roadtripper5291431

This is only our 4th Florida State Park and this one nearly has it all.
What we really liked: Arrival was smooth with the Ranger checking us in. Every campsite has full hook ups, level sites with small gravel (our preference), picnic table, clothes line, barbecue grill and most sites have enough shrubby to serve as a screen. The comfort station was clean and well maintained. We love nature walks and hiking and this park kept us on the go. There were two main hikes: one 16 miles round trip, Juniper Creek Trail and the second is about 4 1/2 miles from our campsite, Chain of Lakes Nature Trail. There were several smaller ones and just walking around the campground, to and from the beach areas is pleasant.
We only found two things that might hinder ones ability to enjoy this campground. First, as we are learning with all the Florida State Parks during peak season, it is hard to get reservations for the dates you want (like Friday and Saturday nights). But we have learned some ways to work around it: we wanted to stay an extra night, Friday night, so we just checked and there was a one night vacancy. So we booked it and then did have to move. It wasn't that difficult for us. And the next was the sound of freedom. This State Park is near Naval Air Station (NAS) Whiting, one of the Navy’s two primary pilot training bases. We have both lived near military bases so the sound only makes us think of “freedom.”
I've uploaded a blog that has lots of pictures of the beautiful scenery and details on the hikes.

We're not sure why it was so problematic making our reservation here and finding the actual campground, but it set a really bad tone! The address we were thought was for the campground took us on a 15 mile road to nowhere. It was all just so confusing. I called and spoke to a ranger and he sort of helped us - he couldn't really figure out where we were. So by the time we finally checked in, we were not really greeted like we were welcome, that we were more of an inconvenience. Maybe whoever was checking us in was having a bad day. We just found the people running the check in were less than helpful. Even when I tried to get info on hikes, we were mislead!
This is a HUGE campground and it seems it is more for locals. If you know where you are going, it probably is great. So suggestion for a better experience, treat your campers like a valuable customer.
We loved all the area had to offer, but we discovered it all when we stayed up the road at the Canal Campground. We did get in two great hikes, but we stumbled on them ourselves.
Normally, your neighbors are very friendly or at least nice. When it was time for us to pull out of our site, a truck was blocking our access on the road. I pulled up in the car and asked when they would be moving. He said in a few minutes. Husband pulled behind me and we still had to wait about 7 minutes. I think he wanted to finish his cigarette. He was just downright rude.

This is one of the best landscaped RV Campgrounds we've stayed in, except one on the gulf of Mexico in Florida. It is so very well maintained, has full hook ups and is big rig friendly. What was sad was that we stayed here over the 4th of July and they weren't full booked! But then there are a number of other campgrounds in the area.
Our arrival was great, met by a work camper, who was just so cheerful and couldn't do enough to make our stay pleasant. She had a stack of brochures to help us acclimate to the area and was willing to answer all questions. Later, we learned she is a recent breast cancer survivor! She KNOWS how precious life is and she just exuded joy. I actually thought she was the owner.
There was nothing they could do to make it a better experience. We came to spend a lot of time hiking in the Mammoth Cave State Park. As it turned out, hiking there was a bit of a challenge. We've written several posts in our blog about it, attached.
The worst part about the area was typical rural Kentucky we've now learned. Another couple missed the actual exit sign off the highway. The signs just aren't that clear. But we were given GREAT directions from the office and I would recommend following it to the letter (turn at the McDonalds and ignore your GPS).
We had all the connectivity we needed, Wifi included in the price and no problems with Direct TV satellite signal.

This is our first State Park experience and we are now spoiled! As soon as we set up, we both agreed this is one of the best parks ever! So maybe we are cut out for state parks.
What we loved: The site was level and very spacious! We have full hook-up which was a surprise, we didn't expect the sewer. The camp host was great - we thought the sewer needed a special collar, but someone had left theirs and it was stuck. She came right over to help. The greeting upon arriving was great and we learned more than we expected. For example, they normally don't give cavern tours on Mon-Wed. But upon arrival we learned they were giving tours on our arrival day, Monday. Clean and new bath house.
What we didn't like: NOTHING!
Now we don't have wifi or cable, antenna TV works and who needs it all in the forest?

