Indian Lake State Forest 6675 Northeast 40th Avenue Road, Silver Springs, FL 34488

"These place is beautiful. The people are very friendly. The playground was beautiful. The big area is very organized"

"Went out to explore and stopped here. Lots of photos were being taken here , family photo shoots for fall and those dressing up in dungeon and dragon or witchcraft style clothing (I didn't ask) for photos as well. There are huge beautiful tables, benches, and porch swings hung in trees. Trails are marked, but not all are clear. There are interesting things to look at. The day we went, it was overcast and cool out. The places that would normally have water (marsh or swamp areas) were dry. The cypress trees and knees were fun to look at. The live oaks by the bridge make a beautiful canopy and photo spot. The bridge goes over swamp water, so mosquitoes are out to get you. Definitely bring some bug spray. This is great for hiking, no paved paths. I will be back in the spring to see what that brings. There is also a gated camp site too. There is a bathroom, and I didn't check it out."

"What a great rural spot that's just outside of Ocala! It's a no frills camping, hiking and picnic location on a small sink hole lake that's surrounded by gradually sloping sandy terrain interspersed with cypress, oak and pine trees. The facilities are being upgraded and the park itself is well maintained. A large picnic pavilion under shady oaks would be a perfect spot for larger gatherings."

"Indian Lake State Forest campground is fantastic if you're into Primitive Tent Camping. Google maps will take you to the the trailhead, just pass that to find the recreation area down a dirt road. There is a large sign off Baseline road. It's very quiet even with all 5 camp sites reserved. They are spaced far enough out so you hardly even see the other campers. The scenery is beautiful REAL Florida. A gorgeous array of mossy trees, birds singing, the lake was just dazzling. There is a 1.3 - 1.7 mile (there are discrepancies in the distance) loop hike around it that is very enjoyable. It is definitely primitive so keep this in mind when packing for your trip. There is no running water so you will need bottled or gallons. There's no electricity. There is one bathroom just inside the gate, it's very clean but it is just a dry toilet (non-flushable) with no lights inside. There are no trash cans so be sure to bring a few bags with you to pack out the trash. Bug spray is an obvious must being right next to the water. There's a large pavilion with newly installed grills as well. The sites are spacious, I checked out all of them and site 1 is the best in my opinion. Each one includes a large picnic table and a fire ring. You can drive your car up to the site but its hard to find in the dark if you've never been so try to get there before sundown. The sites are dog friendly (on a leash at all times) and we saw several people enjoying a nice dog walk around the lake. There is a resident gator who lives in there, like most Florida waterways, so swimming is not advised. Lastly, the location was phenomenal. We went mainly to camp but ended up swinging by Silver Springs State Park which is like a 5 minute drive away. Great place to spend a few hours!"

"We camped here for 4 days. The campsites are primitive- no water/electric. There are 5 sites and a well bathroom. There are no trashcans on site. There is a recreation area with parking, a lake, pavilion, hiking trails, and wooden bench swings. The rec area gets a lot of fishers. It is intended for day use only but we saw headlights and heard people almost every night past dark. The trail is around 1.7 miles long that connects to the rec are I think it's called bear oak trail. It's shaded and has nice views. Google maps will take you to that trail instead of the actual campground but just beyond that trailhead parking area is the actual rec/camp area. The campsites are beyond a gate beside the bathrooms. The campsites get hikers and families walking though to get to another trail. Each campsite has a heavy duty wooden picnic table and fire ring with a cooking grate. There was a good bit of trash along the wooded area at the site so we made sure to clean that up before we left. I took pictures of the campsites as I thought it might be helpful to future campers. It was hard for us to decide on a site due to lack of information like a site map and decent pictures of the sites online. Would definitely stay here again."