Citra is an ideal place for camping adventures of all kinds. Citra is filled with the activities, sights, and experiences to make everyone in your crew a happy camper. Get the dirt on all the best camping near Citra. Browse campgrounds by amenities, site types, and more.
"Very nice Primitive campground . Great shade trees and tent spots. Has vault bathrooms that are kept pretty clean. No running water but has a hand pump well."
"The Florida trail is close by."
"This very unassuming county-run wildlife area sits on 13,000+ acres of thick wilderness and wetlands offering a number of different hiking trails, like Outhouse Hammock Loop, which is medium-grade level"
$9 / night
"Just off the Palatka-Lake Butler Bike trail. Campgrounds are About 4 miles in on bikeable hard roads. Six Sites have picnic tables, lots of room, fire ring with grate, bbq grills, a latrine nearby."
"Located just about 20 minutes due northwest of Palatka – dubbed ‘Florida’s State Farmers Market’ where you will easily discover that this north central town is teeming with fresh agriculture every which"
"Set of primitive spots near lake. Main road entry is packed dirt; smaller access road to sites is two-track about 1/4 mile through woods — very narrow tree clearance. 4WD recommended."
"Very narrow trails but really easy access, you will leave with some new pinstripes"
"There is a designated area to leave vehicles, and the sites on the river are walk in only. The area is open, but you can no longer pull your vehicle in next to your campsite. "
"Hands-down my new favorite camping spot in Florida. Free, primitive, private, secluded. Pet-friendly, hammock friendly, boat friendly, fire friendly, & more."
"To get to the camp site:
- go to the Circle K linked below
https://goo.gl/maps/qCoojcRZWhjXTjC77
- use google maps walking directions to get to Flying Eagle Preserve."
"Hiking trails horse area. Fire rings and picnic tables. Bathroom needs work.."
"There are many different types of cabins available for rent, tent sites and 9 tree houses. Each area set up as a grouping with a bathhouse and kitchen pavilion. "
"Definitely Different and Unique for Florida. And the perfect place to review my icemulecoolers.com
Campground Review:
Camp Chowenwaw is located in Green Cove Springs, FL adjacent to the St."
"If you’re hauling water gear or want to hike/backpack a section of the Florida Scenic Trail (FL Keys to GA state line), this is a lovely place to hang out on the small lake."
RangerFantastic campground and recreation area. Over 150 campsites, one area full hookups with all amenities and other area for tent camping. Sites have lots of space and majority have shade trees with moss flowing in the breeze. All sites have picnic table, lantern pole, grill, and fire ring. We have 2 golden retrievers and had plenty of space to spare. Beautiful stars out at night. Bathhouses are large, clean, hot showers. Trailer sites were full and only a few tent campers this time of year. Tent sites are complete with Bear boxes at each site. Camp hosts and management were very friendly and helpful.
Saw manatees kayaking in the spring and river on premises. Spring area has a boardwalk around it. People swam with them too. Saw bald eagle catching fish, lots of birds, some fish, etc. Has a small boat launch and marina. Can tent kayaks. Great place for bikes. A few hiking trails were well maintained.
Convenient location to lots of springs to visit and things to do. Visited Silver Springs, Blue Springs, Juniper Spring to name a few. All within 1 hr drive.
Not sure how summer time is, but this late February time was Awesome. 40-50 at night and 60s in the day! This is a must stay place.
Legend**Campground Review: **
Bayard Conservation Area is located in Green Cove Springs Florida and is maintained by the St. Johns River Water Management District. It is a track of land that has many hiking trails that traverse through shaded pine forests, hammocks, marsh, and river areas.
We have day hiked here many times, but this trip we were going to do some primitive camping at one of the campsites. There are several areas to park and then hike in. The campsites are a few miles from the parking area. They include a fire ring and a picnic table. The campsites have several different settings, but we chose the river view. On our way to our campsite we were able to spot many animals including: deer, otter, turkey, and wild pigs.
The area is kept clean and is quiet with the exception of a bit of noise pollution from the surrounding area. However, this does not distract from the experience. We enjoyed our overnight backcountry trip and highly recommend Bayard.
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**Product Review: **
As a Dyrt Ranger I receive products from time-to-time and this time I am testing out the Pureland 30L Guard Backpack sold by Outdoor Element.
There are so many things to love about this backpack. The extensive cording and hooks on the outside made attaching extra items a breeze. I was able to store my trekking poles and Jetboil on the back with no problem. The hip pockets were an added plus and fit my cellphone inside of it easily. The room inside of the backpack was able to hold everything I needed for an overnight trip– including my bulky sleeping bag. The only two things that took away from the backpack was the inside zipper and the water pouch. The zipper on the inside of the bag came off the track with only a light pull while the bag was empty. It did not have the integrity that the zippers on the outside had. My 3.0L reservoir would not fit all the way in the provided pouch and hung out the top a bit. After the whole trip, I sincerely love this pack and will be using it for all of my hiking and primitive camping needs!!
