Overview Camel Lake Recreation Area provides a quiet place to relax and take in the beauty of the longleaf pine forest. Camping, swimming, hiking, and boating opportunities are all available, focused on the crystal-clear waters of Camel Lake.Recreation Above the lake's rim, the focal points of this recreation area are the well-shaded ten-site campground, suitable for RVs or tents, and the day use recreation area with its picnic tables, picnic shelter, and sandy beach for swimming. A short loop trail surrounds the lake, with longer loops possible incorporating the nearby Florida National Scenic Trail. Facilities Some of the campsites have electricity, and there is a bathhouse with flush toilets in the campsite and in the day-use area. A campground host is always available. The day-use parking lots, picnic areas, and restrooms are accessible. Hours of operation through the summer are 8 am to 8 pm (April 1st - Oct 31st) and through the winter are 8 am to 6 pm (Nov 1st - March 31st). Natural Features The Apalachicola is one of the most bio diverse places in the world, and Camel Lake places you in the middle of this natural treasure. You will be surrounded by tall longleaf pines and wiregrass, while seepage slopes in the forest create pitcher plant bogs. Rare pine savannahs are just to the south and the creeks and swamps around host a wide variety of animal life. Nearby Attractions Nearby, several boat landings provide access to the numerous creeks that feed into the Apalachicola River. The Apalachee Savannahs Scenic Byway and the Big Bend Scenic Byway provide beautiful views of pine savannahs, and they make excellent routes for trips down to the coast, which is only about an hour south.Charges & Cancellations Refunds can not be made on site. Refunds must be processed by Recreation.gov
Reviews of Camel Lake Campground
10 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G/5G
Confirmed by 7 users | Last reported on May 20, 2024AT&T 5G
Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on February 19, 2023T-Mobile 5G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on February 19, 2023We stayed one night on our way to the coast. It was clean, quiet, and the view at the lake was beautiful! Bathrooms were clean with hot showers. No water or power hookups at our site.
Nightly Rate: $10.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Clean and quiet. Were quite a few campers, but the spaces each have room. Had a site with electricity and water (no dump) for $15. $10 is the non-electric site cost.
Was met by the camp host who was very pleasant and all was great. Nice lake! Beautiful sunset.
The cell coverage was 3g to 1x. Once I used the cell booster, the 3g was usable.
2 mile drive from the paved highway, but worth every minute.
Nightly Rate: $15.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 3
We stayed here after tromping around southern Florida from Big Cypress up to Orlando, staying at national, state and county parks along the way. This was such a nice and pleasant surprise! So glad we found this spot!
A small campground with only 10 sites, a few with W/E. Both we stayed at had NO hookups. Campsites with water & electric are $15 a night. The National Park Access Pass is accepted here. So $5. a night...nice!! There is no dump station here but there is one at Wright Lake CG. Also, make your reservations on line. The camp hosts can not do it for you here and they don't get site updates until 2am in the morning...crazy, huh? But, with that being said the camp hosts were great and JR had lots of helpful info for us!
We started out in site 9, which we loved! With a 40ft fifth wheel and two labbies, the bigger the site, the happier we all our. More than enough room to even put up a screen tent and not have it be on top of the fire pit. Picnic table and fire pit provided. Bathrooms and showers were very clean.
We had to move to site 6 because we extended our stay. A little smaller, but still plenty of room. I definitely prefer the sites on the outer ring better. The lake is beautiful and great for kayaking. Tons of dirt roads for riding and the FTS (Florida Trail System) goes right by this campground. So you do get hikers stopping in or over-nighting. Nearest town is Bristol.
While here did multiple day trips, hikes & rides. We even took the dogs and headed to St Vincent Island State Park for the day. We would absolutely stay here again.
*Word to the wise...Do NOT follow your GPS. Follow the directions on the confirmation letter you receive from your online reservation. Really. You will be happy you did.
Nightly Rate: $10.00
Days Stayed: 14
Site Number: 9 & 6
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Sometimes you just have to drive in and check. No AT&T service. Host was very nice and offered us to stay but we didn’t feel it would help as we would have to move to another place that had service but couldn’t search while we were there. Sites and campground area looked nicely kept. Day use area bathroom was pretty gross and destroyed (missing bathroom door). Sites are large enough for any rig. Cost is $20 dry camping, $10 if you are at an electric/water option site. If you are a senior or interagency/access pass holder, it will take $10 off the camping cost. He also mentioned a convenience fee of $8 for the online reservation. You can pay on site if there is an open site but you risk someone reserving the site and can get kicked out. It would be best to make the reservation online.
Nightly Rate: $0.00
Days Stayed: 0
Site Number: 0
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T
Great little campground. Nice trail around the lake and the Florida Trail goes through there. There's also plenty of forest service roads to explore. The price for the site was only $20/night but they added $20 for electrical and another $8 reservation fee. We stayed 2 nights and it totaled $68.
Nightly Rate: $36.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 03
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
My wife and I decided to rent a C-Class RV and see what traveling and camping in a RV was all about. This was our first time in a RV and boy did we luck out getting a reservation at Camel Lake Campgrounds in the Apalachicola National Forest. 12 miles south of Bristol on SR12. Entry road FR105 is a little rough in spots but can handle all types of campers. Small campground with only 10 sites, 4 with power and water hookups (#1 - #4). We stayed at site #3 and had a beautiful view of the lake. The campground has flush toilets and showers. All sites have a charcoal grill and firepit. Plenty of hiking and biking on the forest lanes and a nice 1 mile trail around the lake. Campground hosts Rick and Kay are the best and were extremely helpful answering all the questions we had about RV hookups and advice on a free dump station at Wright Lake campgrounds just down the road. We have Verizon cell service and could only get 2 bars at the day use area but that was the only negative. We would definitely stay here again.
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 3
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We had such a great experience here.
The hosts Wendy and Bill were so accommodating.
It was dear fly season, so the bugs were terrible (planning is key)
I just want to say the bathrooms & showers were very clean.
We gave them a tip. I hope others do the same, when having GREAT hosts!
Nightly Rate: $15.00
Days Stayed: 4
Site Number: 2
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
I like this campground. Only 10 sites and 4 with power and water. Small bathroom and shower house that was clean. Spring fed lake for taking a dip. Super huge campsites. Two mile dirt road in to the campground. Picnic table, fire ring, and plenty of wood on the ground in the forest. Beauty place...
Nightly Rate: $20.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 9
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon
Great camping, love walking the sandy forest service roads. Host is awesome. Like it so much I’m going back for more in a few days.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: 9
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 5G
T-Mobile 5G
It was a great spot to see a dark sky! Lake trail was flooded. Saw a little gator in the swimming area
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 2
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 5G
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Camel Lake 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
- Check In
- 2:00 PM
- Max Stay
- 14
- Check Out
- 12:00 PM
- Max Length
- 55
- Affiliation
- National forest
- Sites Count
- 11
- Last Nightly Rate
- 20.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 0.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 40.0
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Sites
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Laundry
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Propane
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Showers
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Big Rigs
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Boondock
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Firewood
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Fifty Amp
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Tent Sites
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Cabin Sites
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Full Hookup
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Paved Sites
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Dump Station
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Mobile Homes
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Public Water
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Pull Through
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Water Hookup
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Potable Water
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Age Restricted
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Rec Facilities
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Dispersed Sites
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Open Seasonally
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Permit Required
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Group Tent Sites
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Fulltime Residents
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Standard Tent Sites
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Pull Through RV Sites
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