Hart Springs Park

This place was not overcrowded fortunately. Me and my family got to enjoy the place very much.

We canoed and saw Manatees and fish at those gorgeous blue waters. The children also got to swim with the Manatees and this experience became on of their favorites.

We also took a walk at the park which is full of cypress trees and enjoyed the breeze of the leaves.

We camped at Hart Springs because we wanted to visit the Big Bend area of Florida during a trip north, including Cedar Key, while having access to shopping to take care of some housekeeping tasks. Hart Springs worked just fine for that purpose, since it's just north of Fanning Springs and about 20 minutes from Chiefland, which has Walmart, several other groceries, and any chain restaurant one could want.

Sites are full hook up but in a fairly rustic setting -- no pads, just grassy areas to park. We were able to get level without too much trouble, but be aware that most sites have fairly significant back-to-front slope.

The bathhouse is clean and modern, though shower areas just have shower curtains and no locking doors. Benches are also inside the showers, limiting their usefulness as a place to put towels and fresh clothes. Laundry machines ($1.25 / wash or dry) seemed new.

Our biggest issue with the park is that, while the sites are fairly large, there is basically nothing separating the sites so we kept our shades closed on all sides except the direct rear window facing the trees. For this reason, I think the sites on the outside of the loop (sites 1-39) are preferable to the interior sites (sites 40+), and the sites on the corners (15, 22, 23) had the most privacy. Those appeared to be occupied by long-term campers, however.

The on-site camp host is a permanent resident (with kids in school) so it seemed the camphosting work revolved somewhat around the family's schedule. We visited over a weekend through Tuesday, and the campground was definitely busier over the weekend. Many of the campers seemed to be locals, and many of our neighbors built campfires every night. Although the park offers monthly rates (and no stay limit, as far as I could tell) the more permanent campers only appeared to occupy about 20% of the sites.

I didn't particularly enjoy the sodium streetlights scattered all around the campground. Between the light shining in our trailer all night and obscuring the night sky, and the very close neighbors, the park felt too much like a parking lot for my taste. That said, the price of $25 for FHU was quite fair. Camping at the RV park also includes access to the Hart Springs day use park, which is accessed by a short paved walk through some lovely woods. The park includes a nice boardwalk along the Suwanee River, a spring-fed swimming area, playgrounds, and more.

When the previous review was published we were at Hart Springs & it said a lot of what we were thinking. We chose Hart Springs because the state parks nearby were full & $25 for FHU is quite reasonable. Some of the lots are good sized (ours was ample), but still felt crowded. We would definitely choose a spot on the outer loop next time. We were fortunate that our lot was perfectly level. There are some that are way off. There is shuffleboard & a net for volleyball/badminton.
There seemed to be some rules that get ignored regarding number of vehicles parked & number of dogs allowed.
I didn't check the bathrooms, but did use the washer/dryer. They appear to be fairly new & only $1.25 per load.
The day use area is very nice. There is a nice handicapped accessible path through the woods. There is a boardwalk that runs along spring & Suwannee River. Park has a large swimming area, volleyball, basketball, picnic area, tent camping area & a store with maps, information, basic supplies, cold drinks, ice cream etc.

We stayed at Hart Spring RV Campground because it looked nice and it was on the way. We still work full-time from the road so cell signal is crucial. All the apps I had on my phone showed full LTE coverage for both Verizon and AT&T for this area.. turns out AT&T is the only one that got us enough cell service to work (even with our booster!!). So, if you're still working from the road, perhaps try another area.. otherwise, this park is great! They have full hookup sites, laundry and a dumpster! My site had lots of room (we have a 42ft toy hauler). Easy in, easy out.. although there is A LOT of sand. Lots of space for the doggos and several springs nearby. I recommend if internet isn't high priority! :)

We chose to stay at Hart Springs Campground for the price and access to Hart Springs Park. The inner lot that I had was not level at all and had a bid drop from front to back. We had close neighbors but everyone was very friendly and we had a great time making new friends. The outer lots had more privacy but by having the inner lot it was easier to walk the dog on the big grassy area in the center of the park. My family had a great time in the very cold but amazing springs. We will camp again but will try to get an outer lot next time as they look to be more level. The website and the paperwork says no drinking many many times but this seems to not be enforced. People have drinks in unmarked cups walking around. Everyone was behaving well so I think that the rule is to make sure there are not obvious drunks are causing problems.

