Best Equestrian Camping near Daytona Beach, FL

Equestrian campsites are nice and spacious, most sites are fairly big-rig friendly. The equestrian campsites have a garbage or two, fire ring, picnick table, 14 x 14 horse pens (uncovered but must are shaded), and some have a high-line (though ill strung). Most of the pens are kept in good repair, unfortunately my gate was off its hinges and had rusted sharp edges. I ended up wrapping it so my horse didn’t lacerate himself; this was a bit disappointing to see such disrepair in an otherwise pristine campground. Another pen had a dead and potentially dangerous limb hanging right over the area which was also unsafe. The bathrooms at the equestwian site were recently repainted and looked acceptably clean. Not the best I’ve seen but the update now makes them much more user friendly and less grimy. The grounds and trails are always very well kept. Would like to see the wild hog population controlled a bit more as we ran into a large group and saw the extensive damage the pigs left behind.

As you approach Welaka State Forest, it feels as though you’ve arrived ‘at the end of the line,’ and not in a bad sense either. Here, you’ll feel as though you’ve escaped the crowds, left the commercial world only to discover a truly pristine natural jewel. You’ll be overwhelmed by the incredibly loud silence and solitude of this far-reaching outpost and the moment that you’ve crossed the threshold (or the gravel road) entering Welaka State Forest, you’ll be incredibly grateful for the wide open expanse of the place and the communion with nature that it provides. 

Just due south of Welaka – where there’s a minute scattering of local eateries and distractions, this spot is fairly off the ‘beaten path,’ a good half hour south of Palatka in central Florida, along the banks of the historic St. Johns River. This federal turned state park was founded in 1935 (under the Federal Resettlement Administration) and today is both a major conservation area as well as fish hatchery for the State of Florida. In all, there’s 4 miles of river frontage area on the east bank of Little Lake George, making for some decent kayaking and canoeing, although most of this is fairly difficult to navigate as it’s swamp-like, where overgrown Cypress and Pine trees provide a very thick canopy of forested shade throughout. 

If you’ve got horses en towe, then you have hit the ‘lottery of equestrian campgrounds’ as Welaka State Forest is perhaps the most perfect place to camp if you’ve brought your four-legged steeds and looking for a place that offers up nearly 20 miles of equestrian trails for plenty of galloping, including the 6-mile Sandhill Horse Trail (part of the Florida Trailtrotter Program: www.fdacs.gov/Forest-Wildfire/Our-Forests/State-Forests/State-Forest-Recreation/Recreational-Activities/Horseback-Riding/Trailtrotter-Program)..) The campground here at Welaka State Park is made for you horse-loving outdoor enthusiasts and provides 2 – I repeat that 2 – 24 stall horse-ready stables, show horse stage, training area, along with 6 primitive campsites along with 5 full hook-up RV drive-through sites. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) If you are looking to get some hiking in, there’s 2 decent trails (both integrated into the Florida forest Service’s ‘Trailwalker Hiking Program’ with the first, Spring Trail, offering a short 2-mile loop that ends in Mud Springs and the second, John’s Landing Trail, offering either a 3.5 or 4 mile loop; (2) Not interested in hiking? Not a problem, you can follow the scenic Indian Pond Road from the comfort of your own vehicle. Near here there are 2 primitive campsites that you can rent that places you right on the St. John’s River; and (3) While this SP doesn’t have much to offer apart from encounters with nature, if you find yourself missing civilization, in less than a 5 minute drive, you can join a sweltering crowd at either Shrimp R Us or, for amazing river-front gnashing, check out Welaka Lodge & Resort (for more details on this particular campground, check out my review on The Dyrt on this site). 

Happy Camping!

When I planned my trip to the Smokies, I left the last few days open, so I could decide at a later time what kinda ✨vibe✨ I was feeling.

Would I want to travel through more of Tennessee and down through central Georgia, skipping North and South Carolinas entirely? Maybe spend some time in Asheville? Backtrack the same way I came? Wholly free spirited and wondrously stupid, given the holiday weekend.

