Tuesday – March 12, 2013
We departed Naples, Florida at 10:35 a.m. We have spent the last seven days with my sister and her husband at their home in Naples. We had a wonderful visit with them and thoroughly enjoyed the gourmet dishes my sister prepared for dinner each evening. She has extraordinary culinary skills and never fails to amaze us with her tasty meal preparations.
Our destination today is the Clearwater Lake Campground in the Ocala National Forest. Our route took us north on I-75 to US-17 to US-27 to US-19 to east on FL-42 to the entrance to the Clearwater Lake Campground. We arrived at 4:20 p.m. and were assigned campsite #5 in Loop 1. We were not pleased with this campsite and scouted the campground for a more suitable site. We selected campsite #40 in Loop 2 and the park ranger accepted our request to be reassigned to this campsite. We are now happy campers and anticipate spending a peaceful night here.
Before retiring for the evening it was still light so we took a stroll throughout the campground. Loop 1 contains 23 campsites and are designated for use by day campers. Some of the campsites face the Clearwater Lake. Loop 2 contains 19 campsites and are designated for use by multi-day campers. The best campsites in Loop 1 are: 8, 9, 10 and 20. The best campsites in Loop 2 are: 25, 26, 28, 36 and 38. Site 38 would be our first choice and site 28 would be our second choice. Both Loops have restroom facilities with flush toilets and hot showers. All campsites can be reserved.
The Clearwater Lake Campground is a very nice campground bordered by a small lake with a swimming beach. Canoes are available for rental at the beach. Our favorite campground within the Ocala National Forest still remains the Alexander Springs Campground. On our future visits, Clearwater will be a backup if campsites are not available at Alexander Springs.
Camping Fee: $9.25 per night with our Golden Age Passport.
Campsite: 40
Total miles traveled: 216
Tomorrow another adventure begins.
