Mystic Springs Recreation Area

As noted, it's free but you must create an account to register then print your "receipt" to display. When I arrived someone had "my" spot but since they were using solar I let them have it & took a shady spot. It was not busy as far as campers, just the two of us. This is a busy boat ramp from an hour before sunrise until an hour after sunset. The sights I saw all had picnic tables & fire rings with the occasional cig but & beer cans around the perimeter. There was 1 trashcan near the 1 portoilet on site. Keep in mind this is river lowland & has it's share of critters that bite, flying & otherwise. There are only a few RV sites, the others are in the trees or a group site. The road is paved to the ramp the loop is hard packed sand / gravel. I was on a motorcycle hauling a camper & had no problem.

My perfect site (having solar) is site 3. Site 4 is next in line then site 2 and 1. There are 8 total sites in this campground and a group site. The boaters were courteous and quiet as were the other campers. I love Mystic Springs and will definitely come back.

No hiking to speak of but there is a boat launch ramp.

Many sites have partial shade so solar is not reliable.

Free to stay but you have to reserve sites online. A few sites can handle a big rig but not all.

Lots of verizon bars but very slow verizon service if you are on a network managed plan. Unmanaged att was much better.

A free camping gem, Campsite 7 offers an amazing river view atop of a bluff at Mystic Springs Recreation Area in Florida. Mystic Springs Recreation Area offers free RV camping, tent camping, stunning scenic views, river access, and a boat ramp. Verizon cellular service clocked in at 60.2 Mbps download speed and 2.01 Mbps upload speed. AT&T cellular service clocked in at 70.6 Mbps download speed and 43.5 Mbps upload speed. T-Mobile cellular service clocked in at 18.4 Mbps download speed and 1.60 Mbps upload speed.

the drive in was scenic altho driving down 90 was a bumpy ride. some sites when I was there were wet and uneven. I ended up parking on the level grassy area between sites 5 & 6. a couple spots on the river side looked nice. I was there January 31 for only a nite, passing thru. Went to Shepard SP which was much nicer. Just an OK landing spot.

Stayed at Mystic Springs Recreational area in McDavid’s Florida. About 45 miles from Pensacola and 20 minutes from I-10. Secluded, 8 sites, need to be fully contained, picnic table, fire area and grill. Many sites on the water. Our Verizon had good service. Free but you do need to reserve, not bad for a overnight stay!

This was a great place to spend an afternoon and night before heading further south to the coast. Nice and quiet with just a few locals coming through to drink and drive! You can stay here for free for up to 14 days. Only about an hour from Pensacola if you wanted to use this as a base. Will come again for a few days next time. All sites have no hookups (as advertised), and they are all fairly nice. Our trailer is 27' and we didn't see an issue with us parking in any of the sites. Once the sun set, it got very quiet and nothing but cicadas. This could definitely be a dark sky park, and we sat out in the loop road in our chairs looking at the bright, bright stars in the sky. It would be a great place for a telescope. The reservation system was very easy too. Each campsite has a grill, fire ring, and what appears to be a shade structure (under construction). They all have picnic tables too, but ours should be unchained and used as firewood - it is seriously old and broken. Overall, highly recommend. Some sites, as others have said, would be better suited for solar panels.
As for cell phone coverage, we have T-Mobile and we had GREAT reception; in fact, I'm typing this on my laptop using my phone's Hotspot!

Nice area. Not alot to do but there is a boat ramp. Convenient to get to. They are doing some improvements to all the sites with a covered shelter.
When I arrived Wednesday after Memorial day, trash hadn't been picked up. But it all was in the Trash barrels, there is a porta potty only

Stayed here one night on our way to the gulf. It’s dry camping only, reservations have to be made online, but there is no charge. Sites were secluded and wooded. I stayed in site 3 which I really liked and could probably accommodate a large rig. Not sure what size rig the other sides could accommodate.
Walked around a bit and saw the group camping area, which I thought was really nice, very spacious with picnic tables and a shelter.