LegendPROS
A camp host came to our site immediately after we unhitched to advise that our one tow vehicle tire on the grass will get us a $250 fine from US Forest Service officer. Funny, we never ever saw a USFS officer patrolling the campground.
Entrance gates closed at 8pm requiring code to enter
Immaculately maintained park. A small army of maintenance staff always working. Even one night at 930pm in the bathroom.
Saved $156 with America the Beautiful pass
Site 32 shady
Asphalt parking pad surrounded with sandy gravel
Moveable metal picnic table
Pedestal BBQ grill
High sided metal fire ring with 2 unremovable cooking grates
One hook lantern pole
Campfire wood for sale at registration office
No street lights in campground so good dark sky viewing if neighbors have their rig lights off which most nights they were lit up which also lit up surrounding campsites
Able to get T-MOBILE signal on our T-MOBILE WIFI device
Many squirrels ate from our hand
CONS
In 8 days never saw a USFD vehicle drive thru the campground
$8 fee to make on-line reservations
Site 32 not level
Absolutely no privacy from any other site
In 20 degree exterior temperatures, both campground bathhouses had windows open, whole house fans operating in full capacity and ceiling fans operating on high. Obvious park maintenance does NOT want anyone taking a shower when interior bathhouse temperatures were in the 30s and the bathhouse was a freezing wind tunnel! It was even difficult using the toilet.
Loud and rowdy campers all weekend long—day and night. Quiet hours not enforced
Highway 19 traffic noise
USFD clearing project on east side of campground. Heavy equipment noise for 9 straight hours day after day!!!
No notice water outage for 2 hours
No park WiFi
No T-MOBILE cell service
No public phone for emergency calls
LegendSawgrass Island Preserve is a unique piece of property. I love hiking on the north side of the property it looks so much like Old Florida. I like to go across the causeway and down the Bog Button Trail and over to the Hammock Trail and along the Cactus Trail and down around the ponds and back out the Bent Pine Trail. This is around a five mile hike and can be stretched out by doing the North Loop Trail also . I have seen several whitetail deer, sandhill cranes, lots of other birds, quail, and some turkeys while hiking. I also saw a black bear up a tree in the marsh. It is a hidden gem for sure. The south side is nice but gets super sandy in places due to horseback riders. And if you have horses the preserve allows riders and even has a spot or two with water for the horses and some picnic areas with hitching post to tie off horse and have some time to eat. Some trails are narrow and give the feel of actually walking in, in the woods! I haven't camped there but they have two primitive campsites on the Hammock Trail near the marsh with a fire ring, picnic table, and lantern post. There is also a horse campsite along the Cactus Trail down near the ponds and there is an open pole barn with two roomy stalls for horses and picnic tables and a fire ring with benches. Also room to pitch tent under barn too. There is no water available at any of the campsites. Could be a fun adventure waiting in Old Florida. There is a camping application to fill out on line at www.lcwa.org and a small fee, but if everything checks out ok at the end of the stay after a Ranger has had a chance to check out the site your fee is refunded.
TravelerWe hiked extensively in this tract and used Mutual Mine campground as one of our stop-overs. Very nice, open, flat areas to pitch tents and close to hiking trails. Fire ring at each site, options to hang your hammock. Bathrooms but no showers. Free potable water. You can also pull in a trailer but this is not a full-commercial type campground. More a cross between that and primitive camping…….perfect for backpackers!!
LegendWe found this fun family friendly location from a facebook post about Tree house camping and had to check it out. Making reservations was pretty easy on the county website. There are a number of forms you will be emailed to print and fill out(will save you a lot of time if you plan to use the pool that is run by YMCA)
Check in was easy. The office is closed form 12– 1 so no chance of checking in early. There is a Girl Scout Museum near the main office where you check is– but is rarely open. This was an old girl scout camp and now id open to the public. There are many different types of cabins available for rent, tent sites and 9 tree houses. Each area set up as a grouping with a bathhouse and kitchen pavilion.
The tree houses were so fun to stay in and being higher up gave us chances of a breeze– many in our group brought battery operated fans. Though there was a threat of rain all weekend we stayed high and dry in the tree houses(2 sides are only screened)
There was a very large lighted screened kitchen pavilion with fireplace, stove, fridge, sinks and covered outdoor grill. There were other campers in the tree house area we shared this community area with. It was great to have a place to hang out during the rainy evenings. Bath house was centrally located and clean.
Pool was very nice and very strictly run by the local“Y”. It was closed a lot due to distant rumbles of thunder but we did get a few minutes to enjoy.
Trails were well kept and took you through the property and past many of the grouped cabin areas. One boardwalk took you out to the river and fishing dock another out through the area by the tree houses.
