Best RV Parks & Resorts near Bartow, FL

I have to admit, when I first discovered Mill Creek RV Resort on our smartphone’s GPS, I had nothing but low expectations and when navigating to get to this seemingly RV road stand, all of the traffic and commercial real estate surrounding this place was just begging me to turn around and hightail it out of here. That was, until we decided to check out this RV parking spot. And we were somewhat pleasantly surprised by what we found. While easily not a destination, if your aim is to simply find comfortable, affordable and safe accommodations to roll up your mobile living room for the night, then (especially for the price), you won’t be disappointed. 

To begin with, the community and neighbors you will meet are incredibly welcoming and the owners / management couldn’t be more hospitable. This place on the one hand has a small neighborhood feel (because it is partly carved out of a residential area) and on the other, feels like a semi-decent nature preserve where RV’s aren’t jam packed next to one another. Sure, it’s tight in a few places, but all-in-all, one feels safe and secure here and offered a number of pretty great and new amenities. And if you don’t have an RV, no worries, the good folks at Mill Creek RV Resort will rent you one of their newly built park models. 

Mill Creek RV Resort offers a number of amenities, including: complete RV hook-ups (20 / 30 / 50 electric amp, water and sewage lines) with pull-through and back-in flat concrete slab sites, picnic tables, heated in-ground pool complete with lounge chairs and umbrellas, recreation hall with ping pong tables, coin-operated laundry facilities, very clean restroom and shower facilities, kid’s playground w/ slide, doggie park (one for small and another for large), mail center, cable TV access, free WiFi access (near the office only though) as well as indoor and outdoor games (e.g. horse shoes, shuffle board, corn hole), propane refill station, LP gas, cable TV access and even sheds for extra storage. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a handful: (1) This location puts you within short driving distance to Walt Disney World, Universal, Seaworld and a bunch of other family-friendly entertainment options; (2) When you get tired of paying for overpriced amusement park food or can’t muster enough strength to plan your next meal from the confines of what might be available in your RV fridge, then venture out to one of these nearby eateries: Coqui Snacks, Sol de Borinquen Bakery Restaurant & Deli or Dolce Bakery and Café; and (3) If you brought a kayak or canoe, I highly recommend launching in nearby Kissimmee Lakefront Park, where if you go to the far eastern side, you can cast a line and catch some pretty good fish. 

Happy Camping!

There are more RVers here in the winter than I thought possible in one place not the Hershey or Tampa RV Show.  Lots of families, lots of older folks, overall a good mix of people.  

There are multiple sections here each with a completely different feel.  D section is old-school, Florida State Park-like camping.  You have that romantic, southern charm and foliage.  It's tight for big rigs, lacks internet and getting your Starlink out there can be a challenge.  T-Mobile and AT&T work great out there but, it depends on what you need.  The new section is immaculate with large grass sites, nice pads and easy back-in sites for even the biggest fifth-wheels.  This is the best place if you have a need to work from your camper.  If, like us, you like to work from a tent, you cannot put anything on that beautiful grass campsite.  This is why we stay in the older section.  It's run-down, crumbling concrete pads that need to be repoured, decent sized sites AND you can use the grass.

This is our third time here and we will keep coming back due to community and locality.  Not far from Disney though traffic makes it harder to get to the other parks.  Wawa and Publix are just outside the gate for your coffee and grocery needs.  

Get here at noon ON THE DOT if you want a new site.  D section I recommend 35 feet or under, and enjoy the parade on Saturdays and Sunday as 40-100 new rigs come in.  

STAY AWAY FROM THE SITES NEXT TO THE SEWER ACCESS, THEY STINK!

Whether there is 21 Palm trees here or not, I was not able to tabulate, but this off-the-beaten path RV reclusive respite is conveniently located in central Florida just off the I-4 corridor on Exit 58 and just a 3 mile drive east on highway 532. This location features 70 or so pull-through and back-in RV slots complete with outdated and heavily cracked concrete slabs for your parking pleasure. Half of the slots here looked as though they are occupied by year-on-year residents who have given up moving their RV any further than this place. There were a good dozen or so free spots to park your RV in when we passed through.


