Ocala Forest, Alexander Springs Run?...please Help :)

[Matt]

Hello there. This post is a quest for knowledge from anyone who may have had any luck finding anything in the Ocala National Forest area. I will be camping at Alexander Springs in late March and I have heard that further down the Alexander Springs run past the boat ramp at Highway 445 or 552b you can access the river and there have been finds. Maybe someone knows of a sinkhole or any area where it may be worth a look, even just a casual stroll through the woods.

Thanks ahead of time from anyone who may have some advice.

I will definetly post a trip report here if something interesting turns up.

[Harry Pristis]

Hello there. This post is a quest for knowledge from anyone who may have had any luck finding anything in the Ocala National Forest area. I will be camping at Alexander Springs in late March and I have heard that further down the Alexander Springs run past the boat ramp at Highway 445 or 552b you can access the river and there have been finds. Maybe someone knows of a sinkhole or any area where it may be worth a look, even just a casual stroll through the woods.

Thanks ahead of time from anyone who may have some advice.

I will definetly post a trip report here if something interesting turns up.

Years ago, I snorkeled Alexander Spring Run . . . once. I was moving downstream, hand-walking through the 'gator trails in the eelgrass when I startled a fish in front of my face. It was a freshwater stingray. They come up the run from Lake George, which is a broad place in the St. Johns River. The St. Johns flows north along the NE coast of Florida.

That is not a good area to find fossils. Watch out for the 'gators, the stingrays . . . and the EDB's on your walk through the woods. In that area, you are much more likely to find Indian artifacts than fossils, but there are severe penalties for collecting in the National Forest.