Florida State Rv Campgrounds

[Tblt44]

I've been trying to get in there, but all booked up

[robbiels7]

Originally Posted by Tblt44

I've been trying to get in there, but all booked up

Its not an easy one to get into. Summer is a bit easier.

[Life Without Whine]

Can only reserve 6 months in advance for Fort DeSoto (7 months if that is your county). If you want pics of the CG lots of us have posted out here, usually on the 'Show us your campsite' threads so search there.

[robbiels7]

Also there are some pretty good video reviews on you tube.

[robbiels7]

We have arrived at site 129!

[PRB]

That’s a nice spot! I’ve spent about 5 or 6 weeks at Fort Desoto over the past 3 years and have loved everyday there. Enjoy your time.

[jkoenig24]

I was not able to navigate their online reservation system.

[robbiels7]

Originally Posted by jkoenig24

I was not able to navigate their online reservation system.

I think you have to do it on reserve America. They DW did it

[robbiels7]

Originally Posted by PRB

That’s a nice spot! I’ve spent about 5 or 6 weeks at Fort Desoto over the past 3 years and have loved everyday there. Enjoy your time.

It's a very big site its about 30x100. This is a great place.

[CampingGator]

Originally Posted by robbiels7

We have arrived at site 129! Attachment 207430Attachment 207431Attachment 207432Attachment 207433

Very nice. We’ve been there once, but it was on a very tight, short site. Couldn’t even put our awning out the whole way. Our family lives in Pinellas county, but we don’t, so that doesn’t help. My brother had a beautiful site across the way.

[robbiels7]

Originally Posted by CampingGator

Very nice. We’ve been there once, but it was on a very tight, short site. Couldn’t even put our awning out the whole way. Our family lives in Pinellas county, but we don’t, so that doesn’t help. My brother had a beautiful site across the way.

Our site last year was very tight 105 but we made it work for 12 days.

[HappyCamper1962]

Originally Posted by quicky06

So is fort Desoto good to go?

Came across it looking for something on google earth. Pictures make it look perfect. Your on the water on the golf. Miles of beaches including dog beaches.

2 year old lab is the biggest water dog I’ve ever seen. Want to get her to the ocean. But it’s a 17 hour drive from St. Louis so I’m doing home work. 2
Days travel each way I would want to stay for a week.

Fort DeSoto is our home park, just a few minutes drive and it indeed is amazing. Launch your boat from your campsite... doesn't get much better than that

[robbiels7]

Originally Posted by HappyCamper1962

Fort DeSoto is our home park, just a few minutes drive and it indeed is amazing. Launch your boat from your campsite... doesn't get much better than that

Yes amazing and the dog beach if an off leash beach!

[D&Ro]

Originally Posted by robbiels7

We live here. Make reservations asap. The snow birds make camping in the winter hard to get a site. We love fort desoto. Your on the gulf literally. It is a beautiful state park with lots to do in the area. Dont worry about the temperature as long as your I. At least central Florida it will be great.

Question about Fort Desoto - we stayed there about 30 years ago (loved it!) and I think we had to have friends make our reservations- there was a restriction that only county residents could make reservations. Is that still true?
Oops- just read further in the thread about county residents able to book earlier than anyone else. I found my answer. Thanks.

[robbiels7]

Originally Posted by BigDnRo

Question about Fort Desoto - we stayed there about 30 years ago (loved it!) and I think we had to have friends make our reservations- there was a restriction that only county residents could make reservations. Is that still true?
Oops- just read further in the thread about county residents able to book earlier than anyone else. I found my answer. Thanks.

Ok good happy cramping.

[chewie37]

We've stayed at Ft. Desoto twice since we made the TT plunge about a year ago. TL;DR - great park, plan ahead to get reservations.

Long version (as this has turned in to more of a review than I planned on.) Geez, I'm long winded sometimes.

Far from any kind of an expert on the park, but some observations. . .
We have 2 dogs so we have to reserve in Area 2 on the map - sites 86 through 164.

Turns out our two mutts aren't water dogs, so the dog beach isn't a huge draw for them. That's OK though - they (and we) get plenty of enjoyment just taking walks through the park. Along with just getting a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life that a camping weekend brings.

As for the other items that others have brought up. It's a county park, so residents of Pinellas county get a 7 month advance reservation window. The rest of us (even FL residents) get 6 months.

And yes, the reservation system is less than intuitive. What's worked so far for me is to download the park info pdf, and then have it up in a separate window/tab while navigating the reservation system.

Once you have a reservation, do realize that there's no 'overflow' parking at the campground. For one visit, there was barely enough room for parking a rig to check in since it was busy. So if you're thinking of arriving early, be aware. There may be options for early arrival parking that I'm not aware of. As residents of the county next door (Hillsborough) we just show up at check in time. If you have questions, best bet might be to make a phone call and talk to a ranger.

Raccoons haven't been an issue, at least in the pet friendly area. As others have said in previous threads - presence of pets may be a factor.

There are actually two dump stations on site, which is a little unique and kind of nice.

Sites are packed sand and generally level. You will be tracking more dirt into your rig than you'd maybe like though. In addition, getting in to a site may be a bit tight - not shown on the map are the locations of the ash cans and trash cans. You may have one to keep on your radar as you're backing in.

All in all, we like the park quite a bit so far and no doubt we'll be staying there again.

[robbiels7]

Still here and enjoying every second

[HappyCamper1962]

Originally Posted by chewie37

Once you have a reservation, do realize that there's no 'overflow' parking at the campground. For one visit, there was barely enough room for parking a rig to check in since it was busy. So if you're thinking of arriving early, be aware. There may be options for early arrival parking that I'm not aware of. As residents of the county next door (Hillsborough) we just show up at check in time. If you have questions, best bet might be to make a phone call and talk to a ranger.

As a Pinellas County resident and minutes from Fort DeSoto Park, I am very grateful for the 7 month window to make reservations. There was a time not long ago that reservations were only over the phone or in person, so even though the online reservation system is not the best, it is definitely better than the process it replaced

About parking, there is a 2 car limit on all campsites and usually just enough room on the "driveway" for two cars on even the larger sites (internal Area 3 sites the possible exception) and the rangers DO patrol that rule. There is overflow parking, it's located across the street from the entrance to the park, but you still need a parking pass to park there, it's free, just need to ask the front ranger desk for a pass and put it on your dash. That would also be the space for early arrival parking, and there are also usually some folks who check out from their site and want to spend the day on the beach without towing their boat or rig down with them so they unhook and park it there for the day. There is plenty of room for everyone/easy access parking spaces.

One other cool thing is that your campground pass is also the beach access pass - you do not have to pay the $5 fee to drive to the beach - which I wouldn't mind paying anyway since the beach is so well maintained - but if your camping pass is valid, they will wave you through the pay station on the road to the beach

[Coolharts]

We just got back from a week in FL and the 3 parks we stayed in were great!


Anastasia State Park has a great beach and beautiful sites.
Curry Hammock is super quiet and well groomed.
Lake Wekiwa is a nice place but the day users block the entrance and exit. The full hookups are a plus.