“in the rolling sand hills of Central Ridge”
One of Florida´s first state parks, Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park was developed on a 2,000-acre site by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the 1930s. The extraordinary craftsmanship of the CCC is still evident today. Located on rolling sandhills in an area known as the central ridge of Florida, a deep ravine with springs issuing from its sides bisects the area and forms Gold Head Branch. Marshes, lakes and scrub provide a habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. Visitors to the park can enjoy hiking and wildlife viewing along the park´s nature trails and a 5.44-mile stretch of the Florida National Scenic Trail. For aquatic recreation, visitors can swim or fish in the lake, or spend a lazy afternoon canoeing. A large picnic area, with tables and grills,pavilions, and a playground are available for visitors to enjoy. Nestled under the trees are 3 full-facility campgrounds. Group and primitive campsites are available as are fully equipped lakefront cabins, some of which were built by the CCC.
Reviews of Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park Campground
28 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 12 users | Last reported on February 14, 2023AT&T 4G/5G
Confirmed by 7 users | Last reported on February 16, 2024T-Mobile 4G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on June 13, 2022Reviews
This park has a lot of hills so learn from my mistake and don't pick a site at the bottom of a hill near the lake or the rain just might take you with it! After a good hard rain, that left everything cool, we decided to explore the park and the ravine. It was absolutely incredible and made up for the terrible weather!!! Washer and dryer is a plus on the long camping trip... But there are not any trash cans in our campground area. Clean bathrooms and lots of trails.
We enjoyed our stay very much. The RV sites are spacious and spread out nicely. The main trail along the stream is highly unique terrain for an otherwise flat state. The bathrooms were clean and the park overall is nicely laid out with nice views of the lakes. The staff was nice and we will definitely stay here again.
Note that the rate listed is the Florida Senior rate. We enjoyed our stay in this quiet spot. We were in the Lakeview loop. After driving around, we agreed it was preferable to the Sandhill loop. Because of upcoming hip surgery, we were in a handicap site with a concrete pad, however all the sites appeared to be fairly level. Some had lots of shade (ours and 55 for sure) and some had none. The bathhouse was spotless and, though not air conditioned, had an overhead fan that kept it from being sultry. We didn't do any of the hiking trails due to my husband's hip issue, but I did some geocaching with our friends. All of us came back with numerous chigger bites, so if you wander off the paths, take chigger precautions. We were disappointed to discover that most of the lakes in the park are reduced to small ponds. We were told that this is because some major cities are tapping into the aquifer that feeds these lakes. There is still swimming in Little Lake Johnson, which was reported to be very refreshing, but again we didn't try it out. We did see lots of deer, some wild turkeys and rabbits. Since the lake at the campground wasn't suitable for kayaking, we found a public boat launch on Sante Fe Lake in Melrose just 15 miles south of the park. We also had a great Independence Day with a parade and fireworks in Keystone Heights just 7 miles south. The Verizon service at our site was limited to text and email, though the six minute drive to the ranger station allowed us to make phone calls. Our friends had better coverage with AT&T, enabling them to work online.
Nightly Rate: $11.00
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: 59
RV Length: 27 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Clean, cared for. Rural Florida woods.
Nightly Rate: $11.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 56
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Our site was a pull thru with paryial shade. Very large.
Bath house was always immaculate - but not air conditioned!
Washer and dryers a plus. Cost is $2 per load
very nice staff
Nightly Rate: $10.00
Days Stayed: 14
Site Number: 55
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Each morning we were treated to numerous songbirds and an occasional hawk cry. Some nights we even heard a far off owl hooting. When we arrived on Thursday the campground was full of families with children camping and most of them stayed right through New Year's Day. But on the day after we had the entire campground loop almost to ourselves.
We hiked on some of the trails here, mostly down around the ravine area, to get in a little exercise. No wildlife sightings during our hiking but the mushrooms were abundant from the rains we had in the days before.
We stayed in the Lake View Loop campground at the very back edge of the park, 3 miles from the front gate. Some mornings we could hear the marching cadence from the National Guard soldiers who were somewhere on the other side of Big Lake Johnson. Not loud enough to make out the words or wake us up, but it was definitely a human chorus of voices.
We enjoyed our stay on Campsite #72 but would have preferred Campsite #71 for a little bit better view of the lake through the dense forest of trees at the back of the campsite. Campsite #4 in the Sandhill Loop was our preferred site for that loop.
We visited this campground from 12/27/18 until 01/03/19.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: 72
RV Length: 28 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
Great area quiet and clean. Nice easy trails.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 7
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
Very nice camp ground, friendly staff, three lakes, RV and tent camping, miles of walking trails.
Deer and turkeys in our camp sites.clean showers and restrooms.
Nightly Rate: $25.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 17
RV Type: Other
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We stayed over the week of Christmas. The staff at the Ranger's station was friendly and helpful. When I arrived at the loop I was camping in I discovered that it was a bit tight and a sand road. I backed into my site and using auto leveling it put one rear wheel off the ground.... Not as level as I would like. After setting up we were hit with a rain storm and the site basically had a stream running through it. When the rain stopped it was fine.
We had a great time that week and hiked many miles. There are well-marked trails all over the park. The day use area was excellent for picnics and such.
We had two large groups that were very loud and neither the rangers nor camp hosts seemed to be able to quiet them down. Not the fault of the park, but pretty annoying.
Once I got over the issue with sand being everywhere, I enjoyed the week. I would come back again, but wish there was some gravel, grass or concrete.
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: 46
RV Length: 31 ft
RV Type: Class A
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Nice campground. Very quiet. Turkey and deer sited. Lots of trails. Clean level site. Good WiFi/Verizon coverage. Nice staff at the gate. Good paved roads in the park and Sand Hill campground. Turkey Oak campground was a little more rough with sand roads. The dump station was kinda far from our location but very accessible. Bathrooms were clean and had a washer and dryer on the exterior. Nice picnic area. Park is kind of isolated. Keystone Heights is a short drive and has several amenities. We would stay here again.
Nightly Rate: $24.00
Days Stayed: 10
Site Number: 1
RV Length: 28 ft
RV Type: Travel Trailer
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
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Mike Roess Gold Head Branch State Park Campground
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 20
- Last Nightly Rate
- 20.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 40 ft
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 10.0
- Max Length
- 45 ft
- Max Stay
- 14
- Sites Count
- 73
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Paved Sites
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Rec Facilities
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Back In RV Sites
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Vehicle Wash Permitted
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Water Hookup
Campground, Parking, Restrooms
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