Lake Shore Group Camp
1Heads up1 fire 4.7 mi away
We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →
- Right now
- Taking bookingsSites offered on 30 of the next 30 nights read 16:47 UTC
- Sites
- 1All of them booked ahead
The place
the agency’s own description · what’s there · 14 notices
In the agency’s own words
Lake Shore Group Campground sits on the north shore of Fore Lake in Ocala National Forest. It is a favorite for scout, church and civic groups, as well as large families and reunions. 14 day stay limit in a 30 day period in ALL Ocala National Forest Campgrounds Recreation Fore Lake is an excellent spot for birding. Visitors can also picnic and fish along the shore. Campers who wish to venture out into the water can launch their electric-motor boats, canoes and kayaks from the facility's boat ramp. Swimming is allowed, but campers should be aware that there are alligators in this lake. Keep reading
Facilities
Lake Shore Group Camp is for tent camping, however RVs are allowed in the small parking area. The site can accommodate up to 50 guests and there are campsites in the shade and in the sun, all within sight of the lake. The centerpiece of the facility is the large accessible picnic shelter, perfect for group gatherings. A group grill, picnic tables and a restroom with showers and flush toilets are available. The lake is situated in the historic community of Scrambletown, which has a store.
Natural Features
Located in north central Florida, the Ocala National Forest spans four counties and 383,000 acres. It is the southernmost and oldest national forest east of the Mississippi River and protects the world's largest contiguous sand pine scrub forest. Lined by marshes, the 12-acre Fore Lake is home to many species of birds. The surrounding landscape is forested with saw palmetto and oak trees.
Nearby Attractions
The Ocala National Forest is notable for its extensive off-road trail system catering to both ATV enthusiasts and Jeeps, as well as being a traditional destination for deer hunters. These opportunities are available within a short drive.
What the agency tells you
Fishing within 50 yards of a boat ramp or area designated for swimming is prohibited.
Swimming or being in a body of water within 100 feet of a boat ramp is prohibited.
This location is a group-use campground and is operated accordingly by the USDA Forest Service. If using this location for an event, such as a wedding, you will need to bring your own chairs, tables, and other items. Please contact the Ocala National Forest district office at 352-625-2520 listed below for location and specific questions.
Everything else this campground posts · 11
No electricity, water or sewer hookups
Alligators live in the lake; swim at your own risk
No gasoline motor boats permitted on the lake
No off-road vehicles allowed except on designated trails only
This facility requires a combination to the entrance gate
Check in is at 3:00pm and Check out is at 11:00am
Bears and raccoons frequent the area; all food must be kept in approved containers
Entrance gate is to be closed/locked at all times for safety of visitors, volunteers and facility.
If it is your intent to rent an RV or trailer from a third party entity, please note that the USDA Forest Service does not allow RV or trailer rentals to be pre-placed and/or delivered to the recreation area. The Reservation holder must drive the RV or trailer to the recreation area as it is their sole responsibility and alleviates the FS from any liability. Any commercial business that operates on federal land is required to have a special use permit. 36 CFR 261.10 (K)(L)
Click here for more information about Ocala National Forest
Don't Move Firewood: Help protect our forests! Prevent the spread of tree-killing pests by obtaining firewood at or near your destination and burning it on-site. Moving firewood is illegal in some states. Visit dontmovefirewood.org to learn more.
Tents and rigs
- Sites
- 1 · 1 group
- Hookups
- None
- Accessible sites
- None listed
- Shade
- Every site
Facilities
- Toilets
- Flush Toilets
- “…tables and a restroom with showers and flush toilets are available. The lake is situated in the historic…”
- Showers
- Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind
- “A group grill, picnic tables and a restroom with showers and flush toilets are available.”
- Boat ramp
- Yes
Around the campground
- On the water
- Lake, River
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Picnicking
Full this Saturdayread 16:47 UTC
How full the weekend is nationally.
