Ocklawaha River

The Ocklawaha River is a 74-mile river in north-central Florida. It flows north from the Harris Chain of Lakes in Lake County and joins the St. Johns River near Palatka, and it is the St. Johns' principal tributary. Its best-known tributary is the Silver River, which carries the discharge of Silver Springs. The name comes from the Creek word ak-lowahe, meaning "muddy." In Marion and Putnam counties the upper river is largely channelized. In the 1960s the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built Rodman Dam, since renamed the Kirkpatrick Dam, for the Cross Florida Barge Canal. Closing the dam in 1968 flooded Rodman Reservoir, which covers about 13,000 acres. Below the dam the river returns to a more natural state on its way to the St. Johns.

Marion County has managed Gores Landing since 1966. The site has a boat ramp and 12 primitive campsites on the river. Marion County also runs the Ray Wayside, Moss Bluff North and South, and Eureka East ramps. Rodman Recreation Area gives access to the lower river below the dam, where 8 miles of river run from the dam to the St. Johns. Putnam County's 8.9-mile Ocklawaha Paddling Trail lists a paved ramp on the east side of the dam and a sandy landing on the west side. It also lists the Johnson Field boat ramp at the Highway 19 bridge and the Ocala National Forest campground at Davenport Landing. Florida State Parks warns that Rodman Reservoir has many submerged stumps and floating logs and strongly recommends staying in the marked channels.

In 1989 a 20-mile stretch of the river and almost all of the Silver River were designated the Oklawaha River Aquatic Preserve, which is also an Outstanding Florida Water. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, steamboats ran on the river, and the Palatka–Silver Springs route became popular in the 1870s.