First the good: Upon check in, our site was changed, and for the better! We were initially assigned a very wet and muddy lot. We were moved onto a concrete pad. Then the electric didn't work, but my husband discerned it was a blown fuse. A new fuse was brought and installed with in minutes. Everyone was very friendly. The laundry room was pretty good. There were enough machines, washing was $1.25 for about 35 minutes, and the dryers cost the same for 45 minutes. The bath house was adequate. This is a fisherman's and boaters paradise. We are neither, thus our title. Cable TV had enough stations.
Now what we didn't like: While our original site was very long and more room, the concrete site was somewhat better. But it was tight. In fact, the worst part about the campground, during peak season was that most sites were tight. There was a nice big pond in the middle but it was so full of algae it was not all that nice. We did stick our feet in the swimming pool and hot tub and the water was good for the cold temperatures. They have wifi for a $3/day fee.
I'll let some pictures tell a better story.

We stayed for one week, in July 2014, while we sold our house and began to transition into Full-Timers. We used Passport America and we think it was about $20/night. We then returned for a month in October 2014, for a special rate of $299 for the 30 days! But then we returned for 30 days during peak season, January - February at $845.
This is really a "settlers" village, as the majority are permanent sites, but over half of it is a manufactured homes park. The ambience is very nice in the manufactured homes park, but where the mobile RVs and permanent RVs isn't so attractive. But the amenities are very nice. The comfort stations were recently remodeled and are nice. We love the pastor, Dr. Hess, and enjoy the Sunday church service. The laundry room is the BEST of all! There are so many washers and dryers, even when there are a lot of people, you can always find a machine. The dryers are 25 cents for 10 minutes and the washers are $1.50 for about 30 minutes. There is only one large washer that has been broken for over a year. This is also one of 2 or 3 hotspots and the signal is good in the room. There are a lot of activities but we never participated.
The thing we do like the best is the ability to get in a good 3 mile walk! There is a nice path along the lake, then you have to walk in the manufactured home park to the nature trail. It goes behind the houses. Then you have to return to the road and we go back down to the lake to make it 3 miles. We really liked it the first two stays, but during peak season, we were nearly hit by the wild golf cart drivers. They think they have the right of way and do nearly run us off the nature trails! It is ridiculous and we did make management aware of it. This last time, there were three large and aggressive dogs staying in a trailer. We know people who complained about them so we didn't. They were left alone with the doors open and barked constantly. But the worst was our last night there where they began barking at 11:00 pm. There is more to say, lets just say that it ruined our time there.
While we are there, we are visiting family, friends, seeing our regular doctors and dentist as needed! We just slept at the park.

Yay! We needed a campground in this general area, off I-10. We searched Passport America and Good Sam and didn't like the choices, so tried Campendium! Just saw a blog post and could tell it would be perfect for us. We needed a big site for our new 40' rig, needed close to I-10 and we love hiking/walking trails. This had it all.
Arrival: Greeted at the Ranger Station by an enthusiastic volunteer. She provided all the info we needed for a great, but short, stay.
Tips: How do you add tips when you arrived in a heavenly location! This is our 8th State Park experience. We've never been disappointed. This one ranks up as one of the best (because of full hook ups and the trails).
Favorite things: Flat and large sites.
Any negatives: Little gnats. We should have used some bug spray but if you walk fast, they don't bother you!
We didn't check out the amenities as we are self contained.

But in three short days, we were won over! What we liked and didn't like are at the end of this narrative. We started off on the wrong foot. This is a small and somewhat primitive campground. The one-way road around the campground is narrow in spots and there are lots of trees. We were checked in by the ranger and he told us to enter the park on the first road we see as it is one-way. But my husband looked at the map and we were the last site so it made no sense to drive all the way around. So we went in on the "wrong way" and that worked the day we arrived. But we were on that site only one night and had to change to the site next to us the next day. (That was the only way we could get in this fully booked campground!) We had a very hard time squeezing into this site, # 29, between the trees. And once in, we realized the electric and water are on the opposite side from all the other campgrounds we have stayed. In order to plug in, we had to pull our 5th wheel up to the front of the lot. Not ideal as we were concerned our "hitch" would get hit if someone left early in the morning and wasn't able to see clearly.

When we changed sites, we did have to drive all the way around the campground. We haven't seen the damage from scrapping a few trees, hopefully there are no marks. Since we hope to sell our RV soon, that was not a fun sound to hear!

