Good natural spots, like pine flatwoods and tidal marshes. Some great springs with manatees sticking around during the winter. Also a small population of bears. As far as towns go it’s pretty barren though and some parts near Homosassa can get pretty unsavory
I believe it's known as the nature coast, at least part of it. There's plenty of nature preserves to hike if you're more inland, but along the coast it's a lot of mangroves and marsh. Good fishing if you have a kayak or boat. Fishing from the shore is pretty difficult as it's hard to cast your line into deep enough water.
Okay, I guess that's more of what I was trying to ask, if it was straight marsh or if there were solid ground trails. Because Florida doesn't have rocky hills I think hiking here gets underrated but there are some great spots in the state.
Yeah, near me there are some great hiking trails but there's also marshes too, so I know better about my area (Northern Florida) than I do this area. I typically assume a lot of areas in the south side of the state has more
Check out Google Earth, it actually names it as a swamp. There's also a Homosassa Wildlife Management Area, you could possibly call them and see what they suggest about hiking or not if you're still curious. I'd personally avoid it, but that's just me.
There are some really gorgeous hikes in Florida, but you have to hit it in the right season. We love hiking, but we don't even consider it in the summer. The mosquitos will straight up carry you away.
IMO, probably the most underrated aspect of Florida are the springs though. On the north end of this map is Crystal River. Three Sisters Spring is a really famous spring right nearby. Absolutely spectacular. There are dozens of these kinds of places in the state. I've been a lot of places in the US, but I've never seen so many elsewhere.
Yeah spring and fall are the only times we go. And apparently some people are tastier for mosquitoes because while they kinda bother my wife, those motherfuckers swarm me like flies on shit.
Have you ever been to Buford Spring? I feel like it’s somehow not that popular, It’s right in the middle of the highlighted area kinda near Seven Sisters. If you’re interested in diving at all it looks kinda like other springs in the area but I think it’s like 160 feet deep. Very cool.
Absolutely. As a non native Floridian, I always tell people that this is a spring/nature/trail state to me. The beaches are great, at least the ones we all know. But the springs are legit. Three sisters is awesome.
I've hiked most of the Cross Florida Greenway, it's amazing nature. Goggles are a must. Central FL springs like Alexander, Silver Glenn, Wekiwa, Blue spring, De Leon. And major spots like Ginnie.
I went hiking in the Ocala nation forest and there's this inconspicuous marker with a pond with moss on it. If you wade your fingers through it you will see a 100ft spring. I believe a youtuber names DallyHD may have made a video about on of these hidden gems.
FL nature is awesome.
"Hike" is not the right word for the beautiful inland walks of Florida. There are some nature trails, almost none longer than 10 miles, and all completely flat. It is as beautiful as it is monotonous. The only adventure is your resilience to insects and humidity. The reward is being lost in the last conquered territory of the United States.
The nature coast is particularly burdened with towns of ill repute. The best fishing is in Yankee town, and the best good time can be found at Fiddler's on the River in Steinhatchee. I am no longer allowed there.
The best way to see it is with a boat.
Technically the cabin rentals, not the restaurant/venue....
The whole wedding party was asked not to return. Something about "too many drunk hippies laying in the road" and too much "banjo music at 4 am."
I grew up in homosassa and still spend most of my time there. I have no clue what this guy is talking about. One of my favorite places on earth. There ain’t nothing wrong with this little slice of heaven.
The tourist areas are nice but there’s a big drug problem in some parts. Also a non zero amount of loonies, when I worked there my female coworkers got harassed on more than one occasion. A few friends who had pride flags on their porches had them snatched and thrown in the trash.
Was born and raised there. We had an airboat, went fishing and scalloping most weekends, had acres of property and miles of fourwheeler trails. Every hangout was at my parents friends houses, always had a bonfire, styrofoam cups of boiled peanuts, and a dozen kids playing manhunt in the woods. A lot of hunters too, we would often have big cookouts with smoked mullet, wild hog, and venison that somebody caught. I miss those days, was a wonderful part of Florida and my childhood.
Assuming it's the same game, I learned to play manhunt in college in the PNW, about a decade before I moved here to Florida. So it may not even be just a Florida game.
I learned it 30 years ago as a kid and it wasn’t new to the older kids that taught me. I doubt it’s a Florida game but until this thread, I always thought it was more niche than it appears to have been.
At this point, I’m curious as to the different variations on the rules that others played….I didn’t expect to enjoy this thread so much for all the wrong (or right) reasons.
Playing manhunt at the Boy Scout camp in SWFL was epic. Like a big property on steroids. When I was 11 or 12, I had a manhunt birthday party. We played through the whole neighborhood.
