roadtripper689091

This is a former church facility. The new owners have plans to add two more camping areas and turn this into an RV resort.

This was our second stay and we probably won't be back. While $45 for a full hook-up site is a good price, our site was a spot in a field on a dusty dirt / sand road - no trees, no shade. The water pressure and electricity fluctuate. The bathhouse really needs renovation (they say they will be working on it in the next month). There are 2 washers and 2 dryers in the bathhouse ($1 each). Enforcement of campground rules seems to be random. Many of those staying here are longer-term campers. There is a good AT&T cell signal, but there is no WiFi in the campground. Campers are not allowed to use the fishing pier shown on their map, but it's an easy drive over to the Ortona Locks for some great fishing. There is a pool, but campers can only use it when their retreat area is not in use.

There is a Walmart 7 miles east on FL80, a Winn-Dixie 8 miles away in LaBelle and a Publix about 13 miles west. There are a couple of great places in LaBelle for Cuban food, Ana & Cindy's and the Cuban Dely.

Right off the bat, this was a favorite because they do rehabbed sea turtle releases there. (Listen to Oyster Radio at 100.5 FM for local events.) The park entrance is about 4 miles from the campground, or 12 minutes - I timed it. The drive back to the campground is through through what's left of the dunes after Hurricane Michael - it's a beautiful but slow drive. The campground itself is very nice. The bathhouse was very clean, but unheated, with decent water pressure and nice hot water. The sites are fairly close to each other, but there is some privacy. It's an easy walk to the beach, past the gator pond (yes, there is a gator.), and the beach itself is beautiful, with very few people. It's very quiet at night - no traffic noise at all. There's a library box, and firewood is available from the campground host. Cell service is not great, but we usually had 1 bar of AT&T 4G. The town itself has some restaurants, Island Grocery (expensive but good if you don't want to drive to Eastpoint) and a Piggly Wiggly Express. We highly recommend Lynn's Quality Oysters in Eastpoint for oysters, shrimp and gumbo. We ate gumbo there two nights (so, so good and you can get it to go for freezing) and bought fresh shrimp to go another. There's also a decent laundromat in Eastpoint. In Apalachicola, there's a Piggly Wiggly and a CVS, and a lot of restaurants and shops downtown. My favorite place was Downtown Books and Purl, a nice little yarn and book store with a great owner. The nearest Walmart is about an hour away.

I love this park and the staff is great. Unfortunately the tourist helicopters flying over all day, every day distracts from the beauty of the park. The park has almost everything you could desire - power and water (no sewer), clean heated / air conditioned bathhouses, laundry facilities, easy access to the beach. The campground is very nice; there's plenty of space, there's great privacy between sites and the campground is spotless. The beach is gorgeous and not overrun - there were times when I was the only one there. The location is very convenient with access from US98 - but with the current road construction, you can't turn left into the park. Walmart is literally right across 98 from the park and Publix is easy driving distance away. There are any number of restaurants along 98.

The campground was completely redone after massive damage from Hurricane Michael; in fact, a good chunk of it is still under construction. The rate shown includes the camp site rate and the mandatory $7 utility fee now being charged in Florida state parks.

THE GOOD: The shiny & new campground does have full hook-ups and the sites are level and filled with clean gravel. The comfort stations are nice and clean and there are pay washers and dryers available. Given how close it is to the city, the AT&T cell signal is excellent and data throughput is great. There are many restaurants and grocery stores in easy driving distance.

THE BAD: It's a sardine can compared to the old campground. The sites are packed in there, to maximize the number of sites. Sites which aren't directly on the lagoon won't have much of a water view; all we saw was the sides of travel trailers. The road through the campground is narrow, and the campsites have split rail fences in front of them, causing maneuverability problems for larger units when trying to back into sites. If you're in the main part of the campground, unless you're in the back row, there is no vegetation and no trees, which means no shade at all. This will be brutal in August.

We'll be back, but this has dropped off our "must stay" list.

ETA: Don't believe Google Earth's pictures of a heavily shaded campground - the satellite imagery is pre-hurricane.

This is a great county park in Michigan's UP, located on Chicaugon Lake in Iron County near Crystal Falls.  Sites are level and big enough that you're not in your neighbor's space, even with a slide and awning out.  It's very family friendly - lots of kids on bikes and scooters.  Each spot has 30 amp electricity and water.  Bring your extension cord and extra hose - the electric pedestal is shared with the adjacent campsite, and it can be a good distance away.  The same applies to the water hookup.  There is a dump station.  AT&T cell coverage was good (2-3 bars 4G LTE) and we had good data throughput.  There is wifi available at $2.99/day or $9.99/week.  The park itself was built on the site of an Native American (Ojibwe) village, and there is an Ojibwe burial ground on park property.  There is no reservation website; call the Park Manager at 906-265-3979 for reservations.  The nightly rates as of August 2020 are $22 / county resident and $24 / non-resident.  You do not need a Michigan Recreation Passport.