Best Assisted Living Facilities in Ocala, FL

Assisted Living in Ocala, Florida

With beautiful beaches and warm, pleasant weather almost year-round, Florida has long attracted retirees from all over the U.S. With its proximity to major highways and other Florida cities, Ocala, in North Central Florida, is one of the state’s most popular destinations for older adults, with many amenities and numerous assisted living options.

I-75 cuts through Ocala from north to south in the western portion of this central Florida city, and intersects with U.S. Route 40, which runs through Ocala’s center from east to west. U.S. Route 301 also extends through Ocala, which is 80 miles north of Orlando and about an hour-and-a-half drive southwest to Tampa.

The Windsor of Ocala is located on Southeast 18th Avenue A in eastern Ocala. The assisted living community, The Bridge at Ocala, is in southern Ocala on Southwest 41st Street at Southwest 27th Avenue. Southwest of The Bridge is Ocala Senior Living on Southwest 95th Circle, near U.S. Route 200. Northwest of Ocala Senior Living is Bridgewater Park on Southwest 81st Court, which offers independent living, memory care, skilled nursing, and short-term rehabilitation in addition to assisted living.

Hospitals in Ocala, Florida

Ocala has several medical centers in the center of the city, east of U.S. Route 301 and north of Southeast 17th Street. HCA Florida Ocala Primary Care is on Southeast 17th Street off U.S. Route 464. It provides 24/7 emergency services, cancer care, and a Level II trauma center on Southwest 1st Avenue, south of U.S. Route 40 and east of U.S. Route 200. AdventHealth Ocala is also on Southwest 1st Avenue, offering full-service medical care including breast health and lung health programs, cancer care, diabetes management, rehabilitation, and orthopedics. UF Health Ocala Neighborhood Hospital provides emergency care, surgery, imaging, and lab services on Northwest 35th Avenue Road in northwestern Ocala.

Things to Do in Ocala, Florida

Downtown Ocala is a vibrant section of the city with historic buildings, murals, sculptures, and art galleries. In the northeast corner of the city, about 10 minutes from downtown Ocala, is the College of Central Florida’s Appleton Museum of Art. It’s just southwest of the Ocala Civic Theatre, which is also part of the Appleton Cultural Center southeast of Northeast 21st Street.

Southwest of Ocala’s Downtown Square, Sholom Park on Southwest 80th Avenue is a nonprofit botanical garden with a pavilion, koi pond, and 2 miles of walking trails. Visitors to Sholom Park can spy wildlife and more than 250 species of plants and trees.

Known as the horse capital of the world, Ocala is a wonderful city for equestrians, with many horse farms to tour and trails for horseback riding. Ocala is also in the center of around 200 miles of nature trails. The Ocala section of the Florida Trail is a popular starting point for backpackers and a favorite camping spot as well. These lands are home to many types of wildlife, including bears, turkeys, deer, and endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers. The Southwest 49th Avenue Trailhead and Landbridge Trailhead on Southwest 16th Avenue are two points of entry for senior-friendly outdoor activities, like birdwatching, hiking, and horseback riding. Ocala’s Baseline Road Trailhead on Southeast 58th Avenue has five miles of paved trail for biking and walking, picnic areas, and a barrier-free Boundless Playground for kids of all abilities.

Residents have numerous opportunities to enjoy the outdoors just outside Ocala, too. Visitors can fish, hunt, hike, and horseback ride in the Marshall Swamp Wildlife Management Area, which is six miles southeast of Ocala. Many lakes and springs are within an easy drive from Ocala. For example, to get to Indian Lake State Forest, a beautiful sinkhole lake in nearby Silver Springs, Florida, it’s about a 20-minute drive from the assisted living community The Windsor of Ocala.