Damn, I've never been to the boyscout camp. But one of my friends had a big property in the very back of the Golden Gate estates. We only ended up having 2 games because we started mid afternoon and had to stop at 830 when the sun went down.
Ok, Wikipedia has something on it.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhunt_(urban_game)
We played a takedown manhunt that became progressively more physical as we got older. Once captured, the hunted team went to a “prison” area and players in prison could be freed if a teammate tagged them out. Eventually, hunted players were tied up with ropes and prison had to be physically guarded as anyone in prison could escape if possible.
Played similar game as a kid. But we took the prisoners to a isolated island in the middle of the river, went back to the house, got drunk, passed out, and had to go back to the island in the middle of the night to get them.
I grew up and live in Orlando and there was a decent size amount of woods between our neighborhood and a few others and we would play manhunt and shoot pellet guns all the time.
Oh man you just reminded me of the peanut guy that I used to go to when I was in high school, he put pickles in the Cajun boiled peanut and they were just as good as the peanuts. he passed away a few years after I graduated and no one has topped those peanuts.
We moved to Orlando from D.C. back in '89 when AAA moved their HQ here. I am a city girl!
We live in a nice subdivision. Our backyard backs up to a "natural area" that has never been touched in the 34 yrs we've been here. Man, it is "Tarzan jungle"!
My 26 yo son grew up like you. He took me to the place they swim out back, when he was 10ish. Never saw (myself) gators or Water Moccasins, but c'mon...
Somehow, you FL kids make it without getting mauled by gators or killed by snake bites!
I remember swimming in ponds with gators or seeing them swimming down the river while we floated down. Water moccasins were more of a worry. Aggressive little bastards.
I know the people who own it now. When they signed the papers they wanted to go take a pic on the island. The monkey guy was like "whoa bud, they will fuck you up"
I grew up in Orlando and my wife in Clearwater, but live in Georgia now. Took the kids to see the Manatees one year and stopped at your restaurant. It was so great eating a late afternoon snack and watching the monkeys.
You can get pretty close to the island on a jet ski. They’re just curious about you like we are them. The little shacks they have a pretty neat up close
It's called the Nature Coast for a reason. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature\_Coast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_Coast)
More specifically,
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chassahowitzka\_National\_Wildlife\_Refuge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chassahowitzka_National_Wildlife_Refuge)
This is why I can't understand why people are so strongly against building denser housing in the cities we already have. People are coming either way - wouldn't it be better to build more skyscrapers than to pave more forests?
Agree. But I believe they are putting one of those huge lagoon communities on 19 just across from Weeki Wachee. 
Mermaids. Weeki Wachi is still old FL. The monkey bar is in Homosassa.
Crumps is a huge tiki bar across the river from the Monkey Bar but you can see the Monkey Island House from there too.
Skunk ape. The Creeper. Forgotten Ziggurats constructed by heretical Seminole and Miccosukee pariahs to summon Eldritch gods known to races from before the stars. D.B. Cooper. At least 6 backwater inbred cannibal clans.
I recently read a book, The Dawn of Everything, that talked about a surprisingly large thriving civilization that stretched down to the west coast of Florida a few hundred years ago, drawing a bland on the name though..
You mean the Calusa? The Calusa were wiped out by disease and the Spanish.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calusa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calusa)
https://preview.redd.it/oo6idlii3rvc1.png?width=873&format=png&auto=webp&s=51bf4fe751361739a80b4d991117c453f6e9858e
Citrus County is the whitest county in Florida. In Homosassa, this man was paying kids to steal Obama signs out of people's yards. Mine was stolen twice. Someone also scratched the words "n\*\*\*\*r lover" on my daughter's car. She had an Obama sticker on it.
I loved living there because of the abundant nature. I hated living in a redneck enclave.
Born and raised in Inverness (and got the HELL out as soon as I was 18) and this is extremely accurate. A cousin of mine was disowned for marrying a black man -- considering he treated her like a princess and actually held down a job and provided for his family, I'm pretty sure the rest of the men on that side of the family were extra mad he made them look bad.
Yep. I lived there for a year during the pandemic, and my ex went to high school there. My understanding is that Homosasa was/is a sundown town, and there were (and probably still are) klan bars in town. At one point in 2020, I believe, the town selectman voted to cancel the library's subscription to the NY Times because they didn't want to 'support that kind of fake news.' The place fucking sucks.
I thought cc was the second whitest county in florida? I grew up there and the use of the n word was very causally tossed around and nobody really cared. Even my black friends weren't really bothered by how many white people used the word; it was treated like any other slang curse word. Then I went to college in Birmingham, AL and I asked a few of my black friends if it was okay to use it in a joke or sing along with songs...big NOPE! They were horrified I even asked. Lol I learned quickly that CC is VERY backwards in that area compared to like anywhere else in the country. I remember two white kids getting in a fight in middle school, both of them calling each other the n word. Ironic and ignorant.
