Class: 1, 2-5 mph
Put-in: Ray's Wayside Park
Take-Out: Gores Landing on the Ocklawaha River about 12 miles downriver on left side.
Directions: Ray's Wayside Park is located approximately 7 miles east of Ocala on the west side of the Ocklawaha Bridge. It is on the right hand side of the road where you see the road turning into a "Y"....Map of Area
Parking: Grass parking.
Facilities: Restrooms, picnic tables, boat launch.
Park Fee: $2.00
Take-Out: Gores Landing.
Trip Time: 5-6 hours
After you put in at Rays Wayside Park, you travel south in a channel until you come to the Silver River about a few hundred feet down. From here you will go left and head to where the Silver River and the Ocklawaha meet. At the joining you paddle north (to your left) downriver to Gores' Landing to where you will be picked up.
Info on Gores Landing:
To get to Gores' Landing you go east out of Ocala to CR 315, turn left and head for Fort McCoy. About six miles down the road you will see a sign showing Gores Landing it is NE 105 ST. Make a right and follow it down to where it ends and make a right, you will see a sign showing you the direction. Follow this to the end and you will be there ( Approx. GPS 29 17.38N 081 55.59W). They have semi-primitive camping for $5.00. Each site has a picnic table, above ground grill and large camping area, there is no electricity. All camping sites sit beneath large trees giving you the benefit of plenty of shade. There is water faucets scattered about the campgrounds. There is a bathroom, but no showers. The boat ramp is located on your left about 150 feet after you pass the self-service pay area.
The Ocklawaha River is approx. 100 miles long and flows from Lake Apopka to the St Johns' River. The floodplain forest provides habitat for numerous rare and endangered plant and animal species. You will see many aligators, turtles, herons about 200 species of birds, deer, bear, otters, and others. At different times of the year you will see differest flowers blooming on the banks and in the water.
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It is one of the most tranquil, quiet, and relaxing rivers. As you are paddling you will see many types of trees ranging from palms, cypress, live oak, maple trees, camphor trees, plus many more. The river twists and turns and has some nice hairpin turns in it. The trees form a beautiful canopy over the river and provide shade during a hot day. There are a few places to stop along the way for a picnic if you like.
You won't see much boat traffic on this part of the river after the first couple of miles. There are some down trees and snags you have to watch out for. But all of them are usually passable. The aligators and turtles like to sun themselves on these downed trees.
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