Hart Springs Park

This campground is very clean and for the decent pricing you get full hookup. You also get several hiking and biking trails. Only problem is some of the trails are not maintained and can be hard to bike. Also one of the biking trails ends up going over a wooden bridge and although it's new and well maintained it is not designed well.. only certain mountain bikes will fit and you won't know until you actually get there. It should be redesigned. As far as the springs, they've done some updates and have kept them updated but certain times of the year the water is so low that the springs are unusable. The rv sites are well maintained but when this campground was made they did not care about privacy. Most if not all sites have no privacy at all and based on the position of the site they made a mistake on the placement of fire rings which can't be moved. This makes privacy even harder to get. Also, for some reason, this is the first campground that ended up with a mouse in camper, luckily i found it fast and was able to remove it. Overall Hart springs is a decent background but only when it's not busy or if using it as a quick stop to another campground.

Hart Springs is a county park in Gilchrist County in Bell, FL. It’s our go to place near some of our favorite Florida Springs when they are not available. This park is clean and well maintained with a swimming pool. The campground has a separate path down to the springs which have been built out to essentially be a“natural swimming pool” with a very distinct“Retro Florida” vibe. Both the park and campground are VERY FAMILY FRIENDLY and the long list of rules including NO ALCOHOL printed in bold is supposed to keep the riffraff out, and I’m pretty sure it does. 

We are more into a looser freestyle atmosphere but it’s good to detox every once in a while anyway. The springs are wonderful. The park is not very large and DOES NOT RESEMBLE a Florida State Park, more like an RV Park, only better without the permanent trailers or resident RV’s. The pics of the campground should represent the overall tone- authentic Florida, non-Disney with a retro tone. 

Again, we are mostly State Park campers but we really like Hart Springs and plan to visit a few times each year as Florida residents. 

We were in site 40, right next to the camp hosts and directly across from the path that goes down to the spring, spring run, boardwalk, tent camping area and river. If you can get a site on the outside of the loop#1-35 you will probably have more privacy for sure, but if you are in a larger rig you’ll probably find the inner loop better for you.

This campground is super quiet and nestled in Florida cow country. The bathrooms are new and very well kept. The center sites seem more level than the outer ring of sites. We started at site 26 and moved to site 68 because we couldn’t level out on the sandy ground.

WiFi connection is quite good and you are able to stream Netflix and Prime tv.

The best part of this park is the short trail to Hart Springs directly from the campground. It takes you through shaded Florida swamp and marsh and opens up on the Hart springs recreation area. Unfortunately Hart springs was closed while we were there due to flooding and construction but should be open for spring 2019, but it looks like an incredible swimming spot with ample space, tables and pavilions. A short boardwalk walk at the springs takes you out to the shores of Suwannee river.

Walmart supercenter is your closest grocery in chiefland, a 20-25 minute drive.

DON’T MISS stopping at Dakotah Winery for a free tasting and a bottle of their sweet wine for sangria. 19 98 country restaurant has amazing wings and even better southern hospitality.

This RV campground was very nice but not a lot of shaded spots. Very nice bathroom but depending on your site it could be a little walk. They also have 2 washers and 2 dryers available. Not all the sites had a fire pit but they could be moved if there was an empty site. They have a separate tent campground that is close to the spring but is currently not in use and I can not speak on that one. The RV campground has a pool with covered picnic tables and grills. The Springs are at least a 10 minute walk but they do have it paved. Most of the guests had golf carts so it wasn’t bad for them, we chose to drive to the springs after we made the walk once. I took a star away because we stayed here during the week and were woken up at 7 two days in a row from them mowing and weeding. They weren’t packed and could have started away from many of the campers but chose to start right by our site. The springs are beautiful and there is a nice boardwalk. There is a store by the springs and you can rent kayaks and canoes.

Ranger Review: Wild Zora Bars and Paleo Meals to Go at Hart Springs, Fl

Not far from the city of Gainesville sits the town of Bell, Fl home of many small springs. The spring we visited was Hart Springs. Hart Springs was just the right temperature on a hot summer day and a perfect location to enjoy Wild Zora Bars.

Camp Ground Review:

The Hart Spring has one of the largest swimming area with year-round 72-degree Fahrenheit water temperatures. The spring has an over bridge and concrete steps that lead down into the springs. Plenty of shade and Pavilions with grills close to the springs, playground, bathrooms and camp store. This park also has a splash pad, volleyball and basketball court. Beautiful ½ a mile-long boardwalk along the springs and the Suwannee River. Rentals of canoes and Kayaks available and cave diving is allowed for certified cave divers. The campground is located about 1 mile away from the spring accessible by a paved walking, bicycle or golf cart trail which is shaded by cypress, oak and pine trees. Campground has 71 sites (one loop), full hookups, and bathhouse with hot shower, washer and dryer. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring (no grill). Our site was #8 this site was deep, shaded and close to the bathrooms. Nice pool with bathrooms and a big pavilion with picnic tables and two grills for cooking at the pool. No alcohol. No pets (except at the RV campground) Reservations thru Reserve America website.

Product Review:

As a ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test various products. At Hart Springs I tested two products from Wild Zora: Wild Zora Bars and Wild Zora Paleo Meals to Go.

What I thought about Wild Zora Bars and Paleo Meals to Go:

1. Convenience- when spending the day at the springs, pool or on a hike it is nice to have a healthy snack with balanced nutrition without having to compromise on flavor.
2. Very tender and easy to eat- Having children it is often difficult to find jerky or nutrition bars that are soft enough to chew, these bars are tender and eaten without difficulty. This is also beneficial for my older father who finds it difficult to chew most Jerky.
3. Good balance of nutrition- it is nice to have a snack for both myself and my children that contains some vegetables. Unfortunately, we do not always get enough.
4. The Paleo meals are easy to transport, requiring no refrigeration and very simple preparation. When you are ready to eat you simply add water, stir and allow the food to cook. Prep for camping and hiking can be very time consuming. Having meals that are ready to go when you are is not only a time saver but, in some cases, can make the difference between a hot meal and a cold sandwich.
5. The texture of the Paleo Meals to Go was a bit softer than I would have anticipated, possibly I let it sit to long when preparing, but the flavor was very good, and the meal was filling.

I would recommend Wild Zora bars to anyone that is looking for a snack for camping, hiking, or just an all-around healthy snack. I would recommend to anyone who likes camping, especially where space is limited, to try the Paleo Meals to go.