Magnolia Park Campground

While located a bit off the beaten path in a part of Florida that few find themselves in, Magnolia Park Campground, featuring 56 acres of pristine Florida wilderness, is located on an elbow curve where if you don’t look close enough or slow down and look to the right(heading NW), you’re gaze will be captured by the awesome view of Lake Apopka (and isn’t the name just fun to pronounce?!). So plug Magnolia Park in your GPS and follow the directions to arrive at this pristine little campground jewel.

You’ll be greeted by a well-appointed sign and newly fresh paved roads where there’s the main ranger station where you’ll check-in immediately to your left – here, you’ll check-in and be given information about the campground, park and local area by quite possibly some of the nicest, well-meaning park rangers I have ever met.
As this is a county managed campground and park, you’ll be impressed by just what an amazing job these guys do in keeping everything well organized, cleaned up and seemingly brand new. From a camping perspective, this sight is perfect for both tent-camping as well as those with RV’s. In fact, I like how they separate these two populations, preserving a real sense of solitude and communion with nature for us tent campers, while providing all the typical hook-ups and amenities for the RV crowd. 

Of course, you’ll discover each site comes with a nice flat area to plant your tent or roll your RV onto, picnic table and BBQ grill. One of the huge assets of this campground is the tons of park amenities that exist here: playground, scattered picnic areas, dog walking trails, lakeside pavilions, dedicated fishing areas, basketball courts, baseball fields, small pond for catch & release fishing, decent number of restrooms, volleyball court, boat ramps … and the list goes on. For those looking for something a bit different from most campgrounds, this place has its very own butterfly garden, which my kids absolutely loved. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) There still exists some heavy road construction in this area, along South Binion Road, so expect slight delays and just remember to take it slow as there was lose gravel when we drove through; (2) The new Eco Education Center that they have been building for over a year now is finished and features a playground, fishing piers, dock, pavilion and some of the cleanest restrooms; (3) For one of the greatest biking trails I’ve ever taken, get your bicycle on the Lake Apopka Trail, where you’ll be impressed by the views as well as the pristine conditions of the trail itself; (4) For the best campsites, if you want close access to restrooms / showers, then I’d recommend sites #14–17, but if you’re looking for a quieter, more remote vibe, I would recommend sites #7–13 and if you’re RV’ing it, you’ll have to duke it out for a spot between #1– 4; and (5) When you get tired of roasting hot dogs fireside, I recommend either Nauti Lobstah for some good old New England seafood fun or Porkie’s BBQ for some decent central Florida smoked meats. 

Happy Camping!

Stayed here for 2 nights, wonderful staff who were very helpful and even pointed out things for us to do in the surrounding area, very pretty area, and, there were peacocks throughout the park!

This is a beautiful camp with spacious sites, paved patios, table, and campfire rings with grills on every site. Showers are large and clean. Other campers are very friendly!

Clean, peaceful, great showers and awesome to have electricity as well!

I LOVED this campground and probably would have stayed longer if I could. My site had 1 neighbor, I couldn't see the other. Everyone was friendly and helpful, but also quiet. It was nice that there was only 18 spots. The peacocks were so much fun. I loved using them as an excuse when I was running late for something. My cats travel with me and they were enthralled by the peacocks the entire 2 weeks, I couldn't close the blinds!

❤️Super small, clean, and quiet campground. You can hear a small amount of highway traffic in the distance, but totally tolerable. No pull thru sites. We stayed in site #8 and could barely see the neighbor next to us thru the trees/brush. It was the most secluded site there. We had both water and electric on our site. Trash pickup happened every morning. Women’s bath/shower house was cleaned every morning too. They definitely use disinfectant! Handicap shower head in the women’s side works best, but it also doesn’t drain well. Wild peacocks are everywhere, but seem to stay out of the campground area for the most part. They talk alot during the day, but you don’t hear them after dark. Not really a destination place for us, but perfect as a layover. Not much to do there until the lake entrance across the street opens back up in March 2022. I would suggest doing the 15min drive to Kelly park (Rock Spring) and doing a float trip down the crystal clear 74 degree water. Rent a tube at the corner bar heading into to park. We really liked how few people were there especially during Covid. Campground was full, but with only 18 sites, there was plenty of room to enjoy the outdoors alone here. Fees were cheap! We would definitely stay here again.

Friendly staff, quiet. Bathhouse clean. Fairly level site.

Great park for the money. Quite park that is very pretty and well maintained. Close to a lot to do in the area. Wild peacocks on site are cool to see. Sites are paved, with a good amount of privacy. Only complaint was our site was pretty unlevel and we had to max out our Anderson leveling blocks to get it right. Would return for sure.

This out-of-the-crowd County park is small, but cozy and accommodating. It’s well-maintained and inexpensive. I was able to get a spot within a couple of days notice, and there were other spots available when I got there. It has electrical and water hookups, and a dump station within the property. As for amenities, it has a nice trail, but it was being renovated when I visited. You got to check the peacocks all over the park.

Small park with close campsites. The light and noise pollution at this campground ruined the campground for me. I don’t like the bright light posts at each campsite. However, there are wild peacocks!

Nice clean quiet park. Bathrooms are nice but a hike from some sites. Sites are paved but ours wasn't completely level. Staff was friendly. We had fire ants at our site and they came and to care of it very quickly. My only complaint was the boat ramp across the street was under construction and nothing said that online.

For 23 bucks a night you get an electrical hookup which was great for my chevy volt. There's water at your site, a metal fire pit, showers and bathrooms nearby with outlets. It is gated with a code for the security conscious. The park has basketball courts, is near a large lake. There are vending machines nearby too. You can come and go at any time with the gate code but checkin was 6 or 7 PM. At night you can hear the nearby highway though.

Staff is very helpful. Gates secure park at night beautiful peacocks on grounds. Clean and neat. Across from Lake Apopka with more walking trail than we can do over 15 miles.

Clean well kept camping and picnicking. Basketball court is included along with volleyball court. 14 day max stay , no sewer hook up. Dump station yes.

We have 6 kids, one in a wheelchair and a service dog and had an awesome time at this campground! Everyone was accommodated for!

There's lots to do at the park, but the campsites just aren't really that nice. There's the lake, a playground, a few volleyball courts, and lots of space to play at the park