Kingsley Lake, FL

[trickskier]

Check this out......This is where I do most of my skiing / wakeboarding. This is supposedly the Oldest Lake in FL. created by a sinkhole. It is over 90 feet deep in the middle and is feed by numerous springs. The water is so clear you can see bottom in 20 feet of water. The lake is nearly 2000 acres, 5.5 miles around the shoreline and 2 miles across in any direction. Great place to ski! Oh yes, a lot of GI Jane was filmed there.

[88 PS190]

Does it get very roller filled or does it smooth out?

[milkmania]

Check this out......This is where I do most of my skiing / wakeboarding. This is supposedly the Oldest Lake in FL. created by a sinkhole. It is over 90 feet deep in the middle and is feed by numerous springs. The water is so clear you can see bottom in 20 feet of water. The lake is nearly 2000 acres, 5.5 miles around the shoreline and 2 miles across in any direction. Great place to ski! Oh yes, a lot of GI Jane was filmed there.
not to discount your lake any at all, but that one is pretty small in comparison to a lot of the other lakes


check it out in google earth below is the .kmz file

http://www.bhammonster.com/Kingsley.kmz

[trickskier]

not to discount your lake any at all, but that one is pretty small in comparison to a lot of the other lakes


check it out in google earth below is the .kmz file

http://www.bhammonster.com/Kingsley.kmz

At 2000 acres it's one of the largest lakes in FL. Most of our lakes were formed from sinkholes. We do not have a lake anywhere the size of Lake Lanier or Lake Norris.

[trickskier]

Does it get very roller filled or does it smooth out?


Lots of rollers in the afternoon from wally's & smokers. We get there early & stay late.

[milkmania]

At 2000 acres it's one of the largest lakes in FL. Most of our lakes were formed from sinkholes. We do not have a lake anywhere the size of Lake Lanier or Lake Norris.

I never realized there were SO MANY lakes in florida....

the reason I mention it being small was because I looked at several larger ones:o

both of these images were take at the same elevation

http://www.bhammonster.com/lake.jpg
http://www.bhammonster.com/lake2.jpg

[Leroy]

Nice to have a lake that clear!

[A.I. Rider]

Trickskier,
I love this lake as well. My friend has a house there that we usually go and stay at. They ride behind an 01 SAN 210. Your new X1 looks great. I saw you towing it back from Kingsley several weeks ago while we were returning from Lake Santa Fe with our Black X2.

[trickskier]

Trickskier,
I love this lake as well. My friend has a house there that we usually go and stay at. They ride behind an 01 SAN 210. Your new X1 looks great. I saw you towing it back from Kingsley several weeks ago while we were returning from Lake Santa Fe with our Black X2.

Yeah, I remember seeing you as well. Good Looking X-2. How's the water table at Santa Fe?

[Davo]

Dang, that is a nice lake and it's perfectly round! I can't believe you can see 20 feet...that's unheard of in Florida from what I know to be the standard. We ride in a mud "puddle" compared to Kingsley. lol

I'm not sure how they could designate it the oldest lake in Florida though...there's water around every corner and how they could determine that this one formed before Lake George or Lake Okeechobee is beyond me. Regardless, she's a beaut.

[trickskier]

I never realized there were SO MANY lakes in florida....

the reason I mention it being small was because I looked at several larger ones:o

both of these images were take at the same elevation

http://www.bhammonster.com/lake.jpg
http://www.bhammonster.com/lake2.jpg

Hey Milk,

You just happened to get an arial of Lake Okeechobee, the 2nd largest lake in the United States. It spans over 500,000 acres and covers 730 square miles, it is approximately 33 miles from North to South.

It's a great place for fishing but not skiing. Average depth is only 9 feet and has a lot of cattails on it. You'll find a lot of airboats along with a lot of REAL GATORS on Okechobee.

[mbeach]

tricks - glad you like kingsley. great lake and i am very familiar with it growing up in jacksonville. is not, however, one of largest lakes in florida but is one of the largest in ne florida. i am very familiar with fla lakes having worked as a research fisheries biologist with the fla dept of nat resources for many years. what i like best about it is outstanding water quality, clarity, and stable water levels. the lakes around keystone heights also are great lakes but subject to drastic water level fluctuations. kingsley and santa fe were two of the lakes i looked at for a lake place, but settled on hampton for less boating pressure. as i remember, did not someone drown on kingsley earlier this year after falling off a jet ski and getting tangled in the vegetation? lastly, do you launch at the rv park since the old stricklands is closed and i do not believe the military will let you launch at camp blanding. bottom line is great lake that gets much activity during prime time on weekends.

[trickskier]

Mbeach,
I did not hear of anyone drowning. The only vegitation I am aware of is the only undeveloped lot on the NE corner that is actually on Kingley Lake Dr. I have heard about Hampton Lake but have never been on it. I have been on Lake Santa Fe once. A lot of tanic acid in the water from the Cypress heads. Are you in Iowa to stay?

