Withlacoochee State Forest, State forest in western central Florida, United States.
Withlacoochee State Forest spreads across vast tracts with pine forests, hardwood swamps, and interconnected waterways. The landscape shifts between drier forest sections and wetter zones that support diverse plant and wildlife communities.
The land was acquired between 1936 and 1939 by the U.S. government through a resettlement program aimed at supporting agriculture and resource protection. This action preserved the area as public forest.
The name comes from the Withlacoochee River running through it, rooted in Native American words for small waterways. Visitors encounter this linguistic connection woven into the landscape through local signage and maps.
Visitors find multiple access points with parking areas and information centers offering maps and trail guidance. Camping and outdoor activities are distributed throughout the forest and easy to locate.
Within this forest are remnants of several abandoned settlements like Mannfield, Orleans, Oak Grove, and Stage Pond that mark earlier occupation. These ruins show how people once tried to live on this land before it became public forest.
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