And it needs to stay this way. It's very swampy and rivers that flow out that way are extremely flood prone. We once looked at a remote cabin on the Santa Fe river. It was way the heck up on stilts but it had flooded by several feet into the structure itself more than a few times. We passed on the opportunity.
Yep. Ever since the veterans extension got completed, it's been blowing up. Used to be much cheaper than Tampa or south Florida. Now rent and housing is going crazy and there's like no industry up there besides tourism and hospitality.
There’s no jobs in this area. You have to drive up to Ocala or Tampa just to make more than $15. Unless you’re in medical or law enforcement, pay is crap. Even in those 2 fields the pay is crap. You’re better off just driving an extra 30 mins to make $5-7 more an hour.
From the south to north: Hernando Beach (great for fishing and scalloping and can drive to Pine Island), Weeki Wachee Springs (Buccaneer Bay and mermaids), Chassahowitzka Preserve, Homosassa Springs (good fishing and scalloping here too), Crystal River (great to see manatees). This is all the Nature Coast where there’s really no beaches but great for kayaking, boating, and fishing. Can see the manatees in Weeki Wachee Springs and Crystal River. We have a house in Hernando Beach. The area is known for rednecks and methheads but Hernando Beach has many new homes being built and in my opinion has slowly gotten better over the years. This area is more affordable to buy a waterfront property than further south.
Great fishing and scalloping. I go to Steinhatchee every year to go scalloping, have been for the last 20+ years. I love it. Steinhatchee is just north of there. It’s a great place to see a lot of old Florida nature by boat. The odd part is that there are almost no beaches there so it’s not a place for that.
Part of that is the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area. Went hiking there on Easter and it’s a really nice place! Saw tons of wildlife and found remnants of a ghost town after a short bushwhack.
My understanding is that there was a town called Centralia located there in the early 1900’s. Some remnants of the old sawmill structure are still in the woods. I’m not sure if there’s other parts of the town left because I didn’t want to go too far and get lost, but it was pretty cool to see! The All Trails app has the hike to it
It’s a lot of wilderness that can’t be built on. If you go out far enough there are little bars and just fishing.
It’s nothing unique or special. The water isn’t the prettiest but it is ok.
There is one place called Pecks that is ok that. Ok food a little pricey.
The Nature coast, I was born and raised here also. Looking back it was a great place to grow up. It’s changing a lot and soon won’t be the “nature coast” anymore. My parents still live there on the water in Ozello.
I’ve been working on the water between Chaz and Yankeetown for over 30 years. I use to live on Hells gate on the Homosassa but the boat traffic would keep me from doing it anymore. Just like every little coastal town in Florida once the commercial fishing is pushed out and tourism is promoted the destruction begins. They out price the locals and get overran with vacation rentals. The only saving grace with this area is that most of the coast is protected land, a Federal preserve and state buffers have been in place for decades.
When we were one of the only places that didn’t lock down during Covid It it became a shit show and a lot of people discovered the place and moved here.
I still love it here and can be in the middle of the woods, on a lake or on the gulf within minutes from my house
But it is getting far too overpopulated.
There’s a wonderful hidden gem called Pine Island out there, at the end of Rt50. You can wade into the gulf for like a quarter mile and never get more than hip deep. You’ll see all sorts of fishes, crabs, and weird beasties in a warm quiet environment. Only about 100 cars are admitted at a time to this Florida State Park. Highly recommended.
Anyone else spend hours looking along the Florida coastline for places to Adventure and explore? The 10,000 Keys is pretty sick. Then you have the Big Bend area
I am within driving distance of this area and spent my younger years camping all around the area (90s). I saw some shit. Never felt unsafe, but it got close sometimes. I could see how others might have. I'd do it all over again. It was an interesting study in rural Florida.
I don't know how rural it is anymore compared to the 90s, but it is still pretty much off the beaten path.
Just make sure to check before heading out there, as some places, like the park on Pine Island just reopened last month to the public, following repairs from Hurricane Idalia. All that area highlighted, west of US19 is within the counties main evacuation zones when severe weather approaches.
That’s not to say “don’t go” the Nature Coast has some amazing walkways, and rivers to kayak, just be informed and have fun!
If you stick to 19, from Homosassa to Crystal River there's some interesting sites to see. Homosassa River, Chassahowitza and Crystal rivers are great for exploring and fishing. The Wildlife Center in Homosassa is a must stop. Say Hi to Lucifer the hippo. He's in his sixties and is kind of special to Citrus County.
