While living in a van spent two weeks around Ocala. Ocala Florida is a beautiful city with wooded hills and parks. A town square adjoins the small Downtown Ocala area. Tuscawilla Park has a long walkway around a lake. Across the street from Tuscawilla Park is the old railroad station which is now boarded up. The railroad station parking lot is used by Ocala Public Transit. A Veterans Memorial Park is right beside the Marion County Public Library
Ocala Florida is a busy junction, as Interstate I-75 plus US highways 41, 441, and 27 all go through here. Silver Springs Boulevard runs through the city and passes Silver Springs State Park. The landscape around Ocala is covered with low green wooded hills.
There is an airport here used only for private aircraft, it had airline service back in the 1970s. There is a large rest area along Interstate I-75 just south of the main Ocala exit. When doing a Florida road trip, the I-75 rest area provides safe overnight parking.
Ocala is better known as Florida’s horse country, as many people own a horse here. As real estate values have increased in more crowded areas in Florida, this Marion County area is being discovered by home buyers looking for a slower pace of living.
Near the Orlando area is the Ocala National Forest, a family camping paradise that covers over 600 square miles. Winters here are mild enough to enjoy anytime, and there is plenty to do for an extended vacation.
There are hiking trails in the city of Ocala Florida winding around abandoned homesteads built by the early settlers. Juniper Springs is a popular stop. For those into fishing, there are lakes to explore. Ocala National Forest is the second largest protected forest in the country and one of the oldest.