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Buck Lake is a group camping facility in the heart of Ocala National Forest in Florida. Great for family reunions and social gatherings, the campground can host a group of up to 50 guests along the shores of Buck Lake.
Activities include fishing, boating, picnicking, hiking and simply relaxing and enjoying the breeze.
The sandy swimming beach provides a great place to relax and picnic. Campers have access to Buck Lake to enjoy fishing for panfish, bass and crappie, as well as boating.
Hikers can access a segment of the 1,400-mile Florida Trail via a scenic trail that loops around the lake for 1.7 miles.
This campground provides primitive camping for groups. Amenities include a vault toilet, a hand pump for drinking water, six picnic tables and a group campfire ring. Group get exclusive use of the facility during the reservation.
Located in north central Florida, the Ocala National Forest spans four counties and 383,000 acres. It is the southernmost and oldest national forest east of the Mississippi River and protects the world's largest contiguous sand pine scrub forest.
The forest is also rich in water resources with more than 600 lakes, rivers and springs, several of which are near Buck Lake.
Buck Lake is near the beautiful, turquoise waters of Alexander Springs Recreation Area, where visitors can swim, dive and snorkel in a warm, spring-fed lake and canoe on a 7-mile run.
From I-75 in Ocala, Florida, travel east on State Route 40. Turn onto State Route 19 south, then turn right onto Forest Road 595-2 and travel for approximately 4 miles. Buck Lake Group Camp will be on the left.
Off the beaten path w/a lake and I believe roughly $175 for entire weekend. I did hear people running dogs(hunting)on other side of lake and lots of rabbits like to wonder into your campsite
The campsite and forest are beautiful, they both are well maintained. At night time you can see a gorgeous array of stars as there is little light pollution out there. The one negative is not with the site itself but the local towns, they are not very diverse, and marginalized groups/PeopleOfColor/LGBTQIA+ may stand out.
We went Jan 1st of 2022 and it was fabulous! Gentle breeze from the forest, beautiful weather, clear skies, great and secluded time with your group. More than enough space to sprawl out. Clean and a lot of picnic tables. A must! Juniper Springs is 22 min away as well. Prepare your own portable toilet, if you don't want to walk several hundred feet to the outpost bathroom. Bring your own portable batteries/solar. Primitive style. We saw some hunting dogs in the area, but they were friendly. It was kind of awkward, but understandable!
It was great having a private camp site that holds up to 50 people. Lake front and caught some catfish. I may suggest to bring your own portable toilet since the closest bathroom was a good few min walk. The only downfall was the hunting dogs that took a diarrhea all over our camp site... the dogs must've crossed over from another section of the forest.