There are a few prime sites that will hold a 40 foot rig. We saw one couple heading here while we were out walking. They were going to be across from us. We advised them to stop before pulling into the campground, walk around and access their site to decide the best way in. They were pulling a 40 foot 5th wheel! Their site is one of only 2 or 3 pull throughs but it did have a power line across the back of it, so he had to watch for that. His site was 26. Site 28 is actually the best for an easy pull through. Site 20 maybe one also. We will upload a picture of the campground map which is a little more telling than what you will see on Reserve America.

What did we like: Very secluded and quiet campground. You wake up to the serenading of a multitude of birds! Each site has a fire ring, clothes line, water and electric. The sites are flat and a hard sand base. The camp host was readily available and very helpful. The bathrooms/showers are clean, a little dated, but at least clean. The nature trails are beautiful and if you are a kayaker or use a canoe, this is a good place to be.

What we did not like: Arriving when all the no-see-ums were hungry. It was 4:00 pm on a Saturday and the weather was cool. They don't like it hot, so eventually, they disappeared. So they were swarming us like a bad Alfred Hitchcock movie. We each have many bug bits and that has been a bit miserable. The couple across from us arrived a little before we did and they were also ready to leave. We did try to stock up on all our food, but needed a few more things. There is only one small grocery store, an IGA, in town and it is closed on Sundays. And the worst thing for us was that the water and electric are on the "wrong side" of the site, unless you want to come on backwards and that worked for the people in the pull through across from us. Our electric cord is 25 feet but our camper is 30 and the electric was up by the nose of our RV.

We wrote a blog about our time here with lots of pictures of the beautiful nature trails and more.

This was just an overnight stay, but we stayed two nights only because of the trip there (see our blog). Here are our reasons for the low rating, which was good for the price:
-For a motor home, the sites were not level.
-We constantly were picking up trash as we walked around.
-When we took our trash to the receptacle, we were accosted by another campers dog, not on a leash.
-The road noise, which we new going in. We couldn't hear it in our motor home, but we sat outside and that's when it was a bit annoying.
-The bathrooms and showers in our area were closed. They did have port-a-potties there. We didn't need showers since we are self contained but that showed the park needed some maintenance.
-When we were leaving, we had to go to the "dump station" so it was a drive around the park. The county truck picking up the trash, using prisoners, did not yield to us as we were on the one way road.
-The on-site managers are a young couple with small children and we are sure they are doing a good job. They were always very helpful when we called, but the check-in was a bit awkward as the mom had to leave her children inside, while we were on the porch.

To make it better? Well, it is a county park so we are sure the funds are limited. But the sites could be improved and a better trash system. Just trash cans which seem to be hard for the trash to stay inside.....

The best thing was being on the water! It really was beautiful!

This is an Army Corps of Engineers park. First of all, the price is the Senior rate under the "America the Beautiful" national park pass. So that is part of the 5 stars! Granted, we did not score a full hook up site, but we thought it was well worth the sacrifice of watching our water and using the bathhouses. This park is so easy to get into and to find now that we learned the area. We had a disaster when we stayed down the road at Hillman Ferry Campground. They didn't honor the America the Beautiful pass for some reason.
Anyway, we loved our reception, not only as we checked in, but the deer were out to great us as well! We commented we were so glad we had a sewered lot reserved - only to be told it wasn't sewered. Our initial site was #90. The sewered lots are 91-96. Long story short, she was so very helpful! We stayed on that site one night and then learned the "ropes" on how to get a better site, a walk on. Not all the sites are level, btw. But both of our were, which is mandatory in our 40' motor home.
These spots get booked up, so best to just get in the park for a few days on maybe a less than desirable site and then go on the hunt for a great walk on site. You have to be first come first serve there and it is a bit of a game. Possession is the law....you have to leave a chair, or in our case, we put our car on the site we wanted when we saw the people getting ready to vacate it.
There was so much to do and see! We wrote a few posts in our blog about it.
The only negative is that this is really more of a locals campground. Not every one was friendly and there is a bit of an attitude to outsiders.....but we still made friends there with other "outsiders!"
The only negatives are that it is a shame they didn't make more sewered lots. But the dump stations were easy access. And we couldn't get a satellite signal for our Direct TV. We had shows taped and just kept busy!