There’s a handful of amenities, although I will warn you, mostly everything here is fairly outdated. Here’s a line-up of what to expect: 30 / 50 amp electrical, water and waste hook-ups, laundr-O-mat, fitness center/ gym, a small lake for fishing, horsehoe pit, propane refill station, shuffleboard court, recreation hall, telephone hook-ups, small in-ground heated pool and surrounding patio with lounge chairs and a fairly decent lakeside view. This place is pet-friendly and aside from all of the dogs you’ll come across, you’ll see no shortage of long-necked cranes walking around as though they owned the place. Lovely. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) The small lake in front of 21 Palms is actually great for some lightweight kayaking, just beware of a few points where the water is shallow enough to get you stuck; (2) If you’re looking for something to do locally, check out Orland Tree Trek Adventure, which is an elevated outdoor obstacle course full of ropes, pulleys, suspended bridges and nets that will test your high altitude agility – tons of fun with the kiddos!; (3) If you are looking for a local restaurant, you will be pretty challenged to find much, but we did stumble across a spot called Reunion Café (www.reunion.cafe)) that ended up being quite a little Mediterranean culinary gem – be sure to order the chicken kebab, Shawarma and finish it off with the homemade Baklava! 

Happy Camping!

We stayed there during the Tampa Show. Last minute decision. Park has a lot of long term RV's and many of them older. Dog friendly and has a decent sized dog run. We had a pull thru spot that was plenty long enough to leave our dolly hooked up to our 33' class A, and still have plenty of room to park in front. Although it was very narrow and I was a little concerned about my leveling jacks sinking in when it rained due to it being all grass. Fortunately it didn't rain much. There were cable hook ups, but I couldn't get a signal. Not sure about wifi, because I just used my hot spot. Most, if not all, of the short term spaces had picknick tables. Overall just a fairly quiet place to park with hookups and not too far off the highway.

We enjoy this park a lot because it has so much to offer in the park, nearby, and we often see our friends here each winter. They have approximately 850 sites depending on the tortoises (sometimes they get a whole spot if their best is there). They are adding about 180 sites on the south side of the park. Full hook ups, generous yards, decent landscaping. There are some permanent structures, mostly rentals and the cabins. There are some personal sites as well. The park is about 2.63 miles all the way around the outer loop. Sometimes the cows from next door get loose and come visit. Sometimes there are alligators underneath RVs.

With so many guests they also have a gate guard shack thing and lots of staff members. They have dark green polos ride around on golf carts. They are super friendly. Most of them are RVers at the park as well.

They have many sections. A- Lots of pull throughs B- Giant Field where the kids play C-Not sure where this section is... D- Jungle, Secluded, Private, also with snakes but a lot more shade E/F/G- Normal RV Park in the grass, some shade in some parts. H- Residents of the park and some staff I- Residents and long term guests.

Getaway Cabins- they are adorable from the outside, they look massive compared to an RV.

Cell signals: This park is in Clermont, FL and it’s not a huge town but decent sized town. There isn’t great cell service. The park is further from a tower and there are so many RVers in the area that don’t count towards the population, it becomes a bandwidth issue. This park does have some kind of DSL for long term contracts. They have WiFi for a few throughout the park, and in the Club House they have better WiFi.

They have: 2 Pools 1 Hot Tub Mini Golf Tennis Courts Pickle Ball Courts Shuffle Board Club House Mail Room Camp Store A small Lake with Kayak rental Alligators Sand Hill Cranes Tortoises A Garden Basketball Kids play room and play area Arcade Gym Several pretty ponds and a giant lagoon

Most of all we come here repeatedly because we love to see our friends and being a member we can all stay for free.

We recorded several videos about Thousand Trails Orlando:

https://youtu.be/xiMkg_pDEoM

First, this is a really nice RV campground. It's new and has some nice amenities. That being said, I don't think full timers like us are their audience. Pros- nice big pull through sites, nice dog park, food trucks on weekend nights(at least while we were there), and a bar on site. Cons- it's very loud, not really close to any attractions, wifi was fast but frequently went out, highway noise, incessant loud construction noise every single weekday, you have to wear these bright green hospital type bracelets on the property, they charge$10 a visitor even if they are just going to your campsite to hang out and not use the amenities, they say they are family friendly but are okay with offensive political flags being flown. They played loud country music during the day most of the weekdays we were there. One day they started before 9 am. On Friday night, the music from the tiki bar area was so loud that we couldn't hear the movie we were trying to watch in our trailer with the windows up. It was the same the next night with a live band. I think this place is nice if you are looking for a place to party on the weekend, but not a relaxing resort like they advertise. For the price I paid I expect to not have construction noise every day. We likely won't be back. We camped at Cabana Club RV Resort in a Fifth Wheel.

OK, let’s just cut to the chase here. You are likely considering Sun Outdoors Orlando Champions Gate due to its proximity to the ‘Most Magical Place on Earth’ or one of the other themed amusement parks here in the Orlando area. And maybe you’ve got an RV and shrugged your shoulders and said ‘why not?’ And to this I say, if proximity and accessibility are key criteria for you on this particular trip and locking down a spot to park your RV for a few days while you (and likely the kids) are wanting to enjoy all of the entertainment and endless lines of all-you-can-eat buffets, then Sun Outdoors will certainly be a very good option for you.

