roadtripper6745851

Honestly we came here because we were heading to Florida, along I-75 and needed a place to stop overnight at about this part of Georgia. This was not our destination. However we would return and make it a destination for a weekend with no second thoughts. The scenery is absolutely beautiful, bordering on breathtaking. Everything was clean and well kept, the camp host was friendly, the premium site was definitely premium. Not much vegetation to separate you from other campsites, but they are all angled for maximum views on the lake.

Lady who checked us in told us we weren't allowed to use the internet for anything other than email. She told us we weren't allowed to use our water heater in our rig unless it was on propane. I'm sorry but my water heater takes like 1/10th the power the air conditioner does, don't feed me BS so you can save money and sell me propane. I spent the money on a park with full hookups for a reason, this was a one night stopover for us... if I wanted to boon dock I would do so for free.

She told us the reason the pool opened at 11:00 AM (check out time) was because they had to run tests... I've never stayed at a park that the pool opened that late. It was sunny at 6 AM and 90 degrees outside at 9:00 AM when we stayed... just sayin'. You will get a whole list of things you are not allowed to do, like fishing from the side of a lake without a life jacket on. Unreal.

There is also no dog area and you can hear the highway from your site. The drive in is a bumpy gravel road.

There is a giant chess board, and there is a place to fish. However for the money you're not getting a nice experience. This place needs new management (or owners who understand camping). I would rather camp at a Cracker Barrel parking lot and have a nice breakfast with a smile for the price.

One of the better KOAs I've stayed at, I'll give them that. They had a nice dog park. An interesting thing with donkeys in a corral. A jumping pillow, giant chess set, play ground, pool, cafe that sells ice cream as well as food.

The main downside is that the layout for the pull through sites staggers each site so they pull in opposite directions... meaning your fire ring and picnic table are literally inches from your neighbor. Nothing says camping like being a few feet from strangers and eye to eye a whole evening. Of course its great for people camping together, just not ideal if you want to be able to have a quiet evening and a little privacy. I've camped a lot... seems like the only reason a park would do this is to share power\water poles. I've never stayed at a place that did this before. I'm only trying to highlight the major flaw in this park... not whine.

The pool seemed nice but we were traveling and left before it opened up. The dump station was in a convenient spot for us... but literally feet away from campers, and a tee-pee. I cannot imagine it smells great for them.

I wanted to like this park so much. We stayed in June, 2020 in the week leading up to Fathers Day. We had rain everyday, which I only mention because we also had the worst mosquitoes of any park we've ever camped at. Not sure what they could do about it as its a state park and they want the natural setting, but a large part of the camping area is surrounded by swampy woods. Lots of greenery, and the walk to the beach is very nice, but a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. Ultimately the way this affected us was that we spent very little time at our campsite outside.

Of course you come here for the beach. And it's definitely a convenient location for that. The dogs even got to go to the beach during certain hours. The kids loved boogie boarding, and there's a hundred shops you can buy them from in town. The fishing pier at the park is pretty cool and you can pay by the day to dish or crab till your heart's content. We saw sharks around the pier, but none on the beach. The rip currents were not bad but they had no stationary life guards while we were there. Everyday the flags were between red or yellow, with no truly calm days, but we ended up having plenty of nice times. If you're there for a week chances are you'll get at least one or two great days in, the rest you're at the mercy of mother nature. Plenty to do in Myrtle Beach, and there's a Food Lion literally across the street for groceries.

My main complaint, is that the sites are all different, with some being VERY tight. Our site (299) was almost impossible to get into with a travel trailer because of the way it laid and having neighbors parked in their sites. Luckily when we left, the site across was empty so I could take up some of their space to maneuver. We saw at least one camper scrape up against a tree and destroy an awning. You're fine in a class B or something, and some sites have plenty of space... but they are all different. I would not stay in our loop again, if we ever came back.

Cell coverage was almost non-existent on T-Mobile, and barely there on Verizon. There was wifi but it was not consistent. I work remotely and need internet for remote desktop (not really streaming) and was able to work with a unboosted verizon mifi. Calls were super sketchy though.

