Best Cabin Camping near Floral City, FL

Part of the Starkey Wilderness Preservethis location is full of multi use trails, has primitive cabin rentals (no electric) and tent camping available. Front country (car camping) and back country camping (hike in only). There are specific equestrian camping sites as well.

Cabins are pretty close to each other. All sites need to be reserved.Tent, cabin, shelter and pavilion reservations: Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park, (727) 834-3247. Picnic tables and fire pits are provided. Pavilions are also available to rent and they take reservations for large groups as well.

We chose car camping for our visit to check the place out. A favorite for hiking and biking. This place has gotten busier as development has been growing steadily over the years. Many of the trails are without shade and the recent fire season hit the back part of the tract pretty hard (Spring 2017) but you would not see any signs of this unless you hiked out the furthest trails from entrance.

Bring your bikes, hiking shoes, horses, or telescopes. Birders bring your binoculars! Over 150 species call Starkey home either full or part time. There is something here for everyone.

As always in Florida bring bug spray, sunblock, hat, and please leave no trace!

*Cabin 5 stars- Clean with comfortable furniture, updated decor, t.v. in living room and bedroom, nice size bathroom and bedroom, plenty of storage cabinets/closets, washer and dryer in bathroom, shower only-no tub, dishwasher, garbage disposal, very well stocked kitchen-even had a crock pot, spacious front porch, gravel driveway with this unit-some were paved, no picnic table, small charcoal grill, linens provided-very thick towels, decent pillows *Campground 4 stars- Clean, quiet, maintained landscaping, very few trees, cottage backs up to overlook an apartment complex, check-in office is a small building that has a walk up window for check in with limited hours, no gate *Amenities 4 stars- Clean and spacious rec center, 2 pools (1 with a kiddie pool), small but nice playground, shuffle board, lake, no putt-putt, no camp store, limited activities *Staff 4 stars-friendly

Cabin 5 stars- Immaculately clean with comfortable furniture, bright spacious living room, t.v. in living room and bedroom, bathroom and bedroom a little tight but adequate, tub/shower combo, loft area easily accessible with stairs, no porch-but paved driveway, picnic table and grill, linens provided but towels and pillows were on the thin side *Campground 5 stars- Family friendly atmosphere, clean, quiet, sunny, well maintained landscaping *Amenities 5 stars- Clean and spacious rec center with lots of scheduled activities for adults and children-Bingo, hot food/snacks available for purchase Outdoor amenities (pool, putt-putt, shuffle board, pickle ball, playground, etc.) looked nice but we didn’t utilize them on this visit *Staff 5 stars- Efficient and very responsive

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.

I was surprised to see this awesome cabin listed, but I’m happy it is :) We went here with family since many relatives were in town doing touristy stuff it was a great ‘base camp’ for everyone to stay at. It worked out well as some family members like the cabin experience and others were able to stay in tents near the cabin. There are lots of places to sleep (bunk beds, queen, etc). The lake is beautiful! We used the canoes that come with the cabin multiple times as well as trying our luck fishing on the dock. The yard has a picnic table and fire pit. It’s only about an hour from Orlando. Our family loved this cabin :)

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!