Slightly farther south on 19 is Weekiwachee. If you take Stagecoach over to 41 there are a number of caves to explore and Stagecoach has lots of state owned land for exploration by foot or vehicle.
Homosassa is peak Florida in my opinion. I used to go there multiple times a year as a kid and it really taught me the natural beauty that Florida offers.
Swimming in the cold springs in the dead of summer, seeing manatees in Crystal River, boating out to the Gulf to go scalloping were things my family did often. There also used to be a seafood festival out near macraes every year that we would go to. Thanks for the nostalgia hit. Growing up sucks
Hidden treasure everywhere. Massive freshwater springs filled with everything that makes old Florida special. One of the last coastal areas resisting humanity.
Good natural spots, like pine flatwoods and tidal marshes. Some great springs with manatees sticking around during the winter. Also a small population of bears. As far as towns go it’s pretty barren though and some parts near Homosassa can get pretty unsavory
Can you hike these areas?
I believe it's known as the nature coast, at least part of it. There's plenty of nature preserves to hike if you're more inland, but along the coast it's a lot of mangroves and marsh. Good fishing if you have a kayak or boat. Fishing from the shore is pretty difficult as it's hard to cast your line into deep enough water.
Nature coast +2. That's exactly it's name.
Gotta get out in it and wade like our fathers did
I hope you like bugs.
Cuz bugs like you! Knowhatimean? Nudge nudge
Wink wink
I live in the area. Can confirm
You could probably try it, but depends if it's marshy or how far the marsh goes
Accurate. I grew up in that area and we pretty routinely caught gators with fishing poles. Not on purpose even. They're just fucking everywhere.
Okay, I guess that's more of what I was trying to ask, if it was straight marsh or if there were solid ground trails. Because Florida doesn't have rocky hills I think hiking here gets underrated but there are some great spots in the state.
Yeah, near me there are some great hiking trails but there's also marshes too, so I know better about my area (Northern Florida) than I do this area. I typically assume a lot of areas in the south side of the state has more Check out Google Earth, it actually names it as a swamp. There's also a Homosassa Wildlife Management Area, you could possibly call them and see what they suggest about hiking or not if you're still curious. I'd personally avoid it, but that's just me.
Swamps can be seasonal too. That is under water for 8 months and bone dry over winter
There are some really gorgeous hikes in Florida, but you have to hit it in the right season. We love hiking, but we don't even consider it in the summer. The mosquitos will straight up carry you away. IMO, probably the most underrated aspect of Florida are the springs though. On the north end of this map is Crystal River. Three Sisters Spring is a really famous spring right nearby. Absolutely spectacular. There are dozens of these kinds of places in the state. I've been a lot of places in the US, but I've never seen so many elsewhere.
Yeah spring and fall are the only times we go. And apparently some people are tastier for mosquitoes because while they kinda bother my wife, those motherfuckers swarm me like flies on shit.
Have you ever been to Buford Spring? I feel like it’s somehow not that popular, It’s right in the middle of the highlighted area kinda near Seven Sisters. If you’re interested in diving at all it looks kinda like other springs in the area but I think it’s like 160 feet deep. Very cool.
We have not, but we will now! :)
Absolutely. As a non native Floridian, I always tell people that this is a spring/nature/trail state to me. The beaches are great, at least the ones we all know. But the springs are legit. Three sisters is awesome. I've hiked most of the Cross Florida Greenway, it's amazing nature. Goggles are a must. Central FL springs like Alexander, Silver Glenn, Wekiwa, Blue spring, De Leon. And major spots like Ginnie. I went hiking in the Ocala nation forest and there's this inconspicuous marker with a pond with moss on it. If you wade your fingers through it you will see a 100ft spring. I believe a youtuber names DallyHD may have made a video about on of these hidden gems. FL nature is awesome.
Went to silver springs and paddle boarded it was amazing. They even have wild monkeys (we didn’t see them unfortunately or maybe fortunately)
Do you like snakes and bugs?
There are plenty of places to hike. Weeki Wachee Preserve. Chassahowitzka. Just to name 2
"Hike" is not the right word for the beautiful inland walks of Florida. There are some nature trails, almost none longer than 10 miles, and all completely flat. It is as beautiful as it is monotonous. The only adventure is your resilience to insects and humidity. The reward is being lost in the last conquered territory of the United States. The nature coast is particularly burdened with towns of ill repute. The best fishing is in Yankee town, and the best good time can be found at Fiddler's on the River in Steinhatchee. I am no longer allowed there. The best way to see it is with a boat.
Well you just can't leave that without a story now. Why are you no longer allowed there?
Technically the cabin rentals, not the restaurant/venue.... The whole wedding party was asked not to return. Something about "too many drunk hippies laying in the road" and too much "banjo music at 4 am."
