Best Glamping near Fanning Springs, FL

We recently camped at Manatee Springs and the highlight of this park is their beautiful swim area with a dock all along the head spring. The campsites were fair and the bathrooms were not bad and included showers. There was a nice trail w/boardwalk that was great for viewing the swamp and flora & fauna. The boardwalk went down to the Suwannee River that offered a great place to fish or to view some big Sturgeons that start jumping around dusk.

We felt that the campsites were a little neglected compared to other Florida State Parks we had visited.

There is a nice cafe that also serves beer & wine.

We viewed the "Dive Spring" called "Catfish Hotel" which had a inch layer of green scum that was not very appealing except to mosquitoes.

There is a nice playground and this would be a great place to picnic with family and friends.

*There is also Fanning Springs State Park that is approx. 10 min. away that also has a GREAT swimming hole!

Very close to the University of Florida. Nice campground recently renovated.

Bugs were horrendous the weekend we were there, but that happens in Florida! Water was awesome. Plenty of things for the kids to do. Sites were nice as were the bathrooms.

We love this campground. The sites have nice shade ( important in Florida) the bathrooms are clean and well designed. We love hiking down to the Santa Fe river.

Jake from the Dyrt here! Cristal Camping has great access to the river for enjoying the warm Florida coast water.  Check it out and share a review on the Dyrt!

I didn’t actually stay overnight here, but biked over from the nearby Hart Springs campground. Nice facility with fully shaded spots among Florida forest. There were a number of unmarked buildings, but upon researching it looks like a covered pool and clubhouse. The spring swimming area was lovely and clear and no crowds. Seems like a nice place to stay for a fun, activity filled getaway.

Booked a spot here over the New Years weekend as we travel through Florida. This is a small, family owned rv park. 15 back-in sites. Very friendly owner. You book by calling in only. The town of Steinhatchee has more to offer than Perry where we stayed at KOA. Only complaint is need to upgrade the wifi.

Florida in its natural state. We had an incredible time camping here. Swimming in the Springs, canoeing, and seeing so much wildlife. The deer will literally eat out your hand! We saw 3 alligators, one was a 13 footer! During winter and early spring you can swim with the manatees. The campsites are shaded with plush vegetation, there clean facilities with showers. There is camp store and barbeque stand, as well as canoe rental and shuttle on site.

The campsite was nice and private. The bathrooms were clean. The park had nice hiking trails, but I enjoyed the kayaking most of all. There is a swimming section. The river goes underground but you can’t kayak in this area. The river has a small rapids area, for Florida. Got to see a snake sunbathing next to two turtles with kayaking. Fun park!

We've stayed @ O'Leno 3 times over the past year and love it! The campsites are spacious, well shaded, and with in easy walking distance to the Bathhouse/Restrooms. The facilities are kept clean and neat. There are plenty of trails and a swimming hole on the Santa Fe River. 

We also like that O'leno is 15 -20 minutes from some of Florida's beautiful Natural Springs.

Nice camp ground. Most of the space were pull through for Rv/campers. They were pretty narrow spaces. Lots of trees and shade. The entire campground was dirt and some gravel. The bathrooms were ok. Not kept the cleanest, but not the worst I’ve seen.

Super close to the river for easy access. Be prepared it almost rains every day in Florida, so if tent camping be prepared for rain.

O’Leno State Park Review| Site 50 Oleno State Park is the camping I always remembered. You know, like quintessential state or national park imagery where you would expect to see“Smoky The Bear” around the next bend. It was one of Florida’s original state parks being built by the Civilian Conservation Corps after WWI as part of the make work project by FDR. This is probably why it has that National Park Vibe… you feel immediately at ease and that you are outside in nature. The campground surely has that feel as well as the facilities down by the river. 

There are still a few remaining buildings from the original town of Keno. This park reminds me of Hillsboro State Park with its suspension bridge over the Sante Fe River before it disappears into the ground only to appear another 3 miles downstream. The hiking in this park is OUTSTANDING. In addition, the campsites are really nice. 

We camped in Dogwood Campground which is near the entrance of the park. Most of the reviews seem to indicate that people prefer Magnolia Campground which is about 1.5 miles down the road near the river and most of the activities but after riding through that campground we were happy we were in Dogwood with it’s narrow dirt road and very rustic primitive appearance even though the sites have power and water. 

We would certainly return to this park when we can stay longer and visit some of the nearby Springs like Gilchrist Blue or Ginnie. We were in site#50. The bathhouse was clean as they are in all Florida State Parks and kind of cool that it is in the middle of the campground with small trails leading to it from a number, if not most of the campsites. 