But I learned on the way out that it takes about six and a half hours to drive from Miami to the state border on the most direct route, I-95, which is also the dullest route, so I wanted to break up that stretch on my way home. By the time I began planning my return leg of the trip, every campground within an hour of 95 was booked.

Then I can across Princess Place Preserve and it appeared to mainly be an equestrian campground from what I read, but I called them anyway. I don’t know any horse people, but they can’t be that bad, right? And luckily there were several sites still available, so I snagged one.

Well, this is not all what I expected and I haven’t seen a single horse or horse person since I’ve been here, but this place might be my ✨favorite campground of all time.✨ There are only 13 camp sites in the entire park and they are all spread out. The park doesn’t seem like it gets busy in general, but it closes to the public at 6 pm, so that means you basically have the next three hours of daylight to roam the entire place by yourself! And there’s ✨so much to roam!!✨There are so many trails and winding, sandy roadways to bike or hike that I squeezed every last ounce of sunlight out of the day. The peace and serenity that Princess Place provided was the perfect ending to this road trip.

If you’ve got one of those incredibly large mobile homes on wheels, then this particular RV location just off of Highway 414 near Hiawassee may just be the perfect spot for you. OK, there were a few tents here, but you could tell this place was really built for the mobile campers in mind. With 28 ample slanted, elongated parking lanes for your parking pleasure, all of the sites come equipped with the typical 30 / 50 amp electrical hook-ups, waste disposal and water connections. The bathrooms and shower facilities are clean and fairly well-maintained.

There’s the standard picnic table, garbage receptacles and even a community BBQ. The hosts are incredibly nice and offer pricing by the night, week and month. Overall, the community is inviting and friendly and there’s at times some planned activities, with most of those featuring horse shows and competitions of some sort, throughout the week (check with the front desk). While there’s not a ton of amenities to pick and choose from, this location does come with grills, park and shelter as well as all the free glimpses of horses being trained. Of course, should you be here with your noble steed, there’s some 22 miles worth of paths to gallup. Near this RV parking lot, you do have access to Lake Apopka.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) The real draw to this particular campground is the massive equestrian infrastructure that exists as the fulcrum, so if you are camping, this can be a very nice distraction, in case you come here with the principle idea of racing / showing your horses, then this CG is ideal – and less so if you don’t have a horse and don’t want to camp alongside what could be considered a bit of a circus (especially on show days); (2) Should you grow tired of whipping up franks & beans again for supper and you wanna check out some local fare, you’re going to have to drive a bit north to South Apopka where there’s joints like The Nauti Lobstah, Verona Café, Lechonera Latina and Wings-N-Things; (3) In the event that you need to load up on supplies, there’s both a Sam’s Club and Walmart Supercenter due NE of here; and (4) For some really great hiking & biking, of course, there’s the West Orange Trail, but if you are looking for something a bit different and less trodden, then check out Oakland Nature Preserve, which sits south of Lake Apopka.

 Happy Camping!

The springs itself are beautiful. Blue waters everywhere, constantly 72 degrees. Has bathrooms. Caverns are beautiful under the water but it is constantly crowded around. Pets need to be put on a leash. Horses are permitted. Many opportunities for hiking, biking, swimming, and kayaking. I recently did a kayaking trip roughly 25 miles from wekiwa Springs to Lake Monroe. Dropping kayaks only costs 2 dollars and made it cheap to enjoy a wonderful trip.

