Growing Ocala, Florida Offers a Lovely Mix of Old and New

by Paul Heney
Last updated: 7:00 AM ET, Sat February 15, 2025

Expect to hear more about Ocala, Florida in the coming years. The county seat of Marion County (population 400,000), Ocala is less than a two-hour drive from Orlando and about 45 minutes south of Gainesville and the University of Florida.

And it’s centrally located, roughly halfway between Cedar Key on the Gulf of Mexico and Daytona Beach on the Atlantic Ocean.

New Growth

One of the major developments in the area is the World Equestrian Center, which was named one of Time’s 100 Greatest Places. The WEC sits on 2,000 acres and features two hotels, a diverse array of dining options, high-end shopping, and two state-of-the-art expo centers, which are 132,300 square feet each. The main hotel, The Equestrian Hotel, is the city’s only AAA four-diamond property and features 248 rooms, a spa, a fitness center, and an outdoor pool.

The Equestrian Hotel at Ocala, Florida's World Equestrian Center

While the city doesn’t have commercial service yet to Ocala International Airport, officials there have begun a five-year plan of upgrading the facilities and lengthening the runway to make that a reality in the future.

Loretta Shaffer, Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau Tourist Development Director, explained that the WEC, “has transformed Marion County and put us on the map, not only domestically, but internationally.” She also said that the increase in shopping, dining, and entertainment options locally has helped.

“That trickle effect affects our economic impact numbers. We see it in our occupancy. We see it in our length of stay. We see it in RevPAR,” Shaffer said. “When I first came to the destination 13 years ago, our RevPAR and our average daily room night was about $60—today we’re looking at about $250 on average. Of course, that’s seasonal, but to see this amazing growth that has occurred, and really for Marion [County] to get that opportunity to show that it is really just a beautiful place that's shining on top of a hill."

Outdoor Fun

We visited The Canyons Zip Line and Adventure Park, where a bevy of outdoor adventures were on tap. At the 100-acre property, visitors can choose from horseback riding, kayak tours, gem mining, and zip lining. I chose the zip lining and was impressed by the variety of zips, with fast and slow as well as long and short zips. Some crossed over the water, providing spectacular views of the kayakers below.

The author on a zip line at Canyons Zip Line and Adventure Park

The park is built around a series of old limestone mines that were dug in the early and mid-1900s; when the digging hit the aquifers below, the mines flooded and were abandoned. But the result is a rugged terrain with elevation changes of 100 feet in places—a landscape that is somewhat unique in Florida, where flat land is the standard. The park is a lovely but still undiscovered gem; when I mentioned to several locals that I’d been there, they confessed that they didn’t know it existed and promised to add it to their weekend adventure lists.

Another can’t-miss stop in the area is the iconic Silver Springs State Park. Some call this area Florida’s oldest attraction, and it has a throw-back feel to a simpler time in the Sunshine State. The park features a series of trails, ranging from a 0.8-mile loop to a 4.5-mile historic trail. And they’re connected to the 1,300-mile Florida Trail system, which is one of 11 national scenic trails in the country.

But the big draw here at Silver Springs is the namesake springs, which bubble up from the ground and flow into the Silver River before eventually making it out into the Atlantic.

Glass-bottomed boat at Ocala's Silver Springs State Park

There are 30-minute glass bottom boat tours of the springs, where you may even glimpse manatees and alligators. The springs are famous as the location for iconic films of yesteryear, such as The Creature from the Black Lagoon and the original Tarzan.

Our boat captain kept us entertained the entire time, both with fascinating statistics (the Blue Grotto Spring, one of many here, puts out 87 million gallons of water per day) and with plenty of puns. The boats themselves are historic but have been upgraded to all-electric engines.

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