Withlacoochee SF/Croom Tract - Crooked River - Silver Lake Rec
Jeremiah F.
Reviewed May. 29, 2019

Good tent camping

Nice spot for drive-in tent camping. Our site (most sites seemed relatively similar) had a fire ring with an adjustable grill-grate, a picnic table, room for 2-3 tents, enough parking for 2 cars, and a water spigot nearby. We even had an armadillo stroll by on his way through the woods, but he kept his distance. The sites have a little separation with shrubbery and trees scattered between neighbors, overall not too bad as I despise open field camping. The other two campground areas at this park were much more open lawn type layouts and seemed geared more towards RV and campers. There are plenty of drop-off points for trash. There is a bathroom, but don’t expect them to be clean. The men’s room had no paper towels. The toilet and shower stalls were dirty. But hey, this is camping! We didn’t get around to asking about firewood on-site, and the closest place we found in the area was Lowe’s which was about 20min away, so planning ahead and getting some on your way to the campground is your best bet. There was a place to launch kayaks/canoes on the river right by the sites, and it seemed like there was hiking along the river right there, but I don’t know how far along it went, and as always I would be careful to watch out for gators. Hiking trails can be found within a 5 minute drive (definitely ask the rangers at the entrance for hiking trail maps), and a paved bike trail is right at the entrance to the campground. If you go towards the end of spring, I would recommend that you bring sunscreen, bug spray, and lots of water with you. We also encountered a swarm of mildly annoying love bugs one afternoon at the site, but that can’t be helped this time of season. I believe Silver Lake is right inside the entrance but we were busy enough with our other activities that we didn’t really check it out. We will next time though! Just a heads up, they lock the park gates at 8pm and the rangers leave, so make sure to ask about that ahead of time if you think you will need to leave or return after 8pm.

  • Review photo of Withlacoochee SF/Croom Tract - Crooked River - Silver Lake Rec by Jeremiah F., May 29, 2019
  • Review photo of Withlacoochee SF/Croom Tract - Crooked River - Silver Lake Rec by Jeremiah F., May 29, 2019
  • Review photo of Withlacoochee SF/Croom Tract - Crooked River - Silver Lake Rec by Jeremiah F., May 29, 2019
  • Review photo of Withlacoochee SF/Croom Tract - Crooked River - Silver Lake Rec by Jeremiah F., May 29, 2019