W.P. Franklin Campground

This is one of 3 Corp of Engineers Parks located on the Okeechobee Waterway. This was also my least favorite but only because I love St. Lucie for the boat watching and Ortona South for the wildlife viewing. However, this one is close to Ft Myers so you can visit the Edison/ Ford Winter Estate (really enjoyed this side trip) and other sites around Ft. Myers, FL. I would still camp here again. This is another campground that gets busy in the winter due to the 50% off Senior discount. The entire park is clean and facilities are good. All of the sites are nice, but probably prefer a site at either one of the loop ends. There is a boat ramp and also saw people putting their jet skis in from this location. Several days we had Manatees swimming in the narrow canal.

To get to the Lock, you have to drive around to the other side which is different then South Lucie, where you can just walk to it and across.

Park is fairly big enough if you want to walk in the morning but no places to hike with a dog nearby. There is a dog beach south of Lover's Leap State Park near Bonito Springs Beach.

We opted to stay here a couple nights because we had an Airstream repair appointment in nearby Fort Myers, Florida.

The spots are nicely laid out with great views of the water. Each site has a picnic table with a covering, grill and a fire pit. Spots are paved and level. Lots of birds, a fishing pier and I've heard from a couple folks to watch for alligators in the water.

Not a lot of privacy between spots (only reason for 4 stars instead of 5) - but the spots are nicely manicured and well-kept. The camp hosts have been super friendly and very helpful!

We stayed here for a week and loved it. Almost all of the sites are on the water so you can hardly go wrong. There's not a lot of privacy between sites, but the sites are all paved, big, and very well maintained. Water/electric only and they have weird rules about the dump station. If you want to use the dump on the day you arrive, you have to pay for it. If you use it more than one time per week, then you have to pay. We didn't try to use it until the day we left, and it was full so we couldn't even use it! The cell signal was strong, but it is far away from the Fort Myers area. So it's a great place to stay and relax, but not that great if you want to explore the area. They also had a very nice lending library. We would definitely camp here again.

We'd probably actually give this location 4 - 4.5 stars, and agree with a lot of points of other reviews. We're going to with 5 stars to adjust the curve.

This is a delightful park - lovely scenery, waterfront sites with unobstructed clear views and pretty darn peaceful. And it's close to Fort Myers while still being 'out there'. It's hard to find much to complain about really.

But here are a few things to keep in mind:

- It is a small campground, and there is not much to do. You can't cross the dam to the other side, and there's no walking besides around the camp loops. That does get kinda old.

- The dam lights are BRIGHT!! And there are bright lights in the campground itself. Kinda annoying for those of us who like to sleep with windows open.

- Only one washer/dryer in the campground - and folks got a bit possessive of it during our stay. (It was clean, and takes credit cards!)

It does have superb cellular coverage all four carriers, we got streamable speeds on them all.

Although the sites are small our site faced the river with a long grassy lawn. Our camping neighbors were great and we enjoyed interacting with them. My only complaint is that there is no bench at the laundry room.. it would be nice to be able to sit while your wait.

The campground is immaculate and well groomed.

A bargin with a senior pass.

We were greeted upon arrival by the two camp hosts who were extremely friendly. The campground was clean and quiet. The sites are gravel and have a covered picnic table, grill and firepit. We had a manatee swim up to our site and the sunsets were stunning. The campground is dog friendly. Bathrooms were small, but clean. If you are a mountain biker, the trail head is 2 miles up the road.

There are not many places where you can camp directly on the waterfront. Not just on the waterfront, but with paved angled sites for easy back-ins. The location is out in the country, but only 20 minute from all of the big city amenities of Fort Myers.

Watching someone fishing is usually described as exciting as watching paint dry - however, that's not the case here. The backwash from the dam creates a turbulent section of water that seems to draw fish like a magnet, and there are always several campers looking for that trophy fish.

The staff has always been friendly and helpful.

Very nice park all sites are water front except the two pull through in the center, only 10 miles or so from Fort Myers but far enough. We stayed here in our class A, very friendly fellow campers and the host were awesome. Used our senior pass for half price.

Very nice park all sites are water front except the two pull through in the center, only 10 miles or so from Fort Myers but far enough. We stayed here in our class A, very friendly fellow campers and the host were awesome. Used our senior pass for half price.

This is such a great campground. Arrival was awful due to user error. Don’t rely on your GPS! The campground is on the north side of the Caloosahatchee and our GPS took us to the south side. Volunteers staying in the volunteer village gave us directions to the correct area across the river and gave us the gate code as we were late (8:00 pm). There’s not a bad site in this campground. Each is angled for easy backin and has a water view. Campsites are very private. Picnic tables have shelter and there are a grill and separate fire pit at each campsite. Our first site (17) was on the northeast side of the campground and gave us a great view of the dam and locks, beautiful day and night. Our second site is on the southeast side and offers a waterfront view of beautiful neighboring properties. This time of year (December) there are manatees in the morning and fish jumping all day. There is a resident bald eagle fishing all day - lovely. You can walk out on the pier next to the dam and fish (get a license online) or just enjoy the view. Partial hookups - make sure you dump before you get here if you need to or there’s a $20 fee. You can dump on your way out or every 7 days for free. Squeaky clean bathhouses and laundry facilities that accept credit cards. There was a Christmas Day gathering we didn’t attend due to other commitments - potluck with a bonfire in one of two group areas. Everyone attending looks to have had a great time. :) 5 miles from a gas station/convenience store, and 7 miles from Publix/Walgreens/gas station, banks, etc. We will definitely stay here again.