I like to camp out places where swimming is available. We camp a lot during the summer but since this is Florida it's HOT regularly and sizzling during the summer months. Although the spring is quite a walk, with floats in tow, driving is an option also and there is always lots of parking, and it goes in a curve so your never to far from accessing the springs no matter where you end up parking. Oh and they allow you to use a golf cart also. I'm not all that impressed with the sites, crushed shell, and you have to pitch the tent on it also, would be cooler if they let you pitch it a bit off site so your in the pine straw verse the crushed shell, which sucks to sleep on if you don't have a pad. This campground sees more rigs then tents and thankfully there is electric hook ups so you don't have to here any generators, bc you are close close by each other. Showers were decent if you got one with a shower head and having hot and cold adjustable is nice. We also took advantage of the clothes line they have on site as well as the second loop has a book exchange. LOVE THOSE! We saw tons of wildlife even just chilling at the campground. Turkey, deer, tortouse, friendly squirrels. Your in bear territory but there are no bear lockers which is nbd we are used to keeping our coolers in our trucks at night. Definitely will camp here again. Bring your kids, your floats, kayak, snorkle ... You can even bring your canapy to the water area with lawn chairs and your mini grill and just do the place for the day at the springs it self. They also have a horse coral and a BUNCH of hiking trails.

If you're like me and think that the most perfect campsite is the one that sits on the water's edge that provides both a simply amazing waterfront view as well as EZ access into the waters that you are just digging to try your kayak and canoe on, then welcome to what is, quite possibly, one of the best waterfront campground destinations in the whole of Florida (and given all of the access to both salt and fresh water access here in the Sunshine State, that's saying something!).  Trust me, every once in a while, along comes a very special campground that upon reflection, one thinks that maybe they should just keep this little secret for myself. But then what good are secrets if they aren’t (eventually) shared, me thinks? 

Well, here’s one helluva campground find that comes with pristine natural surroundings and, depending upon what type of camping you are looking for, Princess Preserve offers up just about every outdoor possibility that one could conjure up and wish for. As far as Princess Preserve itself is concerned, there are more than 1,500 square acres to explore that will offer the best of sea and land. When it comes to frackish (combo of salt and fresh H20) water, you’ll have the trifecta of salt marshes from the Matanzas River, slow-moving currents of the Moody Creek and abundant fishing of the Pellicer Creek to contend with – all three of which make for perfect kayak, canoe and paddle board exploration (just be on the watch for gators!). Back on land, there’s plenty of hiking trails that provide a bevy of well-cleared fully-functioning foot paths, while on the other hand, you will discover trails that are in dire need of some decent pruning.  And if you come with your noble steeds, you'll find simply sublime trails to 'giddy up' on.

The name Princess Preserve comes from the widow Angela Cutting who remarried a Russian prince and assumed the title of princess (although there was no coronation). The entire park is managed by the very good folks from Flagler County Parks & Recreation, who enlist some great support from locals in the community who work together in passionate way to keep this beautiful natural gem in pristine condition. To begin with, Princess Preserve, complete with an endless array of live, ancient Oaks dripping with Spanish Moss every which way you look, features not just 1 single campground to choose from, but rather 5 individual, completely differentiated campgrounds– one just as unique and different from the other as the next. For this particular review, I will be focused on the Moody Campground. 

If you, like me, believe that the very best campsites are those that are located waterfront and/ or at least have some view of the water, be it a silent stream, roaring river or the lapping waves of an ocean, then here at Moody Campground, you have hit the outdoor camping lottery jackpot! In addition to being very flat and well-shaded, PPP offers up spacious campsites, which I'm sure you’ll also absolutely fall in love with this very particular campground that places you so incredibly close to waterfront camping bliss that you will be able to open your tent flap door, take 10 paces and launch your kayak or canoe. Seriously, it does not get any better than this! And the view here is simply outstanding. There’s only a small handful of campsites to reserve (5 in total) and most of those sit right in front of the river, so book early and pointedly. 

Camping here is fairly basic and primitive with just water spigots, fire ring and designated trash receptacles as well as a port-O-potty, but each campsite has a wooden frame (14 x 14) sandy perimeter to pitch your tent on for the night. Please note that here at Moody Campground you are located in the easternmost in all of Princess Place Preserve and the Equestrian Campground is just a very short distance from where you are (so perhaps you can convince someone over there to let you tie up your horse). Amenities include: no shortage of hiking, biking & riding trails, campfire rings, BBQ grills, canoe / kayak launch, historic sites, interpretive exhibits, picnic tables, pavilions (available for rent), restroom facilities and natural preserves. For those not coming with their own tents or trailers, there are 3 cottages (1 ADA) that are available for rent. 

