05-03-2025
Orange Lake Overlook in north Marion County has expanded with more donated land.
MCINTOSH — The Alachua Conservation Trust (ACT) opened expanded hiking trails at the Marjorie A. Hoy Memorial Park at Orange Lake Overlook with a ribbon cutting event on Feb. 28.
The memorial park and overlook are adjacent to the long shuttered Orange Lake Citrus Shop and signature windmill. The street address is 19865 N. U.S. 441. It's on the east side of the highway just south of McIntosh.
ACT made separate parcel purchases in 2019 and 2022 from the Huff and Sawallis families, respectively, to protect the natural environment in an area surrounding Orange Lake.
ACT, a Gainesville-based nonprofit focused on natural land preservation, works with state and federal programs to purchase land like these tracts and ensure the property is protected.
The additional acreage from the 2022 acquisition allowed the trail network to be expanded from 1 1/2 miles to 3 miles.
Tom Kay, executive director of ACT, said in opening remarks that the 83.5 acres purchased from the Sawallis family was formerly cattle grazing land. He said the family wanted to be sure the land was never destroyed.
'We want to keep this beautiful view intact,' Kay said while backdropped by a panoramic view of Orange Lake and the surrounding natural terrain.
Kay indicated ACT plans to convert the former Orange Lake Citrus Shop into a museum.
The earlier land acquisition at the site by ACT was about 71 acres in total purchased from the Huff family in 2019.
According to ACT, established in 1988, works in the areas of land acquisition, conservation easements, habitat restoration and management and environmental education and outreach in 22 North Central Florida counties.
Ema Olmos, ACT conservation events coordinator, aided with the ribbon cutting on Feb. 18 while Sean Dowie, accompanied by his 13-year-old Labradoodle, Lex, documented the event for ACT with photos.
At least 100 people attended the ribbon cutting. Among them was Guy Marwick, former director of the Silver River Museum and a decorated environmentalist.
James and Carol MacDonald were among the first group to enter the new trails after the ribbon was cut. Carol MacDonald was raised in Ocala and the couple now live in the Palatka area.
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'We can't let developers cover our state with asphalt,' she said.
William Harris of Ocala and David Pais of Gainesville were there, as were Render and Susan Grizzard of nearby Fairfield.
'I think it's great,' Render Grizzard said of the move to preserve the natural landscape.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Orange Lake Overlook near McIntosh, Florida expands in size