What I like most about Sun Outdoors Orlando is that this spot is recently completely refurbished, so everywhere you go, while the place itself looks like it has recently been cleared of all vegetation (definitely a negative in my mind - as it looks as though every single piece of nature, be it grass, bushes or trees, has been surgically removed leaving a very barren, sterile environ), all of the buildings, sites and amenities look fairly brand spanking new, especially the club house and adjoining in-ground heated pool, which is definitely the best aspect of this particular paved campground. Here they have plenty of level, asphalt-paved or grassy RV pads, spots for tent camping as well as even cottages and cabins that they’ll rent to you in case you’ve not come prepared with any overnight preparations of your own.  

Amenities: large heated in-ground swimming pool with patio and deck chairs, umbrellas and chaise loungers, pristine bathroom & showers, shuffleboard court, game room, horseshoe pit, WiFi, pet-friendly, coin-operated laundr-O-mat, dog park, bingo hall, basketball, volleyball, stand-up BBQ grills, religious services, Adirondack chair encircled fire pits, cornhole as well as back-in and pull-through RV slots with concrete patios, picnic table and all the traditional hook-ups (20 / 30 / 50 amp electric, water and sewage).

Insider’s tips: (1) When we visited, there was a solid amount of road construction going on right in front of Sun Outdoors Orlando, so unless that has changed (call ahead if this is of concern), then I would highly suggest booking a spot furthest away the front of the campground, which sits right in front of the roadway where the work is being done; (2) If you grow weary of opening up your on-board fridge or half-empty roto-molded Cordova cooler and want to check out a nearby restaurant, I recommend nearby Miller’s Ale House, Marco’s Pizza, Mondo di Gelato or Reunion Gyro; (3) While this campground will tell you on-line and on-site that you can tent camp here, even if you could, I don’t know that you would want to, unless your idea of a good tent camping experience is being sandwiched between 2 oversized RV’s and pitching your tent on asphalt; (4) Some of these sites for large RV’s and even 5th wheels appear to be a bit too small (several were either parked beyond the asphalt limits on the grass, or the width was too large and overhung the concrete pad itself, creating unstable situation for some RV’s) ;(5) If you actually care to grab a slice of nature while you are here at Sun Outdoors Orlando, then go for a day trip to Lake Tohopekaliga, which has some pretty amazing bass fishing as well as a few choice places to drop your boat into, like Twin Oaks or Cherokee Point Conservation Areas (and if you don’t have your own kayak, canoe or boat, contact Wild Willys Airboat Tours and they’ll show you around); and (6) There’s a Publix, CVS and Aldi so close to this campground that you can walk there, in case you run out of anything.

Happy Camping!

Why contemplate leaving the creature comforts of home when you can just haul everything that you love most to a place that provides all of the concrete paved, easy-to-access amenities that you likely have at home in the first place? If you find yourself in this dilemma, no worries, Orlando/ Kissimmee KOA has all of your manufactured outdoor camping needs covered … and what’s perhaps most interesting is that you won’t even have to drive out of the concrete jungle to encounter this experience, in fact, it’s right off a major 4-lane highway (HWY 192).

So, if you are dreaming of escaping your domesticated life for the thrills of an outdoor camping adventure that will have you appreciating the best of what nature has to offer, then just be forewarned, this is not that place. But if you are simply looking for a change of scenery and want to be near all of the action and attractions here in Central Florida’s ‘Magic City’ and want a different experience than paying overpriced rates at Tiki-hut themed entertainment hotels and relish the idea of dusting off your RV or unpacking your tent in a pseudo nature environment complete with all the astro turf your dog can poop on within a confined, fenced-in setting, then this KOA (and let’s be frank, ANY KOA) has you covered.

As far as amenities go, it’s a KOA, so there’s going to be more amenities here than you can shake a stick at. These include: heated in-ground medium-sized pool complete with tiled patio, lounge chaise chairs, tables with umbrellas and regular chairs, water-rinsing station, as well as a jacuzzi / spa, propane refilling station, bike rentals, 134’ max length slots, WiFi, pavilion, Kamp K9, firewood for sale, 24 hour laundr-O-mat, picnic tables, community fire pits, on-site market, recreation office, life-size Jenga, designated trash areas, fitness center, playground, dog wash, public bus service, basketball court, EV chargers, jump pad, taxi service back-in and pull-through perfectly paved, level concrete RV sites with full hook-ups (30 / 50 amp electric, water and sewage). There’s even RV sites that are dubbed ‘Deluxe,’ which are larger and come with a paved connected patio.