[SkiDog]

Hey fellas, Little history lesson here. Did you know that Kingsley lake is the worlds most perfectly ROUND nature made lake in the WORLD! Damn, I'm a storage vault of useless information!:D

[A.I. Rider]

TRICK,
Santa Fe does does have that dark color from the trees, but it hasnt been bad or anything. I love that I can go out there on any weekend or weekday and it never has a crowd. There is always somewhere to ride which I absolutely love. Water is pretty low this summer. When I first took the new ride there back in April, it was nice a high, but now its probably 2-3 feet down. Still plenty deep to ride and no hit anything on the sides. I always gauge the level there by this tree this guy has near his dock. When that tree gets fully exposed, then I watch myself a bit more there. But it hasnt been that low in two or more years. So, with all that being said, Still love riding there, and we will probably be there this weekend.

mbeach,
How is Hampton lake? I saw only one ramp and it looked a bit sketchy for me, but I get nervous anytime i put in where I am not familiar. I have been looking at several lots on the west side but have not settled on anything. We are thinking of buying on Santa Fe, before it gets as high priced as Kingsley.

[trickskier]

TRICK,
Santa Fe does does have that dark color from the trees, but it hasnt been bad or anything. I love that I can go out there on any weekend or weekday and it never has a crowd. There is always somewhere to ride which I absolutely love. Water is pretty low this summer. When I first took the new ride there back in April, it was nice a high, but now its probably 2-3 feet down. Still plenty deep to ride and no hit anything on the sides. I always gauge the level there by this tree this guy has near his dock. When that tree gets fully exposed, then I watch myself a bit more there. But it hasnt been that low in two or more years. So, with all that being said, Still love riding there, and we will probably be there this weekend.

mbeach,
How is Hampton lake? I saw only one ramp and it looked a bit sketchy for me, but I get nervous anytime i put in where I am not familiar. I have been looking at several lots on the west side but have not settled on anything. We are thinking of buying on Santa Fe, before it gets as high priced as Kingsley.

AI,
Let me know what you find on Santa Fe. I'm going to look at Georges Lake near Keystone Heights, Grandin area.

[mbeach]

mbeach,
How is Hampton lake? I saw only one ramp and it looked a bit sketchy for me, but I get nervous anytime i put in where I am not familiar. I have been looking at several lots on the west side but have not settled on anything. We are thinking of buying on Santa Fe, before it gets as high priced as Kingsley.
ai -- i am usually down every 3 wks or so and take boat (sportstar) out when not there. i use this ramp and have not had any problems yet. if lake goes much lower i will get nervous as yourself. i always look at where the concrete drops off at end of ramp and make my decision for go or no go then. so far, have not been any problems. lake retains water very well as does santa fe and recent rains should keep it up so i can launch next time i am down, probably in 7-10 days. i also looked on santa fe and found most places to be costly dumps or mucho $$$$. if you do not want to be on the main lake, there is property available but i did not want to be on a canal. also, be careful as to which county you look in. alachua county side of santa fe is much more costly than the bradford county side. there is property available on the west side of hampton, but has extensive wetlands that preclude clearing for a view of lake. you can clear for a dock. i looked on the st. johns as well as lake george and crescent lake before settling on hampton. long and short is decide where you want to buy and strike fast -- good ones reasonably priced do not stay on market long.

[mbeach]

Mbeach,
Are you in Iowa to stay?
at least until our son who is a sr in hs finishes college. like i said, i spend as much time down there as family will let me.

[A.I. Rider]

Had a great Labor day weekend once again. I hope yours went well also. We ended up spending our time at Santa Fe. Great water all day on Sunday! Water level is a tad lower still but easily accessible from the ramps and plenty deep throughout. We actually left the lake late Sunday and drove over to a friends on Kingsley, maybe to catch a late session but it looked blown out. Kingsley is starting to look very low from what it was earlier this summer.

mbeach, I may go give hampton a shot sometime. It looked like a great place to take a few sets. As far as property goes, you are dead on from what I am finding. We are going to keep hunting and maybe the deal for us will pop up soon...I hope.

[trickskier]

Had a great Labor day weekend once again. I hope yours went well also. We ended up spending our time at Santa Fe. Great water all day on Sunday! Water level is a tad lower still but easily accessible from the ramps and plenty deep throughout. We actually left the lake late Sunday and drove over to a friends on Kingsley, maybe to catch a late session but it looked blown out. Kingsley is starting to look very low from what it was earlier this summer.

mbeach, I may go give hampton a shot sometime. It looked like a great place to take a few sets. As far as property goes, you are dead on from what I am finding. We are going to keep hunting and maybe the deal for us will pop up soon...I hope.

AI,
Gald to hear you had a great weekend. Kingsley is getting a little low. But not near as bad as it was in 2000 when boats in lifts had no water under them.

We decided to do something different and spend the weekend at Universal Studios. Stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel, awesome place. Truthfully, I did not want to be on the water this weekend. Holiday weekends bring out TOO MANY AMATEUR BOATERS! We will be back on the water this weekend. Hope to see you out there.

[A.I. Rider]

You can never go wrong with universal. I love that whole area. You are right about the Amatuer boaters. As soon as we were on the lake, I was going around 22 or so, getting ready to back off to stop, and I just happened to notice a jet skiier trying to jump on my wake, he wasnt even 15 yards off the rear of my boat. We had a few words and they left. Great way to start though. But we cant let that get in the way.