Best Glamping near Estero, FL

We camp Koreshan because it is literally less than 10 minutes from our house. We can set up camp and stay throughput the week even if the kids have school. It’s hard to book a weekend at any Florida campground in season so plan ahead if you want a Florida State park. This campground has short trails to hike through beautiful bamboo forests. A ramp for putting in your kayaks or SUPs as well as kayak rental. Locations to fish the river. You are a 20 minute drive to the beach from here. Very centrally located to shopping and farmers markets. Koreshan has a farmers market there at the park I believe on Sundays. The campsites have a fire pit and wood is sold at the entrance. It is a historic site of the early settlers of the area from the late 1800’s so there are historical buildings on site to tour. It is a pet friendly campground. The only reason I give this campground 4* rather than 5 is because of the road noise from Hwy 41 that it is off. It’s quite peaceful until you get a motorcycle racing up and down the highway at 2am. They do have specific sites if you wish to camp in hammocks. If you google the campground you should be able to find out which sites those are.

The campground located inside the historical state park has a total of 54 sites, 39 are RV or tent, 3 only RV, and 12 Tent only. There is a bath house on the inside loop of the sites, it has hot showers and flush toilets. Each site has electrical hookup, with picnic tables, fire pit, and utility pole. Each site has good foliage and privacy from other sites. The park has water fountains and water faucets for portable water. Each site has a gravel drive and sandy/grassy area for tents, no tent pads. It is also pet friendly. Two sites I have stayed at are 020 and 009, both are large sites with lots of privacy from neighbors. From October-April it is fairly busy, and availability is scarce, so planning a head is usually necessary to get the site you want. It is $26 a night with a $6.70 nonrefundable reservation fee, reservation is on the park website.

This state park is part of a Historical Settlement of a religious group that built this particular settlement in 1893, there are lots of buildings still preserved and available for you to walk through. A couple short and nice trails, some along the Estero river. Kayaking and fishing are also permitted.

We were so glad to find this place on The Dyrt. Once you check in, there is someone there to guide you to your site. You cannot reserve sites, you just request the amps needed for your rig. There are tent sites, cabins, and Chickee huts to rent as well. We were guided to a pull thru site. This was a first for us and we were thrilled. Our site was directly across from the bath house. We had no trouble leveling our trailer and getting set up. Fire pits are at every site and fires are encouraged. If you did not bring wood, there is some for sale. The bath house was adequate. It could be cleaner, but it is camping. The sites include water and electric. You are not able to pick up antennae TV unless you have high quality tall antennae. Radio stations came in just fine. At the front of the park is a little store with SkunkApe gear and an animal exhibit with gators, pythons and chickens. Skunkape is the equivalent of Sasquatch. Apparently, there is a legend of sitings in the Everglades. Kayak and canoe rentals are available as well as a swamp buggy ride. We brought our own kayaks and were told where to enjoy them. This campground is 15 minutes from Everglade City and 25 minutes from Collier-Seminole State Park.

Koreshan, as its referred to by locals…is a little gem neatly tucked away between U.S. 41, Corkscrew Rd. and the Estero River. The last decade or so has seen building and development at a ridiculous rate. Yet, when you pull into Koreshan Historic State Park…time slows down.

For its location, the park system was able to masterfully squeeze quite 60 sites in. There is plenty of scrub between you and your neighbor…you may hear them, but you won't see them. There is a centrally located showerhouse/bathroom that is more than adequate and well-maintained.

The park is only 135 acres, and a large percentage is taken by the small historic city built there at the turn of the 1900's. The buildings are pretty interesting, as is the beliefs these unusual folks held. History is, well…history…sometimes fact is stranger than fiction.

The trails are long, but interesting…especially through the various exotic and oriental vegetation.