Insider’s tips? Sure, here’s a few: (1) Over at Moody Campground, where most of the campsites sit alongside the river, you’ll want to be aware of alligators and snakes – and one big tip I have for keeping these reptiles at bay is keeping a fire going throughout the night, or if not, when the coal and embers of the fire burn down, use your shovel or trowel to place the still warm coals in a perimeter around your tent – this small amount of warmth will keep reptiles at bay; (2) Everywhere you go the water is non-potable, so be sure to bring your own fresh water to drink; (3) If you are interested in taking advantage of the historic tours that are offered here, please note that they are offered up on a first-come, first-served, so upon arriving here, be sure to check in with a Park Ranger for availability; (4) While the kayaking here at Princess Preserve was nothing short of awesome, after a few days of paddling down the same rivers, we were given well-heeded advice to drop on over to Faver-Dykes State Park, located just due north of Princess Preserve (you can actually paddle over there from PPP, or better, drive over and launch from there); and (5) When you get tired of firing up frank & beans for dinner and don’t mind throwing on a polo shirt, head on over to 386 (only a 20 minute drive from Princess Place Preserve), where they’ll delight you with the best of surf (1 lb rock lobster, Mexican triggerfish and blue crab flounder) & turf (prime filet, pork chop with peach chutney). 

Happy Camping!

Unfortunately, we had a LOT of rowdy neighbors who paid little if any attention to the park rules. Quiet time is supposed to start at 11 but, frankly, I don't think rowdy time ever ended. All. Night. Long. on Friday night and spilling over into Saturday morning, Noon and night. I don't think they ever slept. 

Had this been our first visit to a Florida State Park, we might not have gone on to explore a dozen other of the Florida State Parks in the area that accommodate RV's. That would have been a shame because we have enjoyed other Florida parks in the area. 

If this review concerns you, try close-by Lake Louisa State Park or Lake Griffin State Park: an entirely different scene with campers who actually camp as opposed to a mob of people just looking for a place to be drunk. 

About a week after we stay at a Florida park, we get a survey which asks a number of questions. One of them is "Did you feel safe?". The answer here is a resounding"NO!". I arrived right at 3PM and was set up by 4PM, before most of the drinkers arrived to spoil the scene. By 9PM I had basically pulled everything back in the RV for fear of it being stolen or shot at then stayed inside for the rest of the weekend. 

There was zero social distancing, one of the best parts (up until this visit) of camping in the first place. Sites here seemed a bit closer together than other parks but that might have been just my reaction to the scene and those spoiling it for others. 

I had two other bookings in the future for this park which I have canceled. There are just too many great parks in the Florida system. This is not one of them.

Beautiful Florida wildlife,birds especially in winter.Can be viewed by canoeing or hiking.Great food at the island.

Only thing on weekend the later you go the lonnger wait to get in park.

Close to home and took a drive through one day. Haven't been camping yet this year due to illness but getting ready to get on the road. Love State parks in Florida looking forward to Wekiwa Springs visit..

Really nice campground with all the amenities, showers, water, and power hookups for rv’s, or in my case to charge my phone and camera. We’re staying at the family campground as the primitive was full, so word of advice, book well in advance. Beautiful place love the springs!! Hoping to see some Florida native black bears fingers crossed...

There’s a wonderful river to canoe/kayak to see all sorts of animals and wildlife. It’s a wonderful adventure, I’ve seen deer and wild turkey on the shores as well as tutles, numerous birds and cranes, otters, and plenty of gators! (No worries, they are not aggressive, but do not approach wildlife without realizing their natural reaction will be to fight or flight). The camping is amazing and there are many options of site, cabins, tents, RV. There are also fun hiking trails and a gorgeous spring to cool off in the Florida heat. There’s a reason all of the locals love to go on the weekends!

