Well, after our Silver River paddle the other day, we returned home and were going through emails when we saw one from someone in the park here at The Wilderness RV Resort.
Soon, there was a knock on the door. Gloria stopped by to say "Hi" and we invited her in. Gloria is a 73 year old solo born and raised in Louisiana that recently re-located with her daughter and son-in-law to Bend, Oregon. She is on a solo cross-country trip in her Class B motorhome with her dog and cat.
We chatted a little while and enjoyed getting to know her. And we may have a place to park when we get back to Oregon some day. Nice to meet you, Gloria. :)
The last few days I've been working on financial stuff, we've been working on RV Inspection stuff, Linda's done laundry and worked on Rally stuff, we've been doing a little exercise, and I've been watching lots of college basketball. So, we haven't been doing a whole lot that's very exciting.
Linda kept saying "I don't know what it is, but I feel very comfortable here". Uh oh, that's code for we're going to do some "nesting" for a little while. :)
I have to admit, as RV parks go, this one is pretty nice and pretty reasonable on a monthly rate. This season, the monthly rate ranges from $495 - $525 plus tax plus metered electric.
We won't be staying that long this time, but Linda asked if I'd be willing to stay here next December through February. Then she went into her list of justifications:
- Silver Springs is a nice, small town with everything we need
- We're on the edge of the Ocala National Forest for several nature activities
- We're on the Ocklawaha River, very close to the Silver River, and there are numerous paddling opportunities within an hour's drive
- Only 30 minutes from her Mom in The Villages
- We're an hour and a half from Orlando, two hours from Jacksonville, and two hours from Tampa
- We can fly to all of our four RV shows next winter and not have to worry about logistics
- We're 60 miles from either coast
- The sites here are reasonably spaced
- Full hook-ups with 50 amp electric
- Laundry room, fitness center, pool, hot tub, propane filling station, one-mile trail through the forest next to the river, pontoon boat rental, restaurant and sweet shop on site, etc.
I already knew that any objection was pretty much a lost cause, and she was surprised by how little fight I put up. My main two issues with this park are 1) there is a lot of road noise from Hwy 40, and 2) I would prefer to be much farther south. :)
But, we went to the office to see what sites might be available for those three months next season. We were told that the rates are going up. What is $495 now will be $540 plus tax plus metered electric next season. Still, that's not too bad.
There are three sections here at The Wilderness RV Resort - Village Park, Town Park, and Preserve Estates. All lots are deeded lots, so any lot that has not already been purchased is up for sale. All lots still owned by the resort are available for nightly, weekly, and monthly rentals. Private lot owners can rent their lots, but they do that completely on their own.
Village Park is the original section and where we are now. The lot prices are in the low $20,000s to the low $30,000s.
Town Park has larger lots and they range from the mid $20,000s to upper $30,000s/low $40,000s and there are more park models there.
The Preserve Estates is a Class A motorhome only section. Those lots are behind a second gate and they are very well spaced. It's a really nice section. I don't have prices on those, but I believe they are in the $40,000 t0 $80,000 range.
Maintenance fees run from $1,200 per year for Village Park to $1,800 per year for the Preserve Estates. All three sections have their own homeowners association.
For the period we are interested in, next December - February, there were only a few lots available and most of those are in Village Park. All are pull-throughs in the middle of the section.
We chose this site ......
which is just a few sites from where we are now and put a $100 deposit on it. If we cancel, we will lose 10% of the monthly rate or $54.
For those interested in this park, here's a little photo tour.
Entrance to the left, registration office to the right.
Restaurant and sweet shop is slightly to the left, while RV check-in parking is to the right.
It's hard to resist Sweet Jane's Whoopie Pies. :)
Park here, then walk to the office to register and pick-up electronic gate key.
Through the gate on the left is the sports lawn (bocce, shuffleboard, & horseshoes).
Behind that and the log bathhouse is the pool and hot tub.
Next is another log building - the fitness center.
It also has a steam room ....
and sauna.
Then there is a rec room with TV, ping pong table, and pool table.
And a mail center with P.O. boxes.
And a nice laundry.
To the right of those four buildings is the Village Park section and the Lodge, which is a small gathering center with TV, card tables, books, etc.
To the left is the road back to the Preserve Estates with a couple ponds and a community firepit ....
and a nice, huge dog run.
To the left, before getting to the Preserve Estates, ....
is the Ocklawaha River access .....
and the rental pontoon boats.
Along the river is a piece of Florida Greenway trail that residents can take their golf carts on.
And that short section leads to a 1.1-mile loop for bikers and walkers through the river floodplain forest.
On the east side of the park in the back of the resort is the Town Park section.
On that side of the resort is a fishing pond (with a tiny alligator) ...
and a second, smaller dog run.
As nice as the resort is, the roads in the Village Park section are a bit narrow for larger rigs.
But we managed to squeeze in. :)
So, it looks like The Wilderness RV Resort will be our home for three months next winter. But for now, our time here is up.
On Sunday, we will be moving a 100 miles south to go through Advanced RV Inspector training at Lazy Days in Seffner. We're looking forward to gaining some additional knowledge and reporting on the training. We'll see how it goes and let you know. :)
Wonderful review of Wilderness RV.
We are in preparation stages of fulltiming. We still have our S&R in Lake County, preparing it for the market.
We currently have one of those private rental lots in Town Park, way in the back and we absolutely love it at Wilderness RV. Sunday morning as I sat outside with my coffee I watched a bald eagle dining on a fish in a tree over behind the Preserve Estates section.
Yes it can be noisy up front from the traffic on Hwy 40, but trust me you hear the bikes in the back as well, but it is relatively quiet at night.
We have been weekenders at Wilderness since 2009 and this year we bit the bullet when we had the opportunity at a private rental for the entire summer, our weekend getaway!
Oh and by the way the bbq place just a mile up the road on Hwy 40 is fabulous.
Safe travels.
Posted by: Susan Anderson | Monday, March 16, 2015 at 07:03 AM
That looks like a wonderful place to stay next Winter. Good for you for indulging Linda. I too am a nester, and I am sure you will be rewarded with a happy and content housemate.
I am going to add Wilderness RV Park to my list of places to stay in the future. Think of all the money you will save on fuel!!
Posted by: Carol Beckman | Monday, March 16, 2015 at 09:28 PM
Yes, that nesting instinct does rear it's head periodically! I know that feeling.
After a prolonged period of frequent moves and travel, it's really nice to just settle somewhere comfortable for a while. :-)
That does look like a nice place for it.
Posted by: Esther Lill | Tuesday, March 17, 2015 at 02:22 PM
Great write up. We have been looking for a new winter spot and will have to check out this resort. Hope you got to paddle the Rainbow River when you were there. It is an hour or so from Silver Springs. While more developed than the Silver River we saw more wildlife there, birds galore and a full family of otters.
Posted by: art jones | Monday, March 30, 2015 at 12:16 PM