Best Glamping near Bowling Green, FL

This was one of our favorite campgrounds. The park was so lush and green it felt like a jungle safari. There are so many alligators just hanging around near the water so watch out while hiking! There are so many great hiking trails and places to explore in this park.

Laundry on site at the bath houses, as well as free hot showers. I didn't like the shower set up as much, because the area for your clothes and stuff and whatnot is in a communal space with other shower-ers.

Campground hosts sell firewood and ice.

We were here in January and the weather was perfect, not too humid, and it wasn't too buggy.

One of the most awarded State Parks! This park has everything! 3 full service camping loops full of sites - lots of space for RV's and Tents - 2 designated hammock camping spots. During busy season you can really be packed in but the primitive camping site is another option - hike out and camp away from the crowds! Pools and Cantina are very popular in the summer with the locals so be prepared! Canoe rentals to tour the river, fishing spots along the shore. Canoes and bicycles are available for rent at the Pool Side Café. The café also provides food, beverages, picnic/camping supplies and souvenirs. Pool lounge chairs for rent. Park visitors can stay connected with FREE Wi-Fi service within an approximate 150 foot range of the pool area (weather and signal permitting). Golf carts are available daily.

Hiking trails are wonderful but if rainy season some could be closed to flooding. Take bug protection during warm months! Spend some time enjoying the wildlife along the trails. There is also a 2 mile paved loop bicyclers enjoy shared with cars so drive carefully. You can hike to the neighboring Dead River Park for even more of an adventure! Picnic area is wonderful - nice large pavilions and grills. They do have a air conditioned building with kitchen great for weddings and special events.

Expect a long travel to this remote site.   It’s a couple miles of reasonably decent dirt roads to get there, after several miles of remote highways. The only designated dark sky site in Florida.   It does not disappoint for night sky viewing.   If you’re camping here, please be courteous and keep your outdoor lights to a minimum.  The night sky’s are just breathtaking.   Check www.spotthestation.nasa.gov to see if you’ll get a glimpse of the space station while your there.   Hiking/biking trails are plentiful.   Be aware that there’s a LOT of loose sand.   So even on a mountain bike you’ll have to walk now and then.   Great birding.  Crested cara cara are frequent as are flocks of turkey strolling through the campsites.   Be sure to head out the road you came in back to the first turn and take the trail to the left (as you’re leaving).   There’s a gator hole just 1/4 mile down the trail.  Nature trail is a nice hammock view.  No pets on that particular trail.   

There are 2 camp loops only the first camp loop has a bath house, which is very nice.   The equestrian camp has porta potties.  Many of those folks drive over to the bathhouse.  Even the bathhouse has outdoor red lights.

We got into this site with a last minute cancellation over Labor Day weekend. It was a beautiful location! We had site 43 which was secluded from neighbors and in full shade. The back of the site opened to an open field and we constantly saw deer walking through the grounds. We also saw many armadillos and turkey! Site had water and electric as well as a fire pit and picnic bench. Each loop has a bathhouse and laundry unit. Sewage dump was clean and easy. Campground also has a general store with some essentials, snacks, WiFi and live bait. There’s water for fishing and a cleaning station, although we didn’t catch anything you could see the fish jumping constantly. There’s plenty of trails and an observation tower. We will be back!

If you love camping, wildlife, and stargazing but still want the convenience of amenities (i.e electricity, running water, bathroom, shower) then this is the place for you.

Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park is part of IDA International Dark-Sky Places. The park has little light pollution and also a stargazing pad where you can also camp on.

The campgrounds aren't large but the campsites are good for tents and RVs. The one site we stayed at had water and electric hook-ups and a firepit. We were close to very clean restroom area that also had showers, washer and dryer. They do have primitive campsites for the more rustic individuals. The campgrounds are about 45 minutes from town, but the ranger station sells ice for $2.50 and firewood purchase is by honor system. We also saw other campers with their dogs so pet-friendly as well.

Lots of hiking trails and so much wildlife. We saw deer grazing near our campsite!

Make sure to bring lots of mosquito repellent, especially in the summer months. Otherwise you'll get bit...a lot! But it is Florida after all.

Our visit was relaxing and enjoyable. We visited in July and the shade from all the trees around our site helped keep the heat tolerable. The camp site’s aren’t dispersed and a little close together but we didn’t have any immediate neighbors around us so it was perfect. We stayed on site 008 and it was spacious enough for our large cabin tent, picnic table, additional table, dog pool, chairs, etc. Our site is conveniently close to the bathrooms. I liked that there is only one main dumpster and it’s kept a distance from the camp sites. I think this helped keep any raccoons that may have been around away from the campers. AMAZING star gazing location.

Campground Review: "An odd 'primitive' campground just outside a neighborhood in a great wildlife preserve

There was a bit of confusion as to where these campgrounds actually are as Google maps will take you to Cypress Creek, but the preserve and the campgrounds are actually a bit further North in the Big Cypress Swamp, which has several different tail areas. The northern end has a lot of really nice long hikes and some great paved trails for biking but the campgrounds are hidden away in the South end.

The “main” entrance to the campgrounds is off of Parkway Blvd near Pine View Middle School, and I nice distance away from here and the traffic, however the “campgrounds” themselves are less than ¼ mile from a back entrance which is accessible towards the back and middle of a neighborhood (with no public parking). This actually puts you in really close to where a bunch of walkers, jogs, unruly teenagers enter the preserve. I talked to a loval whom was mountain biking in and he said that he comes through every so often to make sure the local teenagers are over in the area drinking, leaving their trash and starting fires in the area. The campgrounds are completely wide open with a couple different areas for different campers to set up, but there is no real separation dividing them out as it’s really one big large open area with a nice covered pavilion in the center (built in 2003 by Eagle Scout Matt Hardwood of Troop 203). There is an ADA approved toilet (porta’potty) which has definitely seen way better days…seat falling off, door doesn’t close and probably hasn’t been changed out in months. If it wasn’t so open I’d say bring a shovel, although you may still want to…thankfully I had no neighbors that evening. While there is the “toilet”, nice flat area for your tents and a fire pit/grill and table that’s really about it for these campgrounds. So, make sure that you make sure and bring your water with you as there aren’t any faucets around. Remember they are “primitive” and free, so you get what you pay for…

Please, if you do happen to visit, help pack out some of what others have left behind and maybe we can all make this campground end up being a much more enjoyable site.

Gear Review: As a Ranger for The Dyrt I sometimes get the opportunity to test out products and the saving grace for this camping trip was my testing of High Hopes Hammock, Orange and Blue Cocoon Hammock with Straps (Go Gators!!). This is actually my first Hammock and I know, I’m late to the game, but I think it was worth the wait. This Hammock has some pretty neat features that other hammocks are really lacking.

• It has 3 sets of Velcro closures so that you can “cocoon” yourself in!! Unfortunately, not as useful in Florida in the summer, but would be great up north when it’s a little colder so you can really bundle in. Looking forward to trying those out.
• The version I got has easy to use tree straps which have one closer loop to attach around a tree, post, or whatever else you can find which is sturdy enough to hold you up and a bunch of other attachment loops so you can make sure an attach nice and taunt depending on how far you need them to be.
• You also get carabiners with your High Hopes Hammock which most other brands charge extra for…
• You can then undo the carabiners on either end and then lay the “Hammock” out as a blanket
• Definitely the best feature of this hammock is that for every hammock you get the company donates a hammock and/or funds to help combat homelessness around the world. Which is really pretty awesome.

I give the High Hopes Hammock, Orange and Blue Cocoon Hammock with Straps 4/5 stars!