Its the closest campground for me…so its a regular go-to when the itch comes. The big draw…the Estero River. Though built up on the north side with a trailer park…parts of the Estero feel remote and jungle-like. There are gators that populate the river…but if you don't mess with them…they won't mess with you. The river empties into the back bay…a short distance to the Gulf of Mexico through New Pass, Big Hickory Pall or Big Carlos Pass…all of which are stunning. Another historic site is close to the mouth of the Estero…Indian Mound Key. Check your tide charts, as the Estero is a tidal river…and fighting the current both directions doesn't make for a fun day. Kayaks don't really feel the effects, but canoes sure do. You can drop your boat in at the park, or rent one. Fishing is fantastic…and the aquatic wildlife is amazing! Manatee make their rounds (especially in cooler months).

If you forget supplies…don't sweat it…there is more shopping within a mile or two that would spin your head.

The only real negative for tent campers…other than the heat (which I love), is the traffic noise from U.S. 41. Its not obnoxious, but you do hear it.

Its a great stopping point in SW Florida!

Stayed here a night in February 2021. State parks aren’t yet allowing tents due to Covid. We camp in our truck so don’t fit the definition of “self contained” or tenters, so this spot was great. Water and electric or primitive sites available. There were some great cabins/huts that looked great, too. Hosts are welcoming and helpful. Firewood, ice and some supplies available on site. The sites were spacious and had room to spread out and not be on top of your neighbors. Picnic table and fire rings at each site. It was a full moon the night we stayed and the stars were still incredibly bright as there is very little light pollution. Sunset was beautiful. Some mosquitos at dusk, but not bad at all. (It was February- sure June would be different...) Plenty of trees for shade and hammocks. Two showers in both the men’s and women’s bathrooms. Showers were hot with good water pressure. Shower drains could have been better as the floors were wet throughout the whole bathhouse, unfortunately. (Only reason it’s not a 5-star review.) One bar service on Verizon, but typical for me in the area. We only stayed a night so didn’t take full advantage of kayaks and boats, but there is a lot to do. Campers have free admission to the Snake Ape and reptile exhibits- snake lovers will enjoy the snakes including one of the largest captive pythons in the world. We held a baby alligator and saw the adults up close. The caretaker was refreshingly knowledgeable and caring. Overall, a quick stop for us but we enjoyed it and would stay here again.

We took our 2 and 1yo boys tent camping. The sites were clean and large enough to fit our lodge style tent, boat and van. My only complaint was that I wished the campsite was a little further in away from the road…but, I don’t think any pull in spots are really going to offer that. The bathrooms were clean. We did battle with a very large raccoon on various occasions that tried to get into our trash and campfire nachos. 😅 The boat ramp was very basic, but did the job just fine. The Estero River was very cool and was an easy shot getting to the sandbars of Lovers Key State Park. The grounds of the park were also very pretty and the historic sites were interesting.

We stayed at Koreshan in site 38 for one night. It is definitely not as nice as other FL state parks we’ve been spoiled by... Sites are ok, a little smaller than we’ve had at other campgrounds and there’s some vegetation between sites. The trails aren’t very exciting at the park, although we did walk through the settlement later in the day (when no one else was around) and we got to see a gopher tortoise nesting. Our neighbors were the loudest we’d had at any park (watching an action movie outside), but the campground was quiet after quiet hours. Again - we have been spoiled by other FL state park campgrounds. Ok place to stay, but if you have a choice for another state park, I’d probably recommend staying elsewhere.

Sanibel Island is a great vacation spot full of vacation homes, white sand beaches, and world-class shell hunting. This is the only campsite available on the entire island, and as a result it is a bit pricier than most camp sites, but it is far and away the most economical way to see the island. It is driving f distance from most of the local tourist sites we stayed for a week and never ran out of things to do.

The campground is less than a mile from the beach, easily walkable and even easier to bike. The campsite is designed to acomódate RV camping and long term mobile home set ups, however there are some lots available for tents as well. Due to the RV and location in city limits there are no campfires allowed, but grills are allowed and the site has very well kept and clean shower/bathroom facilities.