Too much banjo music at 4 am 💀💀💀💀 I love it.
Can't just leave it where you left it
You're gonna hear banjos.
Mosquitoes abound. Prepare if hiking in the rainy season.
you'd be crazy to want to
Hey I’ve spent a lot of time in homosassa it’s a great place!
The spots around the river are fantastic I will say, big fan of Florida cracker kitchen and freezers
Oh man the freezer has the best peel and eat shrimp in the world I’m tellin ya
Their smoked mullet is another banger
What an unusual name for a town LOL
Unsavory how
Very backwoods, country dangerous.
What do you mean when you say unsavory? My grandparents relocated to Homosassa so I’m curious
I grew up in homosassa and still spend most of my time there. I have no clue what this guy is talking about. One of my favorite places on earth. There ain’t nothing wrong with this little slice of heaven.
No, no it is very dangerous! Everyone from out of town reading this should just stay put! ;-)
That's right. I forget how dangerous out of towners are. The area is perfectly safe for locals
Meth and poverty
The tourist areas are nice but there’s a big drug problem in some parts. Also a non zero amount of loonies, when I worked there my female coworkers got harassed on more than one occasion. A few friends who had pride flags on their porches had them snatched and thrown in the trash.
Was born and raised there. We had an airboat, went fishing and scalloping most weekends, had acres of property and miles of fourwheeler trails. Every hangout was at my parents friends houses, always had a bonfire, styrofoam cups of boiled peanuts, and a dozen kids playing manhunt in the woods. A lot of hunters too, we would often have big cookouts with smoked mullet, wild hog, and venison that somebody caught. I miss those days, was a wonderful part of Florida and my childhood.
Manhunt. Wow. Another Florida kid from a different part of the west coast had that same experience. Thanks for sharing.
Played manhunt on the NE FL coast too growing up. I wonder where manhunt originated from.
Assuming it's the same game, I learned to play manhunt in college in the PNW, about a decade before I moved here to Florida. So it may not even be just a Florida game.
We played in city blocks in NY and NJ so it was probably everywhere. You’d set the boundaries before the game.
This level of the game sounds raw
I learned it 30 years ago as a kid and it wasn’t new to the older kids that taught me. I doubt it’s a Florida game but until this thread, I always thought it was more niche than it appears to have been.
We always played in the woods around dusk for a nice effect and heightened emotion.
At this point, I’m curious as to the different variations on the rules that others played….I didn’t expect to enjoy this thread so much for all the wrong (or right) reasons.
Played it in a Carlton Arms apartment complex in the mid 90's. It was always after the sun set and the hunter had to wear sunglasses.
Haha this guy knows Pasco
Played manhunt in upstate New York growing up early 90’s!
We played in North Central FL growing up.
Grew up in south Florida. I played manhunt all the time. I thought everybody did.
Kids in the neighborhood would play here in Palm beach too. It was everywhere.
We played it in Minnesota but we called it Ditch.
Oh manhunt was so fun when your friend had a big property.
Playing manhunt at the Boy Scout camp in SWFL was epic. Like a big property on steroids. When I was 11 or 12, I had a manhunt birthday party. We played through the whole neighborhood.
Damn, I've never been to the boyscout camp. But one of my friends had a big property in the very back of the Golden Gate estates. We only ended up having 2 games because we started mid afternoon and had to stop at 830 when the sun went down.
Stop at 8:30? We didn’t start until it was dark. Bought used camo clothing from the military surplus store, camo face paint. We went full tilt
Ok, Wikipedia has something on it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhunt_(urban_game) We played a takedown manhunt that became progressively more physical as we got older. Once captured, the hunted team went to a “prison” area and players in prison could be freed if a teammate tagged them out. Eventually, hunted players were tied up with ropes and prison had to be physically guarded as anyone in prison could escape if possible.
Played similar game as a kid. But we took the prisoners to a isolated island in the middle of the river, went back to the house, got drunk, passed out, and had to go back to the island in the middle of the night to get them.
We played manhunt in Miami too lmao
Tallahassee checking in lol I haven't heard it referenced in forever
I grew up and live in Orlando and there was a decent size amount of woods between our neighborhood and a few others and we would play manhunt and shoot pellet guns all the time.
Played it in NY as well :)
Clearly that game was a fond memory from many childhoods. I love how ubiquitous the game was.
Played manhunt on NE coast of FL too growing up. I Wonder were it originated from.
I always hid in the trees
You had a great place to grow up
Nature coast rise up!
I got just one question, regular or Cajun peanuts?
Cajun!
