Best RV Parks & Resorts near Branford, FL

We stopped at Lucky Charm for 2 nights! What an awesome spot. There are large beautiful trees with Spanish moss all over the property. Every site is a Pull-thru and very long. Can easily fit Class A's or Big 5th wheels. Full hook-ups. They have a pool, bathhouse, and laundry facilities. The owners were great. We arrived in the dark and they guided us by flashlight to our spot. We would stay there again and highly recommend Lucky Charm RV Park.

Alright, it’s KOA, so if a fabricated outdoor ‘camping moment’ is what you are after and don’t mind the concocted grounds you are on and want an easy-breezy no frills outing underneath the stars you will encounter, then the KOA pitstop located in Starke (NE of Gainesville) has you covered. You’ll find this commercially-produced camping outpost right off the worn pavement of highway 301, which runs right through north central Florida is easy to find, conveniently sandwiched between the Murray Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership to the south and the Tractor Supply Co due north (but don’t worry, there’s also an IHOP right across the street, completing this concrete jungle campground adventure). 

This camping depot is too well organized for my taste and has over 100 slots perfect for the RV and trailer parking crowd, 5 spots for tent campers (unfortunately, nearest the highway – so bring your earplugs!) along with 2 cabins and 2 studio lodges. The standard RV slots are on Elm, Oak, Pine, Maple and Hickory, while the more premium sites are located on Walnut, Chestnut, Magnolia and Spruce. Big Birch lane separates coach class camping from first class – but hey, we’re all out in nature, so is there really a divide? 

Amenities? And while this KOA is older and battle-worn more than most of the other properties I have driven by, this also has a ton of amenities, including: a heated pool, complete with lounge chairs and sun umbrellas, community fire pit, game room, dog parks(one for bigger breed and one for small pups), horse shoe pit, shuffleboard, playground and swings, sandbox, propane filling station, picnic tables, bocce ball, designated trash and recycling bins, nature trails, WiFi, Cable / TV as well as full RV hook-ups including water, sewage and electric (30 / 50 amp). For anyone that is in need of anything they may have forgotten or run out of (like all KOA’s) there’s a mini-mart on-premise that has ice, wood, sodas and just about anything else you could think of (and for anything they don’t have, there’s a Walmart and Ace Hardware so close you could just walk to either). And don’t worry if by chance you forgot your RV, trailer or tent – if you are in need of somewhere to call home for the night, this KOA has you covered as they rent a few studio lodges and rustic cabins. 

Insider’s Tips? Here’s a few: (1) If you are on the look-out for a REAL camping experience and don’t want to settle for this KOA manufactured experience … then don’t. There are options! Within a 30 minute drive of here, I would recommend Mike Roess Gold Head Brand State Park, which is simply FANTASTIC and provides more than 5 different campgrounds from primitive to RV-heavy and everything in-between; (2) When you get tired of foraging for the next meal from your onboard RV cooler, then head into the town of Starke for some local grub, wherein I highly recommend anything from the ‘Swamp Things’ portion of the menu at Cedar River Seafood, where afterwards you can finish the meal off with a scoop of the cold stuff at nearby Strickland’s; and (3) If you are looking to experience some of the best nature in the area, be sure to check out either Camp Chowenwaw Park and Black Creek Park and Trail, both conveniently located just due northeast of KOA Starke/ NE Gainesville. 

Happy Camping!

If you find yourself in north central Florida and looking for a place to ‘drop anchor’ for the night, then you should give Gainesville RV Park some consideration. While not actually located in Gainesville (it’s about 30 minutes northeast from the home of 'The Swamp' - a.k.a. University of Florida), which depending upon your particular situation, is either a benefit (because this will surely be a cheaper option than what you will find in Gainesville proper) or downside, as there really isn’t too much out this way apart from the light hum of cars coursing along the fairly slow-moving traffic that can be found along Highway 301.

As for this RV parking lot itself, Gainesville RV Park gets HIGH points for offering up a highly secured RV camping outpost – upon arrival, you will be greeted by a well-fortified sliding gate that only guests will be able to access with a respective key code (provided upon check-in). To the side of this entrance is the main office (here is also where the bathhouses are located, which I found to be somewhat odd and inconvenient, especially if you are located at the furthest extremities of the campground) where you’ll check-in and be given your particular slot # and a map for your stay. Upon entry, you’ll head straight forward with one circular loop (intersected with 3 single lanes) of the campground to the left and beyond this, beyond the small pond, is a second loop (also dissected by 3 single lanes) in the far west and returning back towards the entrance you’ll discover a massive standing open-air lodge (a.k.a. Rec Hall) with dozens of picnic tables, air hockey and community BBQ grills. Here near the lodge there are about 4-5 individual tent camping spaces(located just due north of the Rec Hall), with nothing more than water spigots and electrical outlets, but honestly, this whole campground is really geared towards those that are pitching a mobile RV camping outpost. 

