Best Tent Camping near Crystal River, FL

The park was beautiful with tons of mossy oaks, we camped in a tent, but the bathrooms were close, there was an outlet and a water faucet near to wash our dishes. I didn't see any manatees but the spring was beautiful and cold. Pretty hiking trails and a boat launch, the raccoons loved my husband's boat.

Nice place, relatively quiet. Little light pollution. Sites are very spacious. Close and clean facilities. Saw a good bit of wildlife: deer and wild boar. Hiking and biking trials. I regular tent sites (which are also hammock friendly). Also have cabins for rent. Prices are on the lower end, $17 a night for tent sites. Only reason for the 4 start is the reservation system has to be done through the county park and rec sites.

The people are friendly and the fishing is great. Tent sites are primitive but there is a bath house.

The photo associated with this description is a picture of the cedar key tourist area- not Shell Mound Campground.  However, situated approximately 4 miles away, Shell Mound is an incredible camp site for tent camping, RV camping, kayak camping.  It’s a county run park and only 10$ night for tent camping or pickup truck camping.  It has a clean bath for men and for women and hot showers for both.   Boat ramp only usable at high tide- otherwise need your airboat to slide up in low tide.  Short hiking trails just to the south through the salt marshes and amazing archaeological mounds and history in walking distance. This is the best of Florida.  At night, grab dinner and drinks in cedar key and come back to your camp site next your fire. Sleep good listening to crickets, owls, and other critters. Wake up to the glorious sun rising over the salt marshes! Use this site as a home base to explore the Lower Suwannee wilderness areas owned by the federal and state governments!

State park off the beaten path. Rv sites can be tight, lots of tent sites. Springs area is small but cave divers are always there. Make sure you check for ticks.

Quiet, lots of wildlife (wild horses, bison, alligators, deer, birds, turtles); plenty of hiking and biking trails with beautiful sunsets on the lake. Restroom facilities are showing some age but clean.  Walk-in tent sites are pretty close to the Restrooms.

Nice little country park. Cash Only. Primitive tent sites, Electric & Electric & Water Sites.

$10, $20 & $25. Accommodates 30 Amp hook ups only. Limited to 7 day stay.

Boat ramp, fish cleaning station, playground, restroom & showers.  city of Cedar Key approx 15 minute drive.

We stayed here over the winter and we were pleasantly surprised! The spaces were relatively private, and the bathrooms were neat and tidy and there was water and trash on site. We tent camped and after enjoying the springs we went and had dinner 5 minutes away! This is a great spot because you feel secluded but you can run to a lot of nice restaurants and grab groceries nearby! We will be back. 

My daughter and I tent camped on Mother's Day weekend. The grounds were booked but from our spot, we still had privacy and quiet. Spaces were level and came with a picnic table, fire pit, plenty of trees and wildlife! We hiked through about 8 miles of trails, walked the boardwalks through the Springs and enjoyed the beautiful springs themselves! Bathrooms were clean and the ones we were closest to weren't busy.

Except for the noise of the highway, you would never guess you were 10 minutes from a major metropolitan city. The campground is very private with lots of trees and palms separating sites, especially in the tent loops. The tent sites are walk in, with some closer than others. I took site #23 for the night, which was set back just enough to the private, but not so far as to really haul my gear. Each tent site has a numbered parking space as well. There seemed to be about 10-12 tent only sites and the remainder of the 50 sites had hook-ups for RVs. The bathhouse was clean and modern, and well taken care of. 

A two mile hike will take you the visitors center, from which you can climb the observation tower to look over the prairie and have access to several trails. It was really wet when I was there which meant that several trails were partially closed. But I still managed to hike several miles over several trails. I never did see the Cracker Wild Spanish Horses or the bison, but did see lots of signs in the form of poop. I also didn’t see any gators, but did get to see lots of birds of various size and variety.

If you’re tent camping in the tent-only walk-in sites, site 60 is definitely the most private (farthest from the lot but still a short walk in on a paved path). Bathrooms are two single stall/shower combos, but never too crowded. Campground is good for paddling, especially for renting from the concessions (they have single and tandem kayaks, SUP, and canoes). It’s a drive and a separate entrance to get to the head springs area of the park, though there is a small roped off swim area by the boat ramp. We went before tubing opens (April 1 each year), so the Rainbow was less crowded and stunningly clear and emerald.

We rented a tent campsite for 5 nights. We had such a fantastic time here. What fantastic facilities. Bathrooms nice and clean and modern. Campsites large with hookups. The spring is beautiful. We saw manatees and otters. Lots of wildlife. Rented a super cheap kayak and had a great time on the river. Also went hiking on all the trails. So much to do and the staff were super friendly and helpful! We can't wait to come and camp here again.

I rated this park a four, only because it's not really meant for a long stay for tent campers or for a lot of activities. There is a beautiful lake that you can canoe/kayak/boat on, and a great trail that runs along side of it, but it is super close to I75. I am a heavy sleeper, and actually appreciate "white noise" but for others tent camping, it may be inconvenient. I would recommend this as for a one night stop for travelers or for RV's only. There isn't a visitors center and check-in is by honor code. Dogs are allowed so this is always nice for me! There is also dirt biking trails, which is something you don't always see and nice to have. Other that water activities there wasn't much to do on site. Locally and near by is the Dade City Battlefield, which was really interesting and historic information about Florida. There is also an ancient oak tree in the middle of the park which was beautiful! I'd recommend visiting if you stay at this park.

This park is more than just a glass bottom boat tour. Within the park radius—> You have the “Silver Springs Attraction”, the state campground with all it’s hiking/biking trails, Silver River kayaking/paddling , a small museum and lots of history at this park. Then within an aprox 6mile radius (easy biking) you can enjoy Majorie Cross Greenway,Florida Trail, Swamp Lake trails and the state park equestrian trails. Wow! RV and tent sites -some with full hook up and really nice cabins. This was some the best kayaking up and down river....both ways were a joy to paddle. (Watch our kayaking the silver river video on our YouTube channel...resident manatees are often seen on river!!) We were here in a 34 foot Class A with only 2 bikes and 2 kayaks Happy Camping www.travylcouple.com

When we arrived at tent campsite #32 we were shocked to see how close each site was to one another, with no trees or vegetation to create any sort of privacy. Our fire pit and picnic table were about 5 feet from one of the tents at the site next to our’s. When we noticed liquors bottles everywhere at our neighboring site, we packed up, knowing it would be a long, noisy night. We went to the rangers station to find another open site, but they required a fee. We left without a refund and probably won’t come back for camping, although the trails were beautiful.

I love this place! Even though you can't bring your dogs here (Cypress Glenn you can - it's just down the road, but not as secluded and more for RV's). There are a few group campsites here and some side by side, but most of the sites are secluded with dense forest in between each site. Tent camping only, with a picnic table, fire ring and water faucet. You have a bath house you can get to by walking and it has hot water in the fall and winter months. You are right near the Withlacoochee river and there are lots of trails to walk around and visit. You have some walk up sites (2) and the others you will need to reserve ahead of time. Love the wildlife around here. We don't have the time to travel as far as we would like