Florida Campers - Favorite camp spots?

[tony5oh]

Oscar Scherer
Hillsborough River
DeSoto
Rainbow River
Lake Louisa
Lake Griffin

[tony5oh]

Originally Posted by zorky

Has anyone stayed at a camp ground near or within walking distance to the beaches? We may take a trip from Ohio in March and would possibly like to stay near a beach. Sure would beat the hotel cost.

Turtle Beach Campground in Sarasota is nice for close beach access. You don't go there for the amenities, it's all about the beach access. 😎

http://www.scgov.net/TurtleBeachCampground

[Life Without Whine]

NONE OF THE FLORIDA STATE PARKS ARE ANY GOOD AT ALL !!!! Come on guys ...we already have a hard enough time making a reservation without someone else trying to get in ;-)

Have camped in a lot of them (LOVE the host on the first loop at Lake Manatee during the winter ... wonderful Saturday morning coffee clutch) and just got back from Pennekamp in Key Largo ... if you want in just keep looking as we were amazed at how many sites were cancelled for a night or two as people have to book far in advance & often have to cancel.

We love Anastasia for Saturday morning flea market right next door at the amphitheatre, Gamble Rogers for the same just a bike ride away up Flagler Beach. Many of the springs are great for manatee watching during the winter (still too cold for us Floridians to swim / snorkel unless it is in the lower keys)

Out of all the SP only 1 we did not care for & that was because of 1 host for 3 loops / 3 dirty bathrooms & a wicked overpopulation on most sites (8 people / site limit) had driven that host away ...we are unlikely to go to Rainbow Springs again because of that. Some parks will flood so should have alternate plans sometimes.

Now stop telling people about great places to camp down here!!!!

[MacGumbo]

We enjoy Silver River and Paynes Prairie.

[boatman811]

Do you have screen room your camper. We have a Flagstaff 21TBHW and are having trouble with ours and need some advice.

[dwilson61]

We just camped at Blue Springs. The campgrounds are clean and the bathrooms are nice. The only issue is the noise from passing trains. They pass during the day and night. Other than the trains the rest of the park is nice. The St. Johns River is very nice to canoe on. The spring run is shut down this time of the year for the manatees. When we got to the park we did not see one manatee. The first night the temperature dropped down into the 40's. The next day we talk to some researchers that counted 108 manatees that had moved in overnight. The next day they counted 180.

The researchers told us that last February that they counted 483 manatees in the spring run.

We also spotted a bald eagle flying around.

[Ortep]

Our favorite cg is Ginnie Springs Outdoors located about 6 miles outside of High Springs, FL. We've camped at several of the other cg listed but Ginnie Springs is the best. They have canoes, kayaks, tubes and scuba gear for rent and there are 4 volleyball courts. The bathhouses are cleaned twice a day and the park is patrolled by the sheriff's dept at night. There are both primitive sites and hookup sites (electric & water) and there is a dump station in the park. There is also a café in the park that is open most days for breakfast and lunch. Staff is very friendly and helpful. The only time not to go here is on a holiday weekend, they get VERY crowded.