Little Manatee River State Park

This is a small, 30 site campground, set way back in the park. Vegetation provides plenty of privacy at most sites. There is a separate camping area for equestrian camping. The Little Manatee River runs through the park, and canoes and kayaks are available to rent. Unfortunately an ill-timed back injury prevented us from paddling, but a ranger told us manatees can be seen in warmer months. There are also several excellent trails which we were able to hike. The bath houses were dated, but spotless with plenty of hot water. We also took advantage of the laundry facilities. Shopping is an easy 5 miles away. Cell coverage was no problem. All in all a nice, quiet Florida state park.

We only spent 2 nights mid December 2016. One in space 6 and one in 8. Very spacious and private. Quiet! Would definitely come back. So close to shopping yet you feel so removed from the city.

We live really close to Lake Manatee so we decided to check in out. We were able to get two days in Feb 2017. Place is popular in the winter months with folks from out of state. Hubby spent two days feeding the fishes at the boat ramp and watching folks fishing with their boats on the lake. I took tons of pictures of the wildlife. We will be back. Our spot wasn't didn't have a lot of shade, but in Feb. it wasn't too hot. Only complaint was they need a larger dumpster or more it was full on Monday and over flowing on Wednesday when we left. Would be nice if you had more than one picnic table near the boat ramp area...

This is a nice campground with good space between sites. Lots of hiking trails. A nice separate equestrian campground.
Sites have power and water, level sandy back-in spaces, nice picnic table and fire pit. Campground was completely full but didn't seem like it with the adequate space around sites. Not many people in the camping areas during the day.
Good idea to make reservations but they have two sites without reservations.

As everyone else said, roomy site, lots of Real Florida vegetation, lots of privacy. Hookups (electric, water) could have been set deeper into the site but nobody in a modern rig will have a problem. Super hiking. WiFi was very weak.

This park has big, private campsites. Many of the sites have some shade. The staff was friendly and helpful.
They are rebuilding the bathrooms and have temporary bathrooms and showers set up in campsite #21. They were not super clean while we were there, but they are functional. There was plenty of hot water for showers. No laundry.
Over all this is a nice park, but it made me a little sad. You could tell that the park does not have strong community support like Oscar Scherer or Myakka River. Everything looks just a little run down. For example, much of the trees and undergrowth near the campsites are just covered with that kudzu-type vine that just chokes out everything, and the oak trees near the campground looked, I don't know, unhealthy? Lots of dead branches and hardly any leaves. This park is pretty and deserves more effort.
We enjoyed hiking the blue, green, and oxbow trails. The park drive was a nice bike ride.
We had spotty cell phone signal. (T-mobile)

Bathrooms still being rebuilt. As of 06/30/19 No even the foundation has been poured. Most are large sites, 6,7,8,9,12,19,22,24 being the largest. Nice nature trails. Awesome place to stay. I never used the temp restrooms. I have a poop wagon that I emptied every morning. No big deal.

Nice small quiet campground. There was a tortoise in our spot when we arrived. Bathroom still getting built. Plenty of walking pass. Great place to canoe and kayak. Nice playground for children.

The staff was friendly and helpful when we arrived. They made us aware of the bathhouse construction that was taking place. They did mention that the portable restrooms were encountering an issue at that time and were not functioning. Luckily we had what we needed in our RV. Our site was primarily a packed sand site. With the recent rans there was some washout in the site and the wet sand was tracked into our RV even with mats and rugs deployed. With roughly 30 sites the campground remained very quiet on our trip.
There is a Publix and Walmart 5 to 10 mins away which makes it nice in case you forgot something or need to replenish your supplies.
This park won't make our favorites list but if we would stay here again in the future if we want to be in West Central Florida.

Little Manatee is a very nice State park. Most sites are private. It would be beneficial to add more campsites. Plenty of space in the park and campsites. We have stayed here periodically for years. Several nice trails in the peaceful park. Staff and Volunteers are nice and helpful. The hurricane damage to the restroom was almost 2 yrs ago and the construction continues or appears to be at a standstill! A concrete structure sits. Very slow progress. Construction contractors disappear for days. Why? Unfortunate for campers to not have a restroom versus using the temp bathhouse. Please "really" clean the temp bathrooms ea day.. The construction of the RR apparently is not a priority to complete.