Best Equestrian Camping near Branford, FL

We stayed in site #38 it's a shaded site with water & electric. There is a picnic table & a fir pit the fire pit was a little to close to the camper to have a fire. It is a very quiet and woodsy campground. There isn't much real close by so grocery before you get there.  There are some hikes in the park that are good you can see wild horses near the lookout tower sometimes and along the paths.  There is a dump station onsite.

There are several places to go observe the wetlands, shorebirds and gators can be seen. If you drive to North Paynes Prairie you will see lots of Gators, Bison and wild horses and certain times of the year White Pelicans. The trail along the lake & creeks are loaded with gator once you head to the back lookout tower you will see Bison & Wild Horses. We counted 150 gators in a mile & a half. If you google horse stomping gator in Paynes Prairie you will see a great video. 

On the way to the North Prairie you pass Sweetwater preserve it's loaded with all kinds of birds from Woodstorks, Herons, Egrets, Hawks, Ibis and Sora's. You can spend hours there watching the birds. There are some gators but nothing like North Prairie.

Watched the sunset for the picnic area on the lake.

I imagine that Suwannee Music Park Campground was borne out of the wonderful brainchild idea of someone who was fortunate enough to attend the original Woodstock back in ’69 and after leaving the upstate NY experience, woke up 3,000 miles away here on the shores of the Suwannee and said to themselves,“hey, why not try to create that experience here in NW Florida?!” And thus, this nature-embracing outdoor musical playground was given birth.

Let’s begin with the sheer size of this place: with 800+ acres and over 600 campsites to choose from, this thickly wooded sprawling campground expanse is massive. And when it comes to the camping itself, no matter what type you might be thinking of - from RV and 5th Wheelers to those towing Horse Trailers and, Primitive Camping and Treehouses as well as Cabins for lease, every type of outdoor camping is offered here.

The major attraction here, apart from the live music performances that get booked very frequently in this camping outpost, is the direct access you’ll have to the historic Cypress tree-lined Suwannee River, which is nothing short of fantastic if you enjoy paddling a kayak or canoe. If you are looking for something just as active but different, there’s a dedicated disc golf course as well as endless miles of trails, perfect for hiking and biking.

Other amenities include: horse stables, children’s playground, covered pavilions, a bird sanctuary, chapel, small lake with fishing dock (catch & release only), bat house (apparently the largest in the US), tree house, craft village, boat launch, barn museum, drum circle, horse wash / manure disposal, arcade game room with pinball machine, live music pavilions, shelters, potable water stations, karaoke, riverside beach, viewable bee hives, golf cart rental, designated dump stations, WiFi, on-site cafe and general store (firewood, ice, beer, T-shirts, hats and caps), bar and music hall, pickin’ shed, geocaching, rock waterfall, first aid stations, swimming pool (that also serves up ice cream and pizza poolside), multiple music stages, restrooms and shower facilities and Suwannee River dock. For the RV crowd, Suwanee Music Park offers 20 / 30 / 50 amp electric, water and sewage hook-ups.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a handful: (1) Despite being pretty far removed from civilization for those really wanting to embrace a nice chunk of untouched nature, I have to admit this place was overwhelmed with golf carts when we visited, which really takes away from the ambiance of being out in nature in the first place IMHO. Many times this place felt more like the Villages (the world's largest and most well-heeled retirement community located south of here in central Florida) than a remote camping outpost; (2) Should you need anything, the town of Live Oak is just a 20 minute drive south of here wherein you’ll find just about everything you are looking for, including a Busy Bee for excellent bathrooms, showers and laundry facilities, Walmart Supercenter and Publix for groceries as well as just OK restaurants like Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, Zaxby’s and a Waffle House, but for actual really good food, keep on heading south to the center of town where you’ll find Big Wood BBQ & Grill, The 406 or Brown Lantern; (3) If you were fascinated by the drama, murder and mayhem on the Netflix series Tiger King, then head south of Live Oak to Mystic Jungle where you can see all of their amazing wild cats that normally you would only be able to see while on safari; (4) For my primitive tent pitching bredren, of all the amazing places to consider here, I would strongly recommend those primitive camping spots that are either located near the Bat House over just north and west of Farm Field or the primitive camping sites just east of Spirit Lake; (5) Only downsides include: very overcrowded in some places, lots of bugs (so be sure to bring the Citronella!), uneven land to pitch a tent in the primitive camping area, RV sites are pretty close to one another, WiFi is intermittent and weak in many places, ‘golf carts gone wild’ scenarios, lots of restrictions and rules (destroys that Woodstock vibe I thought we would find here), dated bathrooms will take you back to the 1970s; (6) Upsides include: incredibly friendly staff, very close to Highway 10 making this spot very easy and quick to access, incredibly well-stocked general store; and (7) For best bat viewing, come at dusk to watch them leave by the tens of thousands turning the sky dark, and then come before dawn to watch them all return while sipping your Americano in a lawn chair.

Happy Camping!

I would say that most people who go camping like the outdoors and love the wildlife. Well I would say my favorite part was the wild horses that roamed the wetlands. I happened to go when there was a new born calf and oh my goodness was he cute! You can literally walk along the wetland trail and stand right next to a horse! They don"t approach you (and I wouldn't recommend doing so either) but it definitely got my blood pumping being next to such a majestic creature. Wild bison also roam the prairie, but I did not see any while I was there. The visitor center would have an update of what animals were viewed most recently and they had a variety of activities to do inside (for kids to!). I especially like the tower that looked over the wetlands.

The campsites were a good size however unlike a lot of places, you could not park your car directly in your site. There were 4-5 sites in a group and parking was in a "lot" of 7-8 spaces in front of the sites. This was a little inconvenient for unpacking and repacking purposes. Also, if you have a car tent (or sleep in your car), you would not have been able to use it because of this.

There were also good trails that went through the campground for hiking and biking (and like I mentioned above, a beautiful trail along the prairie. Dogs were not allowed on this trail). A nearby lake allowed for fishing and kayaking, canoeing and boating.