After our last camping trip where we lost our tent to the elements we recently got a Cotopaxi Inti 2 and thought we'd give it a go somewhere a little closer to home. The campgrounds are nicely wooded and provide a ton of much-needed shade from the Florida sun. Check in was smooth and uneventful and we got to our site (#32) which did seem rather close to those around us, but we set up and then started making dinner. Exploring the campground, we realized it a little weirdly setup with all the sites arranged in a loop with the sites on either side of the road and the facilities (which are nice) in the center of the loop. There isn't a direct path and if you're on the outside of the loop you will have to walk through/by a site within the center ring and then through the "woods" to get to the bathhouse. Some sites have more of a path than others. There are a few accessible sites which have a paved pathway to the bathhouse, but you'd have to walk directly through someone else's campsite to get to them...a little weird. After eating we started to make a fire and thought the group (very near) next to us was a getting a little loud and it definitely made it seem less secluded, when of course we get a Florida downpour (starting to think we can't go camping without it raining) which of course wasn't predicted and we all had to rush to our tents. Stayed huddled in there (and this time thankfully the rain stayed outside our tent) it got much quieter and darker and eventually, we slept through the night to awaken to it still raining... At this point, we were simply glad to be dry and packed up and left in the drizzle. We were on site 32 which was probably one of the furthest from the facilities and you had to walk through a thick path past the clothesline to the back of the bathhouse to get there. If you prefer a more direct line I'd call before booking online and ask about the best locations to get back and forth to the facility. But we were glad it wasn't our site that people were walking through...

My friends and I have camped Wekiva a few times now, mostly because it's in our backyard. Being located in central Florida I think it goes without saying that tent camping here in the middle of summer comes with its own challenges, such as the excruciating heat. But other than stating the obvious let's cut to the chase. Pros: Kayaking, Natural Springs and community swimming hole, BBQ locations, separate camp grounds for tent versus RV, short distance to Wekiva Island. The natural springs of central Florida keep a cool 72 degrees year round making swimming something you can always do. The head spring of Wekiva is a fairly large swimming hole which like most springs remains crystal clear water, great for snorkeling. The downfall however is this area gets insanely crowded during the summer months. Here you are able to rent kayaks, canoes and rafts for fair prices. Usually around $35 per kayak for 4-6 hours. Once you launch you have two main options of which direction to go. One being a more scenic route where you will more than likely see a large number of birds, turtles and the crowd favorite...alligators galore. There are no rangers on the water with you, so you are responsible for your own safety around the gators. The other direction leads you to Wekiva Island, the party place! Wekiva Island is also known as the redneck riviera. Here you'll find a couple of bars, volleyball, corn hole, a food truck and many more activities. (You can also drive straight to the island which also offers kayaking rentals). Over all, the springs and the river make for an adventurous fun day. Cons: The camp sites themselves are quite close in proximity to one another not leaving much privacy. You are contained to remain within the dirt boundaries opposed to setting up camp on softer ground. You are limited to only 2 tents and two cars on the site itself. Additional parking is close by. The real con was the camp ground attendants. My friends and I are in our mid thirties and not loud and obnoxious residents. You will be annoyed by several rangers on golf carts constantly hovering and interrupting you as well as your good old camp ground host who may or may not live on one of the grounds? He wasn't friendly and made us uncomfortable.

All in all to sum it up, if you are looking to spend some relaxing time on the water and see some unique Floridian wildlife you'll have a great time!

So this park has been so encroached upon by urban sprawl that there's a rather constant drone of traffic from the two-lane road used to access the State Park and all the neighborhoods that have been built right up to the parks boundaries. The traffic is only really audible from the campground not so much farther into the park near the spring swimming area. Even more remote is paddling down the river that flows from the spring boil. This is a busy place on summer weekends so busy the park reaches capacity sometimes as early as 10:00am as with all Fl. state parks use Reserve America for camping reservations. I give it 5 stars because the springs are phenomenal and the river is perfect. Bring 'em if you got 'em: kayaks,bikes,lawn chairs,fishing rods,bug spray but that last one is a given anywhere in Florida. Pro tip: if you have your own watercraft they will allow you to chain it up near the canoe launch which is advisable as it's quite a hike from the parking lot to the river.