Amenities: pull-through or back-in RV sites with full hook-ups(30/ 50 electrical, water and sewage), picnic tables, independent party space for private events, fire ring w/ fold-over grill, standing BBQ grill, trash & recycling bins, remote dump station, propane refueling station, catch & release fishing pond, pet park, shaded community grill area, washing sink, scattered water spigots, basic WiFi (which is slow, but you can upgrade to premium for a small surcharge), satellite access, coin-operated laundry facility, shower / restrooms and flat earth pads to park your RV on. You’ll want to note that Gainesville RV Park is working on installing a swimming pool, but no construction on this was seen during our visit. Prices per night for RV parking slots – of which there are 154 to choose from (not including the tent spots) – range from $55 to $65. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few:(1) If exotic animal sightings are in your ‘game plans’ during your outing (and why wouldn’t it be after all the drama Netflix has dished out about this seedy industry here in northern Florida?!), then give thought to heading about 15 minutes northwest to Carson Springs Wildlife Conservation Sanctuary, where you can meet up with jaguars, cheetahs, lions, tigers, pumas, lynx, caracal (yeah, look that one up!) and even a leopard (rarest of all the big cats) along with the more sedate rhinos, hyenas, kune pigs, bat-eared fox and lemurs; (2) Traveling with kayak or canoe and looking for a nice aquatic launching pad? While you won’t be able to do anything at the small pond at Gainesville RV Park, just due south you can access Lake Alto Park, which has some decent oaring potential, but if you are looking for something larger, keep on heading southwest to Lake Sante Fe, where the fishing is quite good; (3) If you’ve never done off-roading or tried your hand at rally racing, then head on over to Florida International Rally & Motorsport Park where you can race your own cars or better, rent one of theirs!; (4) Want to check out a natural spring (or don’t even know what one is?!), then head on over to nearby High Springs where you can snorkel in 72 degree waters … year-round; (5) The best sites at Gainesville RV Park include: PO4 – 16 (basically all the pond front sites) as well as W1– W18, which is kind of surprising as they are the cheaper slots, but back up to the treeline and are furthest away from any roads / noise; and (6) If you’re looking for some decent dine-in or carryout after giving up on what to prepare for you next meal, restaurant offerings out in these parts will be scarce with either unexciting options (think Subway, Wendy’s) or small-town bespoke haunts like Waves Crab House or Randy’s Rib Shack. You should check out Classic Café, which is just OK and located right in front and to the right of Gainesville RV Park. 

Happy Camping!

It was our pleasure and privilege to stay with Lake City RV Resort. I spoke briefly with the maintenance/grounds person and I hope he passed on that I said your resort was beautiful and was well maintained as any I have seen. So thank you very very much for everything you do to make it such a great experience for us.

Right next to I-10. Extremely convenient.

Exceptionally clean facilities with strong focus on sanitation and Covid prevention.

Fun outdoor games including human foosball.

Heavily shaded under tall pines.

Easy and close 20,30,50 hookups, water and sewer.

Fully equipped clubhouse complete with shuffleboard.

Easy checking/checkout.

Quiet, respectful neighbors.

Quick overnight, good cable, warm showers friendly folks. Would stay long term and come back anytime rolling through Florida.

The campground has cabins, RV hookups and tent sites. It's nothing to write home about. It was just convenient to be close to the springs since it's a decent drive from any other major city in Florida. The springs themselves are quite cold so in the end we didn't spend that much time swimming - we probably could have driven back home and not camped after all. The Devil's Den itself is very neat to see, definitely worth going to at least once to snorkel or scuba dive. But if you can drive back to wherever you're staying, I would! I only took pics of the spring and not of the campground unfortunately. Enjoy!

Sadly we are only staying one night. Staff is friendly. Very affordable. Full hook up. WiFi cable. 27$ Laundry. Pets welcome. No amenities like pool or club house but you can’t beat the price. Clean also.

Older but still fun. Lazy river needs refurbished. Tons to do a lot of planned activities if you want to participate. Fishing full hook ups. Easy to get around just walking. Nice bathhouses. We will be back.

We found this campground on the national forest website and had planned to stay one week maybe two. Once we got here we found it seemingly crowded, but for good reason, it's got plenty of sites that are filled most of the time with avid travelers who know this is a good spot. There are many volunteers and they keep it quite clean. They have 60 or so sites 15 are electric. There are 2 bath houses each with bathrooms, washer and dryer and 4 showers each. Everyone here seems to be long term travelers and good company. If your passing through this part of Florida its a great stop but it may take a day or two for a electric spot to open up. Lake city is about 30 mins away and you can get any supplies you may need there. In the end we're maxing out our stay at 30 days because this campground is great. We're planning on coming back here on our way out of Florida.

Granted this was our first RV park so we have no benchmark but this park was awesome. Sites are large and level. Hookups are well located and organized. Amenities include a large heated pool, hot tub, grist mill and activities.

KOA - Stark, FL: We spent Christmas Eve here on our way to south Florida. Bill greeted us, took us to our site, guided us in. Very friendly reception. I love it when you meet some one who really enjoys the work they do. A crazy storm came through and the temperature dropped drastically, but awoke in the morning and continue our trip. A few things of note: campground is very clean and well kept, staff is super friendly and helpful, no campfire pits or grills at the sites. There is a central area if want a fire. Full hook-ups at most sites. Sites fairly close together and not much privacy, but we liked it enough to stay here again on News Years Day (on our way back home). Bill was just as helpful the second time.

We stopped in here on our way to Stone Mountain, coming from south Florida. It is conveniently located right off of I-75N with some restaurants nearby. Pull through full hook up site with cable. After checking in you follow someone on a golf cart to your spot. Bathroom facilities are adequate, need a facelift. Wife had some cockroach visitors while showering… I didn’t see any in the Mens shower. Could’ve been a water bug? They have a animal rescue on site that you can go an feed them, pretty cool. Cellular spotty (T-Mobile)…

Newer Rv park owners converted from a former mobil home park. New gravel roads and pads. Newer electric service. Sites are level with picnic tables. Super nice couple owns and maintains this campground.