We just got back from our 4th stay at Hart Springs. This is a wonderful little campground, ran by the city/county. The camp host (Kristy) is the sweetest person. The property is very well maintained and the springs are beautiful. It's not close to a lot (we go down to serve at a local horse rescue), but if you need to be in the area (or is you want to visit a park with springs)... this place is wonderful. The Burger Spot in Bell had fantastic onion rings so, double bonus! Property does have some big rig friendly sites and the road is easy to navigate.

Good Sam discount and weekly discount: both are available.

Based on a previous review I was worried that privacy and peace and quiet would be a concern while we were there. All of those concerns went away once we got into the park. The sites were large with plenty of space in between. Our particular site could have fit a couple rigs in between us and the neighbors. Our site was relatively level side to side. It had a pretty big dip front to back. I noticed our neighbors had the tongue all the way to the ground on their travel trailer. We leveled out just fine on our site. The camp host was pleasant and gave us plenty of detail. We drove by the springs but didn’t get out and check it out. Too cold for us. I would definitely go back again if I’m trying to be in that part of the state.

Had a nice time. I had read a review about the gun range across the road. Yes, we heard it, but I don’t feel like it was overwhelming by any stretch of the imagination. Facilities were clean. A little playground area in the middle with a basketball court. WiFi was ok. But we weren’t there to use the Internet.

It's a smaller park with one main shower area surrounded by a big common area in the middle with basket ball court, swings and shuffle board. The bathrooms are ok. There is hot water and they are clean. There are two washers and two dryers that are in good working order.
Site sizes very greatly. Site 69 is huge and pretty level.
The spring (beautiful) and splash pad and bigger playground were a hit. The spring looked deceivingly uninviting compared to other springs we visited, but so glad we have it a chance. There are two deep spots.
My one big disappointment is you cannot bicycle from campground to town with a kids trailer. The roadside is marked for bikes but overgrown in many spots.

We stayed for two weeks in January 2022 and then ended up extending our reservation by an extra 6 nights to stay 20 nights in total. We made a driving tour of the campground located here: https://youtu.be/ftXgR7K8gPk.

What a hidden gem! We booked Hart Springs because of its access to the natural spring, and we were overjoyed to find this amazing little park was more than we had hoped. Quiet, clean, and secure with so much space between sites. We thoroughly enjoyed the paved trail to the natural spring and the hiking trails on property. The camp hosts were very helpful, and the arrival/check-in process was super easy. Do pay attention to the route your GPS recommends you take. Our RV GPS tried to send us down a sand/dirt road right across from the country road the park is located on. Cell service was pretty spotty -- ATT seemed to be better than Verizon. Having a good wifi system in our rig helped overcome limited TV channels. The positives far outweigh any negatives here, though. We would definitely stay again!

Pros:
-- the amount of space between you and your neighbors is insane!
-- 50 amp, full hook up (majority of the sites, can't confirm all of them)
-- clean, quiet, and secure!
-- easy online reservations
-- paved walking/bicycle trail to the Hart Springs county park with an incredible natural spring and swimming area
-- hiking trails (well-marked, well-maintained)
-- amazing night sky views and owls galore!
-- boardwalk along the Suwanee River
-- helpful camp hosts
-- able to receive packages at the campground

Cons:
-- Cell phone service is a bit of a challenge (Our Pepwave Max Transit Duo system worked well, as did our ATT Netgear Nighthawk), but our cell phones (Verizon) would lose service just outside of the park.
-- Does require about a 15 minute drive to any restaurant or store

~Chris and Jody, Porter's Pilgrimage