US_301_over_Little_Withlacoochee_River-7

The Little Withlacoochee River is a 16-mile (26 kilometer) long river with its headwaters starting in the Richloam

Wildlife Management Area A Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is a protected area set aside for the conservation of wildlife and for recreational activities involving wildlife. New Zealand There are 11 Wildlife Management Areas in New Zealand: * Horsham Downs Wildlife Ma ...

in Sumter County,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The Little Withlacoochee River ends near River Junction Campground just east of Silver Lake in the Croom Wildlife Management Area. It makes up a portion of the Hernando-

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumter ( ...

County border. Its

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

covers 145 mi² (376 km²) of Hernando County and Sumter County.

Course

The course of the Little Withlacoochee River flows through mostly wilderness, mainly Richloam Wilderness Management Area (WMA), one of seven tracts of the

Withlacoochee State Forest The Withlacoochee State Forest is in the western central part in the U.S. state of Florida, near Lecanto, Inverness, Floral City, Brooksville, Ridge Manor, and Dade City. The forest was named for the Withlacoochee River, which passes throug ...

. Richloam covers 58,000 acres of pine flatwoods and cypress swamps; over 4 counties: Hernando, Sumter, Pasco, and

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

. Richloam features fishing, hunting, and hiking trails. The exception is a small, undeveloped neighborhood near Ridge Manor. The river empties into the Withlacoochee River in Croom WMA, another tract of the Withlacoochee State Forest. Croom also covers 20,000 acres of pine flatwoods over Hernando and Sumter Counties, as well as Silver Lake. It features a combined 138 miles of biking, hiking, and horse trails.

River crossings

References

{{Florida-river-stub Bodies of water of Hernando County, Florida Bodies of water of Sumter County, Florida Rivers of Florida