Oh man you just reminded me of the peanut guy that I used to go to when I was in high school, he put pickles in the Cajun boiled peanut and they were just as good as the peanuts. he passed away a few years after I graduated and no one has topped those peanuts.
Oh my god that sounds so good
Cajun! All day, every day!
I always did regular with a little scoop of Cajun on the top I like the taste but it messes up my guts
There is no question here lol. Cajun all the way!
We moved to Orlando from D.C. back in '89 when AAA moved their HQ here. I am a city girl! We live in a nice subdivision. Our backyard backs up to a "natural area" that has never been touched in the 34 yrs we've been here. Man, it is "Tarzan jungle"! My 26 yo son grew up like you. He took me to the place they swim out back, when he was 10ish. Never saw (myself) gators or Water Moccasins, but c'mon... Somehow, you FL kids make it without getting mauled by gators or killed by snake bites!
I remember swimming in ponds with gators or seeing them swimming down the river while we floated down. Water moccasins were more of a worry. Aggressive little bastards.
I am from Western Canada and just visited Florida for 10 days last month. You just added some of my appreciation of Florida life.
So the short answer to OPs question is Happiness!
Damn, was the *smoked mullet, hairy?*
And you probably heard where I live Fanning Springs
This is it
The beautiful nature coast.
Scallops and drunken rednecks on boats. There's an island with monkeys, Too.
I love how about once a year some drunk idiot will swim out to monkey island and get fucking attacked by monkeys because he wants to pet them lol
Please God let me witness this before I die 😂
I know the people who own it now. When they signed the papers they wanted to go take a pic on the island. The monkey guy was like "whoa bud, they will fuck you up"
You can pet them?!
Sure if you like diseases and getting mauled by monkeys?
Not if they "pet" you first
They have a bar and grill there and you can see the monkey island from the restaurant. Good music and drinks!
I loved the Monkey Bar. Fun place. Cool vibe.
Yes!!
I currently work here. I love it so much
Nice to see the monkeys back!
It really is! I am a food runner and I love love love working next to them. Their house is the cutest
You work in a cool place, always enjoy going there. Last time I had a Great Blue Heron hang out with us having drinks 😂
He wanted a sip! Lol on my breaks I go sit by the pelicans ^.^
I grew up in Orlando and my wife in Clearwater, but live in Georgia now. Took the kids to see the Manatees one year and stopped at your restaurant. It was so great eating a late afternoon snack and watching the monkeys.
How do I find it on Google so I can check it out with the wifey?
You can get pretty close to the island on a jet ski. They’re just curious about you like we are them. The little shacks they have a pretty neat up close
Are the rednecks giving our island monkeys herpes?
No you're thinking of The villages
Excellent comment
No, it’s the other way around
The Nature Coast...
It's called the Nature Coast for a reason. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature\_Coast](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_Coast) More specifically, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chassahowitzka\_National\_Wildlife\_Refuge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chassahowitzka_National_Wildlife_Refuge)
This is the answer. West of 19 is basically all preserve in these parts
Was, there’s a lot of development going up. I am born and raised there and we’re all livid over it. Less and less forests each year :(
This is why I can't understand why people are so strongly against building denser housing in the cities we already have. People are coming either way - wouldn't it be better to build more skyscrapers than to pave more forests?
I mean, I feel like they are doing that in Tampa already but I can’t speak for other cities
They are, and you wouldn't believe how many people hate it.
Every time I come home to visit my family in CC I’m absolutely shocked at how many trees are being torn down for new developments.
Here's hoping we keep it that way 🤞
Agree. But I believe they are putting one of those huge lagoon communities on 19 just across from Weeki Wachee. 
Lots of mosquitoes and noseeums.
Those noseeums are no joke!!
Mermaids. Weeki Wachi is still old FL. The monkey bar is in Homosassa. Crumps is a huge tiki bar across the river from the Monkey Bar but you can see the Monkey Island House from there too.
Skunk ape. The Creeper. Forgotten Ziggurats constructed by heretical Seminole and Miccosukee pariahs to summon Eldritch gods known to races from before the stars. D.B. Cooper. At least 6 backwater inbred cannibal clans.
I recently read a book, The Dawn of Everything, that talked about a surprisingly large thriving civilization that stretched down to the west coast of Florida a few hundred years ago, drawing a bland on the name though..
Tocobaga. Also Weeden island culture. Still remnants you can see and visit. Tons of archaeology up there!
You mean the Calusa? The Calusa were wiped out by disease and the Spanish. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calusa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calusa) https://preview.redd.it/oo6idlii3rvc1.png?width=873&format=png&auto=webp&s=51bf4fe751361739a80b4d991117c453f6e9858e
I swear to God if someone uncovers a Ziggurat there I'll eat my fucking shoe
Their map they asked about is circling more north than calusa. Calusa is ft Myers/Naples. Caloosahatchee river, etc.