While just a short jaunt from I95, in under 7 minutes from 3-lane express highway traffic, you’ll find yourself sauntering south on a meandering paved entranceway with white picket fences and swear that you were driving onto the set of Dallas (for those of us that remember that Texan drama series!). Once you swing around the bend, a blockade of Ancient Oaks and Magnolias draped in an excessive amount of Spanish Moss are there to greet you to Bulow RV Resort (which is run by Encore RV Resorts). And WOW! does this place pack a lot in! 

For starters, this RV campground is MASSIVE with nearly 400 back-in and pull-through slots to choose from. Nestled on the banks of the Bulow Creek and nearby to the Intracoastal, with the famed Flagler Beach just beyond, this campground is perfect for those seeking water (of any kind). And for those that prefer land, no worries, out here, you are completely surrounded by 6+ golf courses and a ton of great hiking trails. Don’t have an RV? Cringe at the thought of setting up a tent? Absolutely not a problem here at Bulow RV Resort, where they’ll rent you 1 of 5 types of cabins / cottages (note: no pets allowed on these premises though). 

Really, the only downside to this entire place is the lack of privacy that you’ll encounter here – apart from being surrounded by Florida’s most amazing natural wilderness.  Once inside this RV compound, it is quite barren and therefore doesn’t offer much in the way of privacy or a sense of seclusion. So if living in an RV city, complete with road signs and attractions is your idea of paradise, then Bulow RV Resort could be ideal for you. 

As for amenities here, you won’t be disappointed – although you may be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things to do! Starting with the basics, there are scattered picnic tables and BBQ grills and very well maintained restrooms and clean shower facilities. For RVers, all of the basic water, sewage and electric (30 / 50 amp) hook-ups are available and most of the spaces are fairly wide-open and barren, so you won’t have much privacy anywhere in this campground. In addition, there’s RV storage, ballroom/ banquet hall (because you never know when you might need to throw a big party, right?!), horseshoes, mini-golf, sand volleyball court, designated picnic / bbq areas, clubhouse / lounge, dog park and all the WiFi for your social media surfing pleasure. There’s also a fairly well-stocked market on-site, propane refill station, plenty of designated dump stations, shuffleboard, full service bar (yes, I couldn’t believe it either!) and an activities center that has a full lineup of daily events. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s also a fairly decent sized pool that has an absolutely pristine laundr-O-mat located right next to it. I know! Mai Tais, floaties and running a load of whites all-in-one! 

Insider’s Tips? Here’s a few: (1) For those that are spending just a few nights (or even a week), you’ll want to find a spot much closer to the front of the property – as the back of the property is organized more for longer-term monthly ‘residents’; (2) For those that enjoy hiking, I strongly recommend heading just due south of this RV resort to Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic Park, where you can hike Bulow Creek Canoe Trail, which is quite short and basic, or head further south to Boardman Pond where there’s a pretty cool observation platform for bird-watching; (3) For tent campers, you’ll discover that this resort has isolated a place directly in front (near those white picket fences), where you will be separated from the RV community.  Again, because there is ZERO ground coverage, you will feel a little like a ‘spider in a bathtub,’ so I would recommend if you are going to camp here, to opt for a site as far west as you can (towards those Ancient Oaks and Magnolias I first mentioned – in fact, I would just go primitive and head in that direction anyway); (4) If you’re looking to drop a kayak or canoe in the water, you can either do that directly on-site where the Bulow Creek merges with the Halifax River (nearby the swimming pool) or further afield and southernly, you can drop your watercraft in Tomoka Marsh Aquatic Preserve where you’ll enjoy much wider expanses; and (5) When you get tired of firing up the grill for each meal and want to venture out into the local area, go try out Flagler Fish Company which has been a local (funky) favorite for years or The Anchor, both of which serve up just amazing seafood done up any which way you can imagine. 

Happy Camping!

Reserve through state forest.

Picnic table, fire ring, and grill. Some sites have small corrals adjacent.

Only 4 sites!!