

Plenty of Lakes!
 

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!

[QUOTE=GypsySooners;480637]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!

What an informative post. Thank you!

WasEngineer
 

Hope you are planning on boating and not swimming. Remember Gators in Florida.

GypsySooners -

Thanks for all that info. Sounds like we'll have plenty to do here just on the water. I should hire you as a tour guide. Now I've got to see all those films and read the book to put it all together.

In CA don't have to worry about gators. Actually didn't think of that on asking the question. I have to get Floridized quickly, it appears.

I agree! It was quite an interesting read! Thank you jojo!

Guide?
 

Hey, I like helping new folks with local information! Feel free to ask anything!

And, about gators? Just always be with a buddy and you're fine. Gators can run very fast for short distances but don't worry about it. You don't have to run faster than the gator, you just have to run faster than your buddy!

The Kiwanis Club has a nice quiet beach on Lake Weir that is open to the public. The water in the swimming area is too open and visible for an alligator to hang out in. Take 42 East to Weirsdale, then North on county road 25 and look for the signs on the left.

Also, the lock on Haines creek between Lake Griffin and Lake Eustis was operational two weeks ago when I went through with my boat. And the Dora Canal to Lake Dora and the Dead River into Lake Harris are open. But the lock into Lake Apopka is closed.

Going north on the Ocklawaha river above Silver Springs by powerboat is not practical right now to low water levels. Friends of mine got through recently but they brought chain saws.

If you want to swim, try Rainbow Springs or Alexander Springs; both about a 40 minute drive from TV.

Welcome to Florida State Parks

Alexander Springs Recreation Area


.

swimming?
 

There are lots of springs around the area that have designated swimming. And, at Carney Island on Lake Weir there's a swimming area but the best place on Lake Weir is a small sandy area as you go into Sunset Harbor. We've stopped there but I think you can only get to it by boat.

As far as private? Well, just listen for boats! :)

In California you worry about sharks.

A short ride away are the following lakes, part of the chain of lakes.
They were very very pretty and bigger than we imagined........
They are in Mount Dora, Tavares, Eustis, etc.

Just a nice ride for anyone.......take the lakeshore road from Tavares to Mount Dora.......we found parks that permitted camping etc.
Nice marinas.

Mapquest for the driving directions.......

Click hyperlink below for general photos.......

lake dora lake tavares lake eustis florida - Bing Images