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, 1 lane
Water DepthLaunches into the sheltered 'pocket' — the canal-mouth cove that named the camp — then out to the open lake.
DockCamp docks line the cove (ramp dock configuration not in the FWC inventory — one reviewer wished the dock ramp were cleaner/safer for kids and seniors boarding)
Trailer ParkingLimited / unposted · camp lot (about 15 vehicle spaces per fwc — surface not posted)
Vehicle-Only15 spots
Crowding Restaurant traffic rules the lot — weekend waits at the Shak run famously long, and nice-weather Fridays bring live music from around noon. Launch early, eat late.
Plan B — if this lot is full Lake Pierce Public Boat Ramp (free, west side, two spots)
Jennings' Resort ($5, 1.5 mi east along the north end).
Jennings' Resort ($5, 1.5 mi east along the north end).
Fee$2 launch fee (drop box)
HoursNot posted for the ramp — the restaurant runs Sun–Thu 11 AM–9 PM, Fri–Sat 11 AM–10 PM; call (863) 880-1223 to confirm launch access and whether patronage is expected.
SeasonOpen year-round
RestroomsPortable toilet (1)
StaffedYes
Not Available Fish cleaning · Fishing pier · Pier
Scout's Notes
Ramp Quirks & Etiquette
The Institution
A 1940s fish camp — early days ran to gambling and gator wrestling, by the operator's own telling — that grew into the Steak & Seafood Shak: tiki bar, dollar-bill walls, dock-up seating, cabins and RV sites, and a $2 drop-box launch on the side. The FWC inventory lists it plainly as a public-use commercial ramp; everyone else lists it as a destination.
Launch Logistics
One concrete lane into the sheltered pocket, about 15 vehicle spaces, portable toilet at the ramp and real facilities inside. No posted ramp hours — the kitchen runs 11 to 9 (10 on weekends), and whether launching expects patronage isn't published, so the courteous move is a phone call and a lunch order.
Arrive by Water
Half this ramp's traffic goes the other way — boats docking up for grouper baskets and live music. If the two-spot county ramp is full, two dollars here buys the lake plus the best lunch fallback in Polk County.
Sources: FWC boat-ramp inventory PO00133PB (re-verified 2026-07-27, fee drop box), cherrypocket.com (history, hours), TripAdvisor/Campspot review themes (anecdotal).
About This Lake
Lake Pierce →