Hickory Hammock Equestrian Campground

We loved this campground for the peace and quiet and wild camping feel. We went just after New Years and there were only a few campers. An equestrian group arrived for the weekend and it was cool to watch them head out on the trails with their horses. The trails were scenic and dog friendly - we spotted barred owls and found wild lemons and oranges. The campground has an outdoor cold water shower in an enclosure plus 2 pit composting toilets that were unfortunately infested with little septic flies. You can pump ground water but it is not potable - bring your own drinking water. No dump station there but plenty in Okeechobee - we dumped at the KOA for $8.56. Sites are not all well-defined which allows you some flexibility in how you set up. There are also covered picnic areas. We had decent cell service on T-Mobile with occasional use of our cell booster. Reservation process is a bit unusual as you have to email a form requesting your dates and then wait several days for a reply but hey it's free to camp so it's worth the trouble. This spot is perfect if you just want to get away and relax.

This place is wonderful. 3.5 miles off the main road and very quiet, except for the air boats a couple of mornings. We will definitely stay here again.

While bicycle touring solo stopped for the night arrived at 3pm set up camping cook dinner, then walked around met lot's of nice people.

The campground host, Bob was very nice but never intrusive. You have to make a reservation (obtain a permit actually) but it’s super easy, free and it’s something you can do online and then they email you the permit. There were plenty of open spots, a feeling of safety due to it being rural and also having a gated entry down a 3.5 mile dirt road. About 20-25 mins from civilization (Sebring, although Okeechobee is about 40 mins away).

There are compost toilets and wow they smell bad lol, but they were pretty clean and it’s nice that they had them. Also an outdoor shower which I didn’t try but someone told me it was cold. We stayed here in mid-January and it was nice and only got chilly a couple of nights. Wildlife - we saw wild boars, an armadillo, wild turkeys and a lizard. Oh and an owl late one night. We heard owls most nights and my daughter found an owl feather in the barn. There is fresh water available as well as non-potable water. It’s a nice loop road which my kids enjoyed riding their bikes on without worrying about cars.

Overall just a very peaceful, enjoyable stay and it was FREE! We will definitely be back!

Really really clean and awesome camping spot with running water and a restroom! It had barbecue grills all around as well as tables! I will make sure to come back!

This is a nice free campground, but there is really nothing around. The only reason you would go here is to get out in nature and have a nice camping spot. There are designated spots, but those fill up quickly. There is a large field, so you're free to camp anywhere on the grass if the designated spots are taken. We ended up parking in the rear our first night under the old oak trees near the barn. We ended up seeing palmetto bugs on our RV and even 1 in it, so we decided to move (normal for us as we're native Floridians but they were definitely coming from the trees being so close to us).

We ended up parking in the sunny grassy field and even made friends while we were there. It was a beautiful open spot and we would definitely go back again.

Great campsite. Note, there is no fishing or water access from the campsites. Every weekend says they are booked, and no one is here. Over 25 sites & their website always says they're full.... they are NOT. Just come here, the pace is empty. Had great cell service with straight talk, as always.

Made an on-site visit to this campground. A free online permit may be obtained from the South Florida Water Management District. The permit contains the gate combination code. Clean, serviceable composting toilets are centrally located, and there is a campground host on-site. A three mile hard packed sand/shell road provides access to the campground. Hiking trails are accessible from the campground and both the access road and campground are big rig friendly. Verizon cell service clocked in at 9.42 Mbps download speed and 2.5 Mbps upload. AT&T clocked in at 20.6 Mbps download speed and 4.01 upload.

First of all, it's definitely in nature. It's so far off the main road. You have to bump along 3.5 miles of very rough shell road until you get to the campground. Might be a problem for some rigs.
Then you find it is a very spacious place consisting of many site types. I made a tour of it on YouTube. Most are level, very few are shady. The barn has seen better days. The composting toilets were not working (but you could still use them). The cold shower was refreshingly cold and useable. The camp hosts left the day after we arrived. We arrived at night and it was something we never want to repeat anywhere. The only time we took a trail it was covered in bones and discarded animal bits. I think this place is hopping at hunting season. I did see a boar coming in. We saw several snakes but none venomous. There was potable water by the camp host station. It was a great place and I loved our site. It was close enough to a town to do laundry in but not one that is a vacation destination.

I would reiterate the other reviews: quiet secluded and spacious place to camp. The Hosts checked our reservation when we first arrived and seemed helpful and knowledgeable. The place has good amenities for dry camping--composting toilets and an open shower as well as a convenient placement of a dumpster and recycling. We had a sunny spot for our solar power and only used our generator to turn on the air in the afternoon.About 3-4 other camping parties on site, but we had plenty of room so that generator use did not cause any issues. No problem in sticking with the quiet hours of 10 pm to 7 am. Trails that work well for beginners like us though one could take longer hikes if desired. Not easy access to groceries/supplies, so take that into account for a longer boondocking stay.