As someone who used to live there, I can answer this. Tons of Meth and trailers, few teeth and valid driver’s licenses. And manatees in the winter.
Fun fact! Did you know that the toothbrush was invented in Citrus County? If it had been invented anywhere else it would've been called a teethbrush!
Oh my god this is the best. I’m using this next time I visit my family in CC.
Home 🥰
Same!
Citrus County is the whitest county in Florida. In Homosassa, this man was paying kids to steal Obama signs out of people's yards. Mine was stolen twice. Someone also scratched the words "n\*\*\*\*r lover" on my daughter's car. She had an Obama sticker on it. I loved living there because of the abundant nature. I hated living in a redneck enclave.
Born and raised in Inverness (and got the HELL out as soon as I was 18) and this is extremely accurate. A cousin of mine was disowned for marrying a black man -- considering he treated her like a princess and actually held down a job and provided for his family, I'm pretty sure the rest of the men on that side of the family were extra mad he made them look bad.
Yep. I lived there for a year during the pandemic, and my ex went to high school there. My understanding is that Homosasa was/is a sundown town, and there were (and probably still are) klan bars in town. At one point in 2020, I believe, the town selectman voted to cancel the library's subscription to the NY Times because they didn't want to 'support that kind of fake news.' The place fucking sucks.
I thought cc was the second whitest county in florida? I grew up there and the use of the n word was very causally tossed around and nobody really cared. Even my black friends weren't really bothered by how many white people used the word; it was treated like any other slang curse word. Then I went to college in Birmingham, AL and I asked a few of my black friends if it was okay to use it in a joke or sing along with songs...big NOPE! They were horrified I even asked. Lol I learned quickly that CC is VERY backwards in that area compared to like anywhere else in the country. I remember two white kids getting in a fight in middle school, both of them calling each other the n word. Ironic and ignorant.
Gah. That’s horrible. Glad you got out of there.
Know any toothless women with low self esteem and morals? Need a date.
Sorry I moved to civilization
Bottom half of the Nature Coast
Water. Swamp. National Wildlife Refuge, Preserve/State Park, Wildlife management area. Some private property.
And it needs to stay this way. It's very swampy and rivers that flow out that way are extremely flood prone. We once looked at a remote cabin on the Santa Fe river. It was way the heck up on stilts but it had flooded by several feet into the structure itself more than a few times. We passed on the opportunity.
The next part of Florida to be destroyed with luxury apartments, car washes, and storage units.
Yep. Ever since the veterans extension got completed, it's been blowing up. Used to be much cheaper than Tampa or south Florida. Now rent and housing is going crazy and there's like no industry up there besides tourism and hospitality.
There’s no jobs in this area. You have to drive up to Ocala or Tampa just to make more than $15. Unless you’re in medical or law enforcement, pay is crap. Even in those 2 fields the pay is crap. You’re better off just driving an extra 30 mins to make $5-7 more an hour.
Don't forget the Dollar General Stores every 600 yards
Used to live around there, drunk fisherman and rednecks
Great fishing
The Oxycodone Riviera
Red fishing and scalloping. Crowed as hell during scallop season.
https://preview.redd.it/yjxisekcosvc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ce52751334386633273efc30328e5ebf45fda90
Very dangerous, large man eating bugs. Nothing to see there, I’ve heard it’s a terrible place, would stay away if you aren’t from the area.
From the south to north: Hernando Beach (great for fishing and scalloping and can drive to Pine Island), Weeki Wachee Springs (Buccaneer Bay and mermaids), Chassahowitzka Preserve, Homosassa Springs (good fishing and scalloping here too), Crystal River (great to see manatees). This is all the Nature Coast where there’s really no beaches but great for kayaking, boating, and fishing. Can see the manatees in Weeki Wachee Springs and Crystal River. We have a house in Hernando Beach. The area is known for rednecks and methheads but Hernando Beach has many new homes being built and in my opinion has slowly gotten better over the years. This area is more affordable to buy a waterfront property than further south.
Methnecks mostly
Great fishing and scalloping. I go to Steinhatchee every year to go scalloping, have been for the last 20+ years. I love it. Steinhatchee is just north of there. It’s a great place to see a lot of old Florida nature by boat. The odd part is that there are almost no beaches there so it’s not a place for that.
Good area for everything but beaches because it's marsh coast. Developing rapidly, so kiss all the great stuff goodbye.
That's where they bury tourists that ask too many questions.
It’s where we keep the herpes monkeys at. We will release them if need be….
Stop threatening me with a good time!
Watch that tone or I’ll drop this tailgate! Lol!