No RV? And REALLY don’t want to have an experience that is different than living at home? Even here at this KOA, that’s not a problem, where the proprietors will easily rent you a deluxe cabin, if there is one available. These 1BR or 2BR A/C cooled Deluxe Cabins sleep 4, 6 or 8 people and come with bunk bed set, futon / sofa sleeper and a queen-sized bed along with a private bath and shower, TV with cable offering over 20 channels, some with EV chargers, patio w/ charcoal or gas BBQ grill and fire pit, front porch with patio furniture and chairs, refrigerator, fresh linens, paw pen for the pups and a partial or full kitchen. They even have rustic cabins that are cheaper and don’t come with all the thrills for those that want some degree of ‘roughing’ it, so this means no kitchen and no bathroom or showers, although there is full bed, bunk bed, TV, mini-refrigerator, A/C patio furniture, brick fire pit with cooking grate.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) To continue with the simple, easy-to-access, manufactured experience theme here, for those that grow tired of trying to conjure up that next meal for the kiddos, who are grumbling about making every meal, head on over to any one of these nearby drive-thru windows or curb-side meal offerings: McDonald’s, Panda Express, Applebee’s, Steak ‘n Shake and Wendy’s; (2) If you want to heighten that suburban culinary experience you all have been craving though, I really do rate the silverware-free dining experience that is Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament, which is literally just down the road and is actually a lot of fun for the kiddos and adults alike; (3) Should you find yourself in need of anything that you either forgot or may have run out of, then fear not, there’s a Sam’s Club that is in walking distance from this KOA and further south that definitely requires a drive, there’s a Walmart Supercenter; (4) I’ve noticed that this place has SIGNIFICANT discounts if you simply plan in advance – so for example, during the months of March OR April (it’s January now), they’re offering a whopping 25% discount; and (5) If you are looking for a slice of nature’s paradise, then I highly recommend driving a bit north to Wekiwa Springs, where you’ll be able to enjoy one of the most amazing springs in all of Florida where the water is 72 degrees year round.

Happy Camping!

Boggy Creek RV Resort and Fish Camp Review

Boggy Creek RV Resort and Fish Camp Is located in Kissimmee, Florida on the edge of East Lake Tohopekaliga. We stayed there for a month from the middle of June to the middle of July in 2021.

As new RV'ers, this was our first attempt at reserving and staying somewhere in our new Apex 293 RLDS Travel Trailer. The staff was very accommodating when my wife first contacted them by phone and offered a "pull-through" site for an extra $100, but being the cheapskate that I am I opted to stick with a "back-in" site (I've got to learn to do it at some point, right?).

When we arrived we checked in at the office/gift shop/small grocery store and both the ladies there at the desk were very courteous and helpful. They had one of their staff, a fine gentleman named Rego, escort us to the site and he spent 45 minutes helping me to back in. I should mention that the site was nestled between two trees, some kind of metal post sticking up about 5 feet from the ground, and the vehicle of our next door neighbors, so in addition to my inexperience we had to maneuver around all those obstacles. I got it backed in without touching ANY of them! As he left us, Rego urged me to call anytime we needed anything.

There are more than 200 sites in the park, but a lot of them are year-round residents. That still leaves roughly half of the sites for guests and the park looked to be about three-fourths filled to my untrained eye. They come with 50amp shore power, water, and sewer connections, as well as concrete pads and picnic tables.

I was born in, and grew up in, Florida so my first impression of Boggy Creek RV Resort and Fish Camp is that it is very much like "Old Florida" with towering Oak trees covered in hanging Spanish Moss, Scrub Pines, and even Palm trees. This is not a manicured RV park, though the grounds are well kept by the staff, where the sites are laid out like cookie-cutters in a parking lot. The abundance of trees provide a very nice amount of shade around the park and, even in the Summer heat and swelter of Florida, made the temperature bearable with our little 13,500 BTU rooftop air conditioner. East Lake Tohopekaliga is also large enough that it provides a nice, cooling breeze during the day.

The park advertises a pool and restaurant, but both were shut down during COVID-19 restrictions and have not yet re-opened. They hope to have the pool up and running as soon as they can break through the supply-chain issues that have plagued the industry. We did not ask about the restaurant, but I imagine the same issues apply.

There is an abundance of wildlife including Sand Hill Cranes (which serenaded us every morning and barked their unhappiness when we walked near them during our daily treks around the park), Peacocks (which was an unexpected sight, but very enjoyable), Herons, Tortoises, and Alligators. So if you're looking for a sterile environment, this might not be the place for you. If you're a boater or fisherman, there is a dock for fishing off of and a boat ramp for putting your watercraft into the lake.

Our month long stay was enjoyable because of the staff, the flora and fauna, and the slow, laid back atmosphere. We would highly recommend Boggy Creek RV Resort and Fish Camp for those who are seeking the same.