10 campgrounds have sites open within 30 miles, read 16:42 UTC. See them
OpenBooked
The one site on offer is taken this Friday and Saturday. 1 is free on Mon, Oct 19. read 16:47 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t
Watch for a cancellation
Watch this campground
One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.
We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.
Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.
We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.
Every line of the receipt · 12
What you actually pay
Who keeps the booking fee
The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →
How we know this receipt · 5
Open within 30 miles this weekend · 10
Sites the agency is offering this Friday and Saturday that nobody has taken, nearest first; the nearest 5 of 10. read 16:42 UTC
- Fore Lake CampgroundOcala National Forest · 0.3 mi · 47 of 62 site-nights open
- Lake Eaton CampgroundOcala National Forest · 3.3 mi · 23 of 26 site-nights open
- Salt Springs Recreation AreaOcala National Forest · 13 mi · 206 of 288 site-nights open
- Lake Delancy West CampgroundOcala National Forest · 13 mi · 229 of 240 site-nights open
- Juniper Springs Rec AreaOcala National Game Refuge · 14 mi · 80 of 154 site-nights open
recreation.gov availability, read 16:47 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Oct 1, 2026 · How we know all this
The sites
1 sites · the site map
All 1 sites
The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 1 of the 1 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.
| LAKE SHORE GROUP CAMP | 001 | group standard nonelectric | 209 ft | $100 |
Getting there
the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number
Where it is
Fore Lake CampgroundOcala National Forest · 0.3 mi
Lake Eaton CampgroundOcala National Forest · 3.3 mi
Mill Dam Group CampOcala National Forest · 8.2 mi
Salt Springs Recreation AreaOcala National Forest · 13 mi
Lake Delancy West CampgroundOcala National Forest · 13 mi
Juniper Springs Rec AreaOcala National Game Refuge · 14 miFrom I-75, west of Ocala, take exit 352 onto State Route 40 east. Continue for 10 miles to County Road 314. Turn left on 314 and go 6 miles. Turn left onto 147th Avenue Road and look for the Lake Shore sign and entrance on left.
The weather
the next four days · the thirty-year normal
Next four days, and the thirty-year normal
Forecast
NWS forecast for Lake Kerr, FL
Typical weather
Typical October night 63°F, day 84°F.
Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more
A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.
The land, and who answers for it
who answers for it · a letter you can send
Who answers for this land
Lake Shore Group Camp is in Florida’s 6th congressional district. Its representative, Randy Fine (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: D-. See every public-lands vote →
Who can change it · 3
Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.
- The member who votes the moneyRandy FineU.S. Representative · Florida’s 6th district
- Your senator, on the same appropriationAshley MoodyU.S. Senator · Florida
- Your senator, on the same appropriationRick ScottU.S. Senator · Florida
Read the draft, or change the wording
For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Lake Shore Group Camp, Ocala National Forest, Florida
Dear Randy Fine, I’m a constituent in Florida’s 6th district. I tried to camp at Lake Shore Group Camp, Ocala National Forest, Florida, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Lake Shore Group Camp are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Lake Shore Group Camp keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Lake Shore Group Camp. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Lake Shore Group Camp (Ocala National Forest, Florida) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Lake Shore Group Camp, Ocala National Forest, Florida
Dear Ashley Moody, I’m a constituent in Florida. I tried to camp at Lake Shore Group Camp, Ocala National Forest, Florida, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Lake Shore Group Camp are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Lake Shore Group Camp keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Lake Shore Group Camp. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Lake Shore Group Camp (Ocala National Forest, Florida) via campanac.com
Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.
Subject Walk-up camping at Lake Shore Group Camp, Ocala National Forest, Florida
Dear Rick Scott, I’m a constituent in Florida. I tried to camp at Lake Shore Group Camp, Ocala National Forest, Florida, and couldn’t. All 1 sites at Lake Shore Group Camp are reservable, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, the one site recreation.gov was offering there was already booked. 1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Lake Shore Group Camp keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule. I’m not asking you to run Lake Shore Group Camp. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund. The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them. Sent about Lake Shore Group Camp (Ocala National Forest, Florida) via campanac.com