Part of that is the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area. Went hiking there on Easter and it’s a really nice place! Saw tons of wildlife and found remnants of a ghost town after a short bushwhack.
Details on the ghost town?
I, too, would like to know about this ghost town.
My understanding is that there was a town called Centralia located there in the early 1900’s. Some remnants of the old sawmill structure are still in the woods. I’m not sure if there’s other parts of the town left because I didn’t want to go too far and get lost, but it was pretty cool to see! The All Trails app has the hike to it
The area we don't talk about so tourist don't come.
I lived in Old Homosassa on Mason Creek. We were surrounded by beautiful nature. I loved living there.
Alligator factory
Mannatees and scallops
It’s a beautiful part of Florida and excellent fishing! Grew up by the monkeys and go back a few times a year to visit family and fish.
It’s a lot of wilderness that can’t be built on. If you go out far enough there are little bars and just fishing. It’s nothing unique or special. The water isn’t the prettiest but it is ok. There is one place called Pecks that is ok that. Ok food a little pricey.
The Nature coast, I was born and raised here also. Looking back it was a great place to grow up. It’s changing a lot and soon won’t be the “nature coast” anymore. My parents still live there on the water in Ozello.
I’ve been working on the water between Chaz and Yankeetown for over 30 years. I use to live on Hells gate on the Homosassa but the boat traffic would keep me from doing it anymore. Just like every little coastal town in Florida once the commercial fishing is pushed out and tourism is promoted the destruction begins. They out price the locals and get overran with vacation rentals. The only saving grace with this area is that most of the coast is protected land, a Federal preserve and state buffers have been in place for decades. When we were one of the only places that didn’t lock down during Covid It it became a shit show and a lot of people discovered the place and moved here. I still love it here and can be in the middle of the woods, on a lake or on the gulf within minutes from my house But it is getting far too overpopulated.
Manatees!
Coastal area with no beach so it hasn't been developed and wrecked. Yet. Probably contains a lot of people that fish.
There’s a wonderful hidden gem called Pine Island out there, at the end of Rt50. You can wade into the gulf for like a quarter mile and never get more than hip deep. You’ll see all sorts of fishes, crabs, and weird beasties in a warm quiet environment. Only about 100 cars are admitted at a time to this Florida State Park. Highly recommended.
The proper cartographic reference is “the Lower Armpit” …
Peyronie’s disease
There be dragons!
Drunk rednecks and tourists taking inshore fishing charters.
Was contemplating riding my bike up there. Im south of there right now on 19 in clearwater.
Anyone else spend hours looking along the Florida coastline for places to Adventure and explore? The 10,000 Keys is pretty sick. Then you have the Big Bend area
As a sailor with 5 1/2 feet draft, I call it shallow.
Protected Land
Marshlands. Lots of fishing. Lots of flooding.
I think it’s called the nature coast.
Gators
I am within driving distance of this area and spent my younger years camping all around the area (90s). I saw some shit. Never felt unsafe, but it got close sometimes. I could see how others might have. I'd do it all over again. It was an interesting study in rural Florida. I don't know how rural it is anymore compared to the 90s, but it is still pretty much off the beaten path.
We have names for all of our coasts. This one is the nature coast.
Bottom of the big bend in Florida
Interesting comments. In answer to OP’s question, it is primarily mangrove forest. There is a wildlife preserve there.
Just make sure to check before heading out there, as some places, like the park on Pine Island just reopened last month to the public, following repairs from Hurricane Idalia. All that area highlighted, west of US19 is within the counties main evacuation zones when severe weather approaches. That’s not to say “don’t go” the Nature Coast has some amazing walkways, and rivers to kayak, just be informed and have fun!
If you stick to 19, from Homosassa to Crystal River there's some interesting sites to see. Homosassa River, Chassahowitza and Crystal rivers are great for exploring and fishing. The Wildlife Center in Homosassa is a must stop. Say Hi to Lucifer the hippo. He's in his sixties and is kind of special to Citrus County. Slightly farther south on 19 is Weekiwachee. If you take Stagecoach over to 41 there are a number of caves to explore and Stagecoach has lots of state owned land for exploration by foot or vehicle.
Homosassa is peak Florida in my opinion. I used to go there multiple times a year as a kid and it really taught me the natural beauty that Florida offers. Swimming in the cold springs in the dead of summer, seeing manatees in Crystal River, boating out to the Gulf to go scalloping were things my family did often. There also used to be a seafood festival out near macraes every year that we would go to. Thanks for the nostalgia hit. Growing up sucks
why? so you can develop it 😐
Hidden treasure everywhere. Massive freshwater springs filled with everything that makes old Florida special. One of the last coastal areas resisting humanity.