The Indian Lake State Forest is approximately 4,466 acres of gently rolling sandhills and pastures just north of historic Silver Springs in Marion 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 ...

. This property was acquired in 2007 and 2008 under the Florida Forever program, with additional money from Marion County and help from

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

, Silver Springs Working Group, and the Department of Environmental Protection.

Natural Features

In addition to sandhills dotted with

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are locally also known as ''vrtače'' and shakeholes, and to openi ...

s, natural community types found on the forest include depression marshes and mesic flatwoods. Driving down State Road 326 you can see a mix of longleaf pines, sand post oaks and turkey oaks in some of the nicer sandhills on this land. A mix of wildflower color and wiregrass is also visible here, especially the fall after a

prescribed fire A controlled or prescribed burn, also known as hazard reduction burning, backfire, swailing, or a burn-off, is a fire set intentionally for purposes of forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. A control ...

. A visitor might see gopher tortoises,

fox squirrel The fox squirrel (''Sciurus niger''), also known as the eastern fox squirrel or Bryant's fox squirrel, is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America. Despite the differences in size and coloration, it is sometimes mistaken for A ...

kestrel The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviou ...

s or

turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

s. Another feature is Indian Lake, the deep

lake that is located east of Baseline Road and drains Indian Lake Prairie. Scientific studies traced out the areas of water recharge that feed Silver Springs. These areas include the land now known as Indian Lake State Forest. As a result of the studies, Indian Lake State Forest was purchased under the Florida Forever springs initiative. Rolling sandhills on a sinkhole-rich karst topography dominate the property, although most of the sandhills have been converted to till agriculture or improved pasture. The land uses prior to acquisition have allowed exotic plant invasion, and exotic plants have replaced or displaced historic vegetation in many areas. One of the main goals of the Florida Forever purchase was to restore these altered areas and eliminate any adverse impacts these alterations might have had on the Silver Springs system for water flow and water quality. Planting longleaf pine seedlings is an important step to meet this goal. When you drive down Baseline Road, you can see some of the recently planted longleaf pine seedlings starting to pop out of the grass stage and grow into a young forest. Since the acquisition of Indian Lake State Forest, the Florida Forest Service has built trailheads, posted boundaries, installed gates, controlled exotic plants, planted

longleaf pine The longleaf pine (''Pinus palustris'') is a pine species native to the Southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from East Texas to southern Virginia, extending into northern and central Florida. In this area it is also known as ...

seedlings, and implemented a prescribed burning program. State forest managers use prescribed burning to mimic the natural occurrence of fire. Periodic fire is necessary to maintain the forest's unique plant and animal diversity.

Recreation

Recreational opportunities in the forest include hiking, bird-watching and horseback riding. The main trailhead and parking area for the Bear-N-Oak hiking trail are located 2.1 miles north of the stoplight at the intersection of and County Road 35 (also known as Baseline Road) on the east side of County Road 35. There are 11 miles of designated horse trails. The Indian Lake Equestrian Trailhead is located 1.5 miles north of the stoplight at the intersection of State Road 326 and County Road 35 (Baseline Road).Distance between Florida State Road 326 and Indian Lake Equestrian Trailhead (Google Maps)
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References

External links

Indian Lake State Forest
- official site {{Protected areas of Florida Florida state forests Protected areas of Marion County, Florida Ocala, Florida Protected areas established in 2007 2007 establishments in Florida

Natural Features

Recreation

See also

References

External links