Best Equestrian Camping near Apalachicola National Forest

Marcie is the owner of this rescue ranch. She’s just starting out having RV’s come in (we were her 4th). There’s power and water hookups, but no dumping stations yet. She runs a quaint rescue ranch for various animals. At the time we were there (8/14/20) she had 21 horses, a Bantam rooster, two pot bellied pigs (one that looks pregnant), a pregnant goat, a bull and a dairy cow (also pregnant ) and three dogs; one if which was an adorable Great Pyrenees puppy that she saved from deaths door). She also offers guided trail rides in the adjacent state park (we only spent the night, so we did not do that). You really can’t beat it fir $25.00 a night!Note: the road into her ranch is pretty rough and beat up, so use caution and go slowly. Make sure you bring plenty of carrots and apples for the animals! Feeding them was a big highlight of our stay!

Three wonderful loop trails 2 primitive camp sites and a great view through the trees. Camping was in the Center and West loops with 2 of the 3 sites being near the lake (the third site was in the center of hte Center Loop and for groups). Nice elevation changes (refreshing for Florida hiking)

It took us an extra try to find this location - first our directions lead us to the Lines Tract - great for biking and bike camping - but not so much for hiking and camping. Make sure you review your directions because there is not much of a signal out there. There are 5 separate tracts to this forest.

When we finally got to the correct location the hike was beautiful. We chose the 2 campsites that were near the water for our stay (but a bit of a steep drop off (you do not want to fall in - we were told lots of gators hand along the shore). The shore was fish-able though. Lots of frogs to sing us to sleep. There was some boat activity on the lake, but not as much as I expected. You do have to watch your step - this is prime copperhead territory.

Primitive campsites were small and cozy. There was a group site in between that was very nice and we were told was often used by youth groups. Was worth the hike in and we had a lot of down time to relax even hiking all 3 loops. Was nice to have sit down quiet time. only saw 3 other people in the 3 days we were there.

Call ahead for your camping permit!

Tate's Hell State Forest is a primitive dispersed camping area slightly north the Gulf of Mexico in the Florida Panhandle region. Instead of a single campground with multiple sites, Tate's Hell provides individual camps sites through out the forest, many of which are along the Carabelle River. Sites offer fire ring, picnic table and cleared tent area. All sites are accessed by dirt roads that are fairly well maintained. Many of these sites can accommodate a popup or RV, but there are no electrical, water or sewage hook ups in the state forest. If you are looking for an authentic backwoods, roughing it camping experience - this is your place!

Sites can be reserved 1 877 879 3859. The regional ranger station is located at 290 Airport Rd, Carrabelle, FL 32322.

More info https://www.freshfromflorida.com/Divisions-Offices/Florida-Forest-Service/Our-Forests/State-Forests/Tate-s-Hell-State-Forest

We primitive camped at Tates Hell for 4 nights at the end of March 2021. Our campsite was awesome! We could drive right up to it, it was clean with no junk in the firepit & it was good, level ground, & very private & inexpensive. The bathrooms/showers were less than 6 months old & were very clean. The caretakers were close to the bathroom & were very kind & attentive but very non-intrusive. The water was just a few yards away with a boat launch so we could launch our kayaks. If you like seafood & oysters, there are a few really good, reasonably priced restaurants just a few miles away, along with grocery shopping. Highly recommend & we are planning to return.

Campground was nice and quiet. A little traffic noise but not too bad. It had a boat dock and pier to observe the St. Marks River. The St. Marks lighthouse is so close and a must see during all times of the day. We visited at least twice, once to walk along the beach and the second time to see the sunset. There are so many beautiful sights in the area. We visited Alligator Point and Bald Point State Park. We saw a bald eagle and so many other species of birds. I will return. The host was gracious and very informative. They did have some trouble with the restrooms, they were closed for a short time when we arrived and closed again before we left. However, we did use the showers and the bathhouse was clean when it was operational. I would recommend this camp if you are exploring the area and there is a lot to explore.

A fantastic stay over all. About a mile hike in. Primitive, which is exactly what we wanted. Fetch your own water from the lake. No modern amenities. Brilliant view of Lake Talquin, right on the water. Thickly treed so hanging hammocks and bear lines was no problem. Brilliant quiet spot, mostly, I’ll get to that in a bit. Even got a visit from your friendly neighborhood alligator in the middle of the night, which when I realized after the fact what the sound was was terrifying. Lol. Steep bank on this sight though so fewer worries about him actually visiting camp. Fabulous spot for fishing and camping. But, and this is the one star off, the camp sites are about 30 feet off the trail. So there is virtually no privacy. Makes… let’s use the euphemism “#2”… a bit challenging. The trail wasn’t heavily trafficked but it was travelled so we had maybe 9 or 10 people pass the site over the course of the weekend. If you can tolerate that I’d say put it on your list.