West Tower Hunt Camp

Check out the video https://youtu.be/dZ0GhZjbY-o
Free camping in Florida is harder to find than Bigfoot, but there are a few spots if you know where to look. Even free overnighters at your usual go-to’s like Walmart are a rarity so I want to share with you a site we just stayed at in north central Florida near I-10 just outside of Lake City.

Osceola National Forest is located about an hour west of Jacksonville and a half hour northeast of Lake City. There is a first come first serve campground in the forest called Ocean Pond. It has various sites with a range of hookups from electric to water and primitive. It borders a small lake called ocean pond but is first come first serve. This is a decent campground if you can get in and want to spend about $12 a night (check the website for the latest prices). Since we are on a mission to boondock AKA dry camp as much as possible, we searched around and found a few hunting camps in the forest.

The one we decided to try out was Fire Tower West, it was about 15-20 minutes from the exit off I-10 down some dirt roads but for a free place to stay, it was well worth it.

There are several sites in the open area near the road where we decided to stay to take advantage of the sun for our solar panels. There is a single bathroom and outdoor cold-water shower, as well as an outdoor potable water faucet which we used to fill our fresh water tank. There are no dump stations onsite so be prepared to take your grey and black water with you.

If you have small USB charging devices there is a charging station as well. Other than climbing the fire tower for some forest views there isn’t much to do right at the campground, but for a level place to park with access to water and for free camping, it was a score.

Reviews online do mention the dog kennel across the street which can be heard but I didn’t think it was as bad as people made it out to be. The other negative for us was the large number of gnats when we were there in April, but I guess that comes with the territory when you’re camping in the woods in Florida.

All and all this is a site I would stay at again when passing through but wouldn’t recommend as a destination campsite.

As always safe travels to everyone from Rob and Sabrina at http://www.RVLivingYet.com Also, follow our travels on http://www.instagram.com/rvlivingyet

The road leading to the campground is wide and pretty well kept, but it has some rough washboards. The camp spot was clean, but there were a lot of other campers there. Everyone was quiet and respectful, but I would have enjoyed more privacy. There were some amenities available but not many.

Road in was will maintained and smooth. Well worth the drive. Not far off of I4. Can’t beat it for free camping in Florida. The dogs across the street did bark and carry on a little but way better than lot docking. Would definitely use it again. Bathroom was clean, potable water available.

The web page says that the campground now costs $10 a night. :-(

Met some awesome people here, stay up to 14 days free bathhouse with running water,cold water shower, potable water, horse stable. Great place 5.6 miles on shell road but very smooth and very little dust.

We stayed one night and our site was great. Fellow campers where very nice. Campsites are spread out (look beyond the open spots near the actual fire tower). Only complaint is the nearby neighbors hunting dogs barking a lot - but couldn’t hear them inside van. But, I bet summer would be a different story if you had to have your windows open. Also, only 3G Verizon and spotty. Flush toilet, cold outdoor shower, potable water, and 4 USB outlets to charge your stuff - all at bathroom up front.

Gorgeous campsite. Had bathroom with usb chargers. A little bumpy driving in, but easy if you take it slow.

Wonderful campground! It is a bit of a drive in and you might feel like you are in the middle of nowhere but don't worry. There is a flush toilet, cold shower, drinkable well water at the sink outside by the shower, and a box to charge your devices above that sink. And all for free! Had 2 bars of Consumer Cellular which uses AT&T and T-Mobile towers so don't know which one exactly it was using. You can stay here for up to 2 weeks. There is an older man who drives over in his truck almost every morning he said to meet people so if you notice a truck slowly driving by around that might be him. He means no harm.

Dogs bark from 430am until 8. Had more of a rv park type vibe. It was clean.

Road was in great shape coming in. Don’t park near tower, tons of barking dogs all day and night. Parked a little way in. Lots of great sites, some with fire rings. Outdoor shower, didn’t use too cold. Barely anyone there, but other camper where friendly.