We met some friends here as it was a halfway point for both families. They stayed in a cabin (Yogi's HideAway) we stayed next-door in an RV site. The RV sites that are east of the pool (start with E) are all great, and kind of on a hill so you get more privacy than if they were all on flat ground. They all have tree cover (more shade). The sites on the west side of the pool are more in an open area... probably best for the huge rigs... not ideal if you want to feel like you're in the woods.

The park itself is a fun place for people with kids. There's a lot that you can just let your kids do on their own. The staff is amazing, and very friendly. Jennifer and Chris really stand out for their personalities and friendliness. Our kids enjoyed the potato launcher, the candy bar bingo, and the foam party.

The pool area was nice the week we were there, it was in upper 90s the whole time... so definitely refreshing. The pool itself is kind of small and fills up fast with kids. I would say that's the biggest downer.

We got to explore the cabin our friends booked and it was awesome. A nice huge loft, plus a bunk area plus a master bedroom. It also had a nice screened in porch. The one downside is it lacked a table for board games or dinner inside, but did have a picnic table.

If we come back we'll book a premium rv site as they come with a porch swing and better fire ring. I would recommend this place to anyone with kids. Its a little far from Branson, maybe 30 minutes...but we only went into town once for a show, so it was perfect for us. Its right next door to a farmer's market on Saturdays and Forsyth is close by. In Forsyth there is a supermarket (Country Mart I think) along with restaurants and gas stations etc.

The walking trail is kind of a joke but you can hear cows mooing in a nearby field. I only wish the pool area was bigger and maybe there was a place to fish (like a pond). Other than that this place is the bomb.

We actually stayed at site 153 for five nights and site 12 for two more...so I can give viewpoint on two different loops. First off we stayed in late June 2020 during the covid-19 pandemic. Most things were closed, or unavailable like the shuffle board, nature center, tram, etc...

The sand in this area is that squeaky, pure white, powdery sugar wonderfulness.... the beach was amazing. You're coming here for the beach. The conditions where yellow flag most of our time here but it was calm enough my five year old required only minimal supervision near shore. The walk to the beach, over the boardwalk, through the dunes, is amazing. However, all that walking adds up. This beach is NOT super convenient to get to, and maybe that's why it is so pristine. Bring everything with you to get there in one trip. Pro tip... the camp store will rent bike trailers that you can detach with a button click and take your stuff to the beach super easy.

The loop we were on for site 153 had a great feeling to it, kids could bike with no issue, sites were concrete pads with lush jungle and pine vegetation. We had very bad cell phone coverage though. I got by with a mifi hotspot but it was rough. The sites were nice and wide and deep and had no issue getting in or out.

The loop we were in for site 12 was on a gravel base, and we had zero vegetation between us. It was closer to the entrance and not really safe enough for kids to bike on. The benefit was we had much better cell coverage and could even pick up the wifi from the camp store. The wifi was like 50 mbps when we could pick it up. Someone with a wifi ranger would love it here. If we had it to do again we'd still prefer the other site as it had a more luxury feel.

So all that said we'd come back in a heart beat AFTER things go back to normal with the tram etc... It really gets old having to bike everywhere and with so many amenities closed. You definitely need to bring bikes, although they do have a few you can rent. You cannot really walk to the beach, I mean some folks do, but it is quite a hike. You have an awesome extended area out your door, if you want to venture to Destin, etc. We took an evening trip to Seaside, down 30A... and there's an awesome park with a bunch of Airstreams that have been turned into food trucks... very cool. Nothing is super cheap....but it's all a good break from reality right now.

We had no issue social distancing... and got to relax and ride bikes, play games, and swim to our heart's content. Kind of felt like "normal" for a week.

First off you have to kind of separate in your head 3 things... the springs themselves, the campground, and the river. We came for all three and LOVED it. This trip happened for us on Fathers day and as a father it is one of my favorite memories for Fathers day ever. I wish we'd stayed longer but we had reservations elsewhere to get to.

