Craft Access
✓
Motorboat ✓
Kayak / Canoe ✗
Jet Ski / PWC ✗
Large 22ft+ Site Details
Conditions change rapidly due to water levels, prop wash, and weather. Always visually inspect before backing down.
RampConcrete (good to excellent per FWC), 4 lanes
DockBoth launch and staging docks
Trailer Parking28 spots · paved
Vehicle-Only30 spots
Crowding When open, this is Mount Dora's only trailer ramp on Lake Dora and the biggest lot on the lake — 28 trailer spots, 30 vehicle spots, dawn to dusk — a short idle from the Deer Island sandbar, so summer weekends run busy.
Plan B — if this lot is full While it's closed: Wooton Park West in Tavares (free, 24 hours) is Lake Dora's open trailer ramp — about 5 miles across the lake. Trimble Park on Lake Beauclair, 2 miles south, is connected lock-free water: launch there and run back into Dora past Deer Island. Different-water fallback: the six-lane Hickory Point complex on Lake Harris.
FeeNo fee
HoursDawn to dusk (FWC inventory) — while closed, no launching
SeasonOpen year-round
RestroomsModern restroom (1)
PierYes
Accessibility3 accessible parking spaces; FWC lists the flush restroom as not accessible.
Not Available Fish cleaning
Scout's Notes
Ramp Quirks & Etiquette
Closed — No Reason Posted
FWC's inventory lists Simpson Cove 'Temporarily Closed' as of July 2026 with no reason or reopening date, and Mount Dora's own facility page carries no closure notice. The record October 2025 flood — 17.86 inches of rain, repairs running from January 2026 — may be the backstory, but nothing official ties it to the ramp. Call (352) 735-7155 before towing.
The Lighthouse Waterfront
This is the postcard corner of Lake Dora: the 35-foot Grantham Point lighthouse (dedicated 1988, Florida's only inland freshwater lighthouse) stands across the street, Gilbert Park adjoins, and Palm Island Park's boardwalk — with the bronze of 'Old Joe,' the legendary 15-foot gator — runs just south. FWC lists Gilbert/Palm Island as shore-fishing access with three fishing piers.
What You Get When It Reopens
The best facility on the lake on paper: four concrete lanes (per FWC), launch and staging docks, 28 trailer spots, lighting, picnic shelters and flush restrooms, free, dawn to dusk — a half-mile idle from downtown Mount Dora's docks and the Deer Island sandbar run.
Sources: FWC boat-ramp inventory row LK00815HD (status re-verified 2026-07-27; closure reason not posted), City of Mount Dora Simpson Cove facility page, Central Florida Public Media/MyNews13 October–December 2025 flood coverage, FWC Harris Chain page (Gilbert/Palm Island access), Mount Dora Buzz (lighthouse, Old Joe), Water Atlas boating guide (lane-count conflict).
About This Lake
Lake Dora →