Best Cabin Camping near Dunnellon, FL

The place is very nice and well put together if you have an RV. I do primitive camping mostly and can say that there is a lack of care for the placement for the sites. There’s a few lots for tent camping with one “cabin” which is just two bunk beds in a shed with a mini fridge and microwave. The coolest part about that is it has a screened porch. The camping sites are directly in the sun the entire day until sundown. There is no real parking for the sites and the restroom is a walk to get to tucked behind the office in between two rental units. There’s water views if you walk around the site and a nice deck with a view of the swamps. My biggest complaint is having any problems and then 3 different people coming up to me and my girlfriend asking if we had checked in and had a reservation after 10pm at night. The first guy came up waving his arms in the air asking if we knew what bird was chirping and then said his family owns the place and wanted to make sure we paid. Then two others later on asked if we were able to get checked in. Mind you, this is after 10pm at night and there is literally no lighting where the site was. Overall, it’s definitely worth a stay and not far from walmart and other places to eat. Phone service was almost non existent and their wi-fi they offered doesn’t reach near the camp sites.

General: 59-site campground in two loops plus 10 cabins. 

Site Quality: These sites were HUGE. Many were pull-throughs. Our site (51) could easily fit four of our vans! All sites were gravel and level and had water, electric, and (I believe but we didn’t use) sewer hookups, a bbq grill, a fire ring, and a large picnic table. Each loop has a handicap-accessible site near the restrooms. In addition to the size of the sites, there was reasonable separation/privacy between them. Although I did not see the inside of them, the cabins looked beautiful – they were large with huge screened-in porches. One of the cabins was handicap accessible. 

Bathhouse: Was very clean. In addition to the men’s and women’s bathrooms, there were two family restrooms, complete with showers, and the showers had plenty of hot water.  

Activities/Amenities: There is no swimming or fishing here but you can rent kayaks. Note: the launch area is not within walking distance of the campground. We chose to do an organized tour with Get Up and Go Kayaking with glass bottom kayaks. The launch site for this tour is a quick drive from the campground. There are also several hiking trails that were well marked. There is a museum geared toward school groups that is open to the public only on the weekends (we were there during the week). Although the gate agent said there was no recycling, we saw a recycling bin near the restrooms/dumpster. It was not indicated what materials were accepted so I assumed it was single stream. Other amenities include a dishwashing sink, vending machine, a small lending library, and a washer/dryer.

This state park was a pleasant surprise and we wish we could have stayed longer!

PROS

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

This is a friendly campground with canoe/kayak rentals and a shuttle service. The tent area is near the river and very wooded--lots of places to hang a hammock or pitch a tent, and has drive-in access. The campground also has cozy cottages great for families or groups, each with a small porch and a fire ring. The RV area is large and open, each site is spacious but not wooded so there is nothing screening you from your neighbors. There is a fair amount of road noise as the location is near a bridge over the river. Besides the kayaking and riverside location, the best thing about the campground is couple who own the place. They are a delight, friendly, helpful and working hard to make your stay enjoyable.

Silver Springs Silver Springs SP Beautiful Florida campground with 60 sites, many pullthrus. The sites are huge with lots of space and privacy. Lush surroundings. Water, electricity, fire pit, grill and picnic table on level gravel sites. The bathhouse is modern, clean, good sized. They have family showers too. Nice laundry facility. There is an environmental museum and a Pioneer Village and the grounds. Campgrounds are next to the Silver Springs where you have to take the glass bottom boat tour.$10 pp for seniors. You can also kayak the Springs but watch out for gators!The grounds on the Springs and campground have great trails.