Hog Valley Ramp

The Hog Valley Ramp is located in the northwest corner of the Ocala National Forest, a few hundred yards west of NE 160 Avenue Road just north of Hog Valley. About the only thing you can say for the ramp is it is handy for those who live in this area of the forest. The ramp is a good concrete ramp and is not too steep, however, there is almost no parking. Three or four boat trailer rigs can generally find a place to park, but after that parking is a real problem. On weekends the locals like to party at the ramp, so when launching or retrieving your boat you must be careful of kids and sometimes their parents playing in the water.

An old cable ferryboat used to cross the Ocklawaha River between Hog Valley and Orange Springs. Getting to the ferry required crossing swamp, and to accomplish this a dirt roadbed was raised a few feet above the swamp water level. That old roadbed is still there under Rodman's water on both the Hog Valley and the Orange Springs sides of the river. The Hog Valley ramp is beside this old roadbed and during drawdowns a temporary ramp is built at the ferry mooring point on the river channel. Likewise another temporary ramp is built on the Orange Springs side and both spots are great locations for bank fishing during a drawdown as well a places to launch boats.