NOTE: Some of the photos were from a trip earlier in the year as we didn’t take many pics this trip. It may appear“greener” than it actually is in North Florida in February. By the end of March it will look like this again.

I can’t say too much about this campground because I didn’t stay here. We say the sign and wanted to check it out so we just talked to the nice people in the office and they told us to take our time. The campground looked like nice decent size sites. They have 5 cabins available. A cute playground, volleyball area and a covered, screened in pool. The spring wasn’t anything amazing but definitely a way to cool off here in the Florida heat. I will definitely be staying here in the future.

Manatee Springs, Chiefland, Florida  Beautiful clear spring with swimming area, including area for kids. Two nice boardwalks. Nature trails. Great cafe at the Spring with ribs and pulled pork sandwiches.Yummy! Canoes for rent.  Campground was okay. Not great. Magnolia loop 1 was the best. Good bathhouse in this loop.The other two loops have narrow, bumpy dirt roads and sites not as nice. Most sites hard packed sand. We wound up on ADA site and it was the only paved one. It's a nice pull through. Sites have fire ring and table. Staff and rangers friendly and informative.

We really enjoyed this park. We camped at a tent only site which was private as there weren’t many tent campers while we were there during the week. Stayed at site 31 which is probably the furthest walk from parking but the most private. We saw wild bison, wild turkeys, deer, snakes, and several different species of birds. Disappointed we didn’t see any wild horses but will most definitely be back. Beautiful part of Florida.

Older Florida park with roots in the CCC and Forestry Service. Large park with hiking, bike and equestrian trails. Along the Santa Fe River there is a swimming hole, suspension bridge, old buildings and a small museum. Magnolia loop would be the best loop for RVs, but spots can be had. Facilities are clean, albeit old. Camping loops and pads are hard sand. Sites vary in size and level. Separation between sits is not bad but suffered in hurricane damage. Some sites appear a bit tight with overhanging trees.

We liked this campground a lot. With taxes and fees and the $7 RV surcharge (at all Florida State Parks) it came to about $30/night for full hookups.

Poor / spotty cell service in park, but there's free wifi at the concession stand. Concession stand was closed when we were there but there was still ok wifi that reached outside.

Boardwalk and swimming in the springs was open, but we didn't see where to rent kayaks or buy anything, not sure if those are closed for COVID. Boardwalk was really cool and long and we saw a couple of manatees.

Free hot showers. No laundry machines. No trash bins in park, all trash must be taken to dumpsters near park entrance.

Amazing state park to visit. We recommend staying at least 1 week to envelope yourself in the pristine wilderness Florida has to offer. First of all, you won't get much of a phone signal out here. During our stay we had to drive to Cheifton once in awhile to get phone messages and emails. The campsites are beautiful and have a good amount of vegitation separating you from your neighbors. We camped here in our motorhome and had adequate clearance for our roof and we were able to get around the turns in the road well without hitting any trees. There are times that it's a tight squeeze though. 

We had the opportunity to kayak, the spring is beautiful and very clear, lots of fish and wildlife to experience.

We're looking forward to a future visit.

This is way out in the country. Not far off interstate 75 mere Lake City To. You can float down the river and have a cookout or picnic after or in the middle. There are trams to take you back to midway point and a bus to the beginning. Beautiful clear water and lots of springs no homes along your float. You may see otters or other nature. Ive been many times and never seen a gator. It fills up fast at the very beginning as they only let so many down from the head. But you can always go in at the midway point and float for a couple hours and thenget out and take the tram back. Ive been going since a kid and I'm from Florida and have never seen a alligator there thou signs are posted. Its been my experience that gators tend to stay out of the cold springs.

We loved this campground. We did not visit pool/hottub or bathrooms... had a camper delivered and towed our boat up. Perfect spot on the Sante Fe with the Ichetucknee and Suwanee rivers super close. Huge dockage and nice spot for overflow/trailer parking. 

The park it self was very nice we got a River spot and loved it. 

We did get take out from the bar, it was bar food. Wifi is bad, like real bad but you are in the woods. Had enough on my mifi to stream Dinner and a Movie for NYE. Speaking of NYE they had a Motley Crew cover band, social distancing and masks are not a thing in this part of Florida, like the posters from the health department don't even mention masks, so if COVID is still a thing prepare yourself. There is one gas station within a few miles and that is it. Bring everything you need or eat bar food.

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!