page_title: Lake George State Forest
section_title: Natural features
hierarchical_section_title: Lake George State Forest / Natural features
caption_attribution_description: English: Sign indicating an "idle speed" or "no wake" zone for boaters on the St. Johns River in Astor, Florida, USA. The Lake George State Forest is seen across the river. Español: Signo que indica una zona de "idle speed" (ralentí) o "no wake" (sin estela) para los navegantes en el río St. Johns en Astor, Florida, EE.UU.. El Bosque Estatal de Lake George es visto a través del río.
context_page_description: The Lake George State Forest is a designated protected area and state forest in the U.S. state of Florida. The 21,176-acre forest is located in northwestern Volusia County, Florida, near Lake George and the communities of Pierson, Barberville, and Volusia. It is overseen by the Florida Forest Service within the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
  Lake George State Forest is divided into three tracts of land. The northernmost Astor Tract stretches roughly from a point between Pierson and Lake George south to State Road 40 east of the Volusia settlement. South of SR 40 are the Mary Farms and Dexter Tracts, which encompasses land between the St. Johns River to the west, and Barberville, US 17, and De Leon Springs State Park to the east, and south to the banks of Lake Dexter, Spring Garden Creek, and the Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge.
  Lake George State Forest should not be confused with the Lake George Forest, a separate 7,858-acre property to the immediate north which is jointly owned by Volusia County and the St. Johns River Water Management District, or the Lake George Conservation Area, a 11,973-acre site owned by the SJRWMD.
context_section_description: Lake George State Forest is named for Lake George, the largest lake in Florida after Lake Okeechobee, and the largest lake of the St. Johns River system. The river itself bounds a 3.5 miles (5.6 km) section of the forest, offering both a vibrant ecology and a wealth of recreation opportunities. The forest and associated wetlands are located within the Lake George watershed, and as such, serve as an important aquifer recharge area. 
  The arboreal composition of the Lake George State Forest is primarily longleaf and slash pines, with bald cypress and other bottomland hardwood hammocks found in lowland deposits and along the floodplain.
  Lake George State Forest is part of two Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) managed through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The forest's two southern tracts form the Dexter/Mary Farms Unit WMA, while the Astor Tract is grouped with adjacent land (like SJRWMD's and Volusia County's Lake George Forest and Conservation Area) to form the Lake George WMA. The WMAs of Lake George State Forest are part of a network of protected lands forming a wildlife corridor and roaming habitat which is critical to the survival of the Florida black bear. Other species of wildlife that call the area home include the bald eagle, sandhill crane, white-tail deer, wild turkey, gopher tortoise, and bobcat.
caption: Lake George State Forest seen from across the St. Johns River in Astor.
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