4×4 and Camping in Ocala National Forest: Plan B at Lone Oak

Location: Lone Oak Campsite, Ocala National Forest, Florida

Sometimes the plan falls apart in the first hour and the backup turns out better. In January 2019 a few of us headed out to camp with Derrick from ExGeo, who was mapping drivable routes and good off-grid campsites in Ocala National Forest. We didn’t start in Ocala, though. We started somewhere we weren’t allowed to stay.

Plan A: Richloam

The first stop was Richloam, part of the Withlacoochee State Forest. It’s swampy and wet, and it was the middle of hunting season. The campsite we picked turned out to be hunting-only, and you need a hunting permit to stay there. We didn’t have one. I also wasn’t too keen on setting up camp in the middle of the woods with hunters out there all day, even if they were hunting with dogs.

So we pointed the trucks at Ocala National Forest instead.

Lone Oak Campsite

Derrick found an excellent spot, right under a really nice oak tree. We got in on what looked like mostly ATV tracks, and the whole time we were there, not a single vehicle came by. You could hear guns going off in the distance, because it was still hunting season. There’s no water out there, but it was quiet at night and very beautiful.

A tip from the video that every camp should follow: always set up a trash bag first. Hang it on your buddy’s rig, in case of trash pandas. It keeps the site clean and keeps the raccoons out of your stuff.

Camp food, mixed reviews

Some of the cooking went right on the campfire. Breakfast was bacon and eggs, cooked by a guy in our group who has done Gordon Ramsay’s cooking class. The obvious problem: Gordon Ramsay doesn’t make a dozen eggs at a time. He makes two. The verdict on camera: “Mmm, yummy, yummy.”

A headstone in the woods

The next day we drove more of Derrick’s routes. Somewhere out in the middle of the forest we came across a single old headstone with a little fence around it, miles from anything. Ocala has been settled for a long time, and every so often it reminds you that people lived and died out here long before anyone was overlanding through it.

Can you drive it in 2WD?

That was the whole point of the day for ExGeo: map the routes and the campsites. On everything we drove, we didn’t find a single section that a two-wheel-drive truck couldn’t make. You’ll want fairly high clearance in spots, because there are short stretches of soft sand with deep ruts. But you don’t need a built rig to camp out here.

CONCLUSION

Our first campsite fell through, and the backup turned into one of the quietest nights I’ve had in Ocala. Check whether a campsite needs a hunting permit before you drive out there, bring your own water, and put the trash bag up first. You don’t need a built 4×4 to camp in Ocala National Forest. Watch the whole trip in the video above, and if you want more Ocala, here’s the Rally Point run I did a few weeks later.