Set in the Ocala National Forest, Mill Dam Lake is a beautiful place to visit. Though there’s a small resort on the south shore, with the exception of a boat ramp and two waterfront campgrounds, the rest of the lake is natural and an incredible place to explore.
This trip to Mill Dam Lake was about camping with family and friends at the Mill Dam group campground. During this trip, we did some kayaking, but for the most part, we explored and played in the lake with our deck boat. The focus of this trip was camping, skiing, and tubing.
For skiing, we brought a hydroslide (also known as a “kneeboard”), a surfboard (for surfing the boat’s wake), and wakeboards. I primarily used the hydroslide and surfboard. Though I’m probably more skilled on the hydroslide, the surfboard is truly a lot of fun. On the hydroslide, I practiced using the boat’s wake as a ramp to jump. In the past, when we would use the smaller john boat for skiing, I had learned how to cross the entire wake, from one side to the other, in one jump, but the wake created by the deck boat is much bigger – I’m still working up to being able to complete those kind of stunts in the deck boat’s wake. During this trip, I also tried the wakeboard for the first time. It was fun, but personally, I like the hydroslide and surfboard much better – the wakeboard is a lot harder to get up on and keep balanced.
During this trip, I also surfed waves in a kayak for the first time. When someone’s turn was up skiing or tubing, and they boat came back to shore, I would paddle my Sundolphin Aruba 10 kayak out close to where it was parked, then wait. When the boat would take off again with the next tuber/skier, I would catch the waves left behind and ride them in my kayak.
Tubing was a big hit. Our deck boat makes a huge wake, giving tubers a wild ride. Also, we use a relatively small Obrien Barca 2 tube, which is light and can really fly high! Once, when my brother and I went, a wave launched us literally about six feet in the air. Here’s a photo gallery I captured with my Nikon D7100 camera and a Nikon 55-200mm lens featuring some views of Mill Dam Lake:
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| View of Mill Dam Lake from the boat ramp. You can see the Mill Dam Group Campground |
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| Mill Dam Lake sunset |
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| Waves at sunset |
Unfortunately, our boating activities ended up getting cut short on our last day camping. Just as we were beginning to pull one wakeboarder, the ski rope snagged on a piece of the boat motor and broke it. This cut off the gas line, and the boat quickly stopped running. Thankfully, we had a troll motor mounted on the front of the boat, which we used to slowly make our way back to the boat ramp.
This turned out to be a great trip, and I look forward to possibly visiting Mill Dam Lake again next spring! As for now, stay tuned for more posts featuring adventures on Florida’s waterways!
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