It was a good 10 minute hike with our gear to get to the tree houses from parking area near pool. Wagons are provided but pack light to save the trouble.
Summertime this place is a kids paradise. There were lots of families, parties and groups on the property when we went. Fall and Winter we are told is the best time to camp here but we were advised to book early!
Remember to Leave No Trace and enjoy this one of a kind experience!
LegendFlorida has many many different camping options. I was looking for something unique and different from what I'd done before and this place popped up on my radar. Definitely Different and Unique for Florida. And the perfect place to review my icemulecoolers.com
Campground Review:
Camp Chowenwaw is located in Green Cove Springs, FL adjacent to the St. John's River and on Black Creek. It was a Girl Scout Camp for 70 years and is now owned and operated by Clay County, FL (https://www.claycountygov.com/departments/parks-and-recreation/camp-chowenwaw-park). There are many different styles of camping available here with lots of privacy between the different sections.
I chose to camp in the Treehouse Point for a weekend where there are 9 Treehouses available for camping. A group of us went and had Treehouse #4 and #5. Each screened in non electric Treehouse slept 4 in bunk beds. There were several central fire rings with a picnic table/benches throughout the unit. A shared bathhouse with toilets, sinks, lights, and hot showers was available in the unit also. There was a central dining hall for all of Treehouse Point with electric, lights, fans, inside fireplace, stove, refrigerator, sink area, and porch with outside charcoal grill and picnic table.
Even with sharing the dinning hall with other campers it was great since it was big enough and everyone was friendly. The Treehouses are spread out with some trees in between so they are semi private. The pool is available but doesn't open til 10 am where as we were all ready to go earlier since it was HOT. It was very enjoyable but HOT in July with no electric in the Treehouses. We had no issues with mosquitoes or yellow flies and the frogs serenaded us every night loudly, so that was a cool experience. We had decided not to take kayaks since there was a bit of a walk into our area and we didn't want to leave them in the parking area on our vehicles, which turned out to be a good decision because the kayak launch was under repairs. They are planning on upgrading a lot so it should be great soon. They recently upgraded and replaced the fishing pier and its awesome. We are planning to go again in the Fall when its cooler. I would recommend this place for a unique experience. On a side note: Green Cove Springs has a pool also in a community park on the St. John's River that is spring fed and would be a cool stop.
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Product Review:
As a Ranger for The Dyrt, I get to test products. A Camp Chowenwaw I tested the icemulecoolers.com. I got the ICEMULE Pro XL (33L which equals 24 cans plus ice) in Camo.
1. What I loved about the ICEMULE was that I could wear it like a backpack and be comfortable and free my hands for something else.
2. I loved that the straps were wide and comfortable.
3. I also loved that the chest cross strap could be moved up and down to make it more comfortable for women to use the chest cross strap.
4. The straps had lots of room to make smaller or larger so it will be great fit for a variety of people and body styles.
5. It kept my ice solid for three days in the FL heat.
6. It has a port to add air to enhance the coolers insulation.
7. It holds A LOT!! I had 9 bottles of Propel water and 2 bags of grapes and 1 whole bag of ice. It wasn't too heavy and there was room for much more.
Only draw back I had was that the camo style is fabric and tends to sweat a lot. The other colors are vinyl and don't seem to sweat.
I'm ready to use my ICEMULE Cooler again. I even want to take it kayaking and get some more accessories for it from their site like a dry bag and a waterproof box.
LegendPROS
Dark sky friendly-no street lights in campground
100% gravel site
Metal fire ring with cooking grate
Moveable wood and metal picnic table
2 hook lantern pole
Security gate that closed at dusk with code provided for entrance
Some privacy from neighbors
Coin washers/dryers at the campground bathhouse
3 bars T-MOBILE
CONS
No senior or military discount
No campground WIFI
Site 11 very unlevel
Gravel roads to and thru campground
Tight campground road
Horrible traffic noise from US 441
TravelerGreat place to boondock! Spent 3 nights here by the pavilion. There are about 5 spots in the “primitive” camping area. Plenty of privacy and a kayak launch area. Spots have fire rings and a couple have picnic tables. Porta potty is clean. The back-country area was recently gated so RVs can no longer camp there. It’s now designated as tent-camping only. It’s a huge open space with entrances to walking trails and beautiful views of the river. The back-country area has an outhouse. It’s easy to get to and very quiet other than other campers and periodic airboats that zoom by.
Tent camping near Citra, Florida offers a unique opportunity to immerse yourself in nature while enjoying the great outdoors. With a variety of campgrounds nearby, you can find the perfect spot to pitch your tent and unwind.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular tent campsite near Citra, FL?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Citra, FL is Lake Delancy East NF Campground with a 4-star rating from 3 reviews.
What is the best site to find tent camping near Citra, FL?
TheDyrt.com has all 38 tent camping locations near Citra, FL, with real photos and reviews from campers.
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