Ocala National Forest, National forest in north central Florida, United States

Ocala National Forest covers 607 square miles (1,570 km2) between the Ocklawaha and St. Johns rivers, mostly in Marion County, with parts in Lake and Putnam counties. It holds the world's largest concentration of sand pine, plus longleaf pine sandhills and about 200,000 acres of scrub in the Big Scrub. Over 600 natural lakes, ponds and springs lie within its borders.

This protected forest was established in 1908, making it one of the oldest national forests east of the Mississippi River at that time. It also became the southernmost national forest in the continental United States when it was created.

The name Ocala is thought to derive from a Timucuan term meaning "fair land" or "big hammock"; a hammock here is a stand of thick evergreen oaks, the kind of ground that stays dry in a landscape of scrub and swamp. The Timucua were among the peoples of the region before European contact, and Paleo-Indian burial sites in the forest are about 12,000 years old.

The forest lies between the Ocklawaha and St. Johns rivers, mostly in Marion County, with ranger district offices in Silver Springs and Umatilla. The Yearling Trail near Juniper Springs and Juniper Prairie Wilderness leads to the spot where The Yearling was filmed. The Navy's fenced Pinecastle Bombing Range covers 5,760 acres; its eastern edge sits about 2 miles west of State Road 19 and the Camp Ocala campgrounds.

A portion of this forest serves as a live training range where the United States Navy practices with real weapons. This is the only active naval bombing training area located along the East Coast.