The springs are crystal clear, a bit on the cools side, and very popular for day use. On a Sunday we got there early (around noon) and since the campsite wasn't ready for us yet, we were allowed to park in in the lot (with travel trailer) and use the springs. There's no pet area right by the springs, so keep that in mind. The swimming was great, especially if you enjoy snorkeling. Once you get a few feet away from the "shore" you have much more space and can roam. There are plenty of picnic tables etc... but you come here to swim in the springs. Its perfect on any day above 85 outside.

The springs flow into the Santa Fe river and where they meet the water goes from crystal clear blue to a brownish (from tannin?) color. We brought inflatable kayaks with us but they do have a rental place at the springs. Right where the river meets the springs we saw a pair of manatees. We saw tons of turtles on logs as we kayaked for an hour or so. We were with small children, otherwise we would have stayed out for hours. We headed back to the springs and encountered the manatee pair again, this time they swam all the way up to the springs where the majority of the swimmers were. So cool to be this far inland and swim with manatees. I have no idea how rare this is...maybe it is common...but it was a treat for us.

The campground itself very small. Perfect for smaller rigs or tents. Our site fit our rig but we had to move the picnic table, fire pit, and hook up on wrong side to make it work... but it was all good. The whole park gets very quiet and after the day use part closes your sharing it with only a handful of people. It was very quiet in the evening. We could have easily stayed here for 3 nights and loved every moment of it. Worth mentioning they currently have NO DUMP site... you have to go to a nearby state park if you need to. We were headed to a place with full hookups so this was not an issue for us, but it might matter to others.

We had zero coverage on T-Mobile (iPhones) and Verizon (mifi) ... I had to head into town for some work in the morning... :( As others have mentioned the road in is currently ROUGH. Washboard sandy and very long. You can go super slow and still struggle. I think it's worth it for a weekend... if we were here longer and came and went several times it would be a deal breaker. That said... I think they are planning on paving it.

This park has like 450 sites or so and while most sites have a few feet of green space between them what kills it for me is he drive by traffic. They allow three visitors passes per site and on he weekends in the summer you better believe most sites use all of them. This leads to a non stop flow of cars, trucks, rvs, and golf carts on the roads at all hours.

The pool is newer and VERY nice. The lake/beach was weedy and muddy in August. The playgrounds are very dated and worn out. There are at least 5 dump stations and a few places for potable water. Most sites are electric only. Overall the park is okayish. Maybe a good base camp if you are boating. For me though the amount of people driving by at all hours is a deal breaker.

Had good T-Mobile and Verizon signal.

What a cool drive in... the canopy... pure Florida. Check it out on Google StreetView if you need convincing. The park itself is spread out nicely. Lots to do and see. For those looking for a beach, its an easy drive into Ormond Beach, but I stress it is a drive. On a map it might look like you're super close to the beach... but you are very much on the river at this park. Its not a swimming river. This is a place to hike a trail, or take a kayak out on the water and look for turtles, and matinee, or even gators. The woods are alive with wildlife from possum to lizards to frogs. You can see a great deal of stars at night even being so close to the city. Lots of ranger led activities for the kids. Snow bird's paradise here. If your looking to camp on the beach keep looking... if being close to the beach is acceptable look here.

This park is probably best for camping couples, older folks, and people who are there to fish or boat. They do have a small playground. There are not a lot of trails, and pretty much no privacy between sites. We stayed in a site with electric only, they have a few that have water too... we filled up at the dump station (they have a potable pump too).

The sunset was amazing. I didn't take any pictures that don't have my kids in them, so I don't want to share here. This was a shake down trip for us close to home in a new rig. The worst thing was the cell coverage with T-Mobile was zero bars on an iPhone 7 Plus. The best thing was the view of the Maumee.

I think its 33.00 if you book online and 25.00 if you walk up. You are very close distance to downtown Grand Rapids, which has some quaint shops, restaurants, ice cream stand etc... You can walk it or easy drive.