Looking to go glamping near Hawthorne and enjoy a rustic retreat into nature? Glamping near Hawthorne is especially popular among campers who enjoy beds and electricity. You're sure to find glamping for your Hawthorne camping adventure.
PPCG
$18 / night
Silver Springs State Park’s campground offers Cabins, RV and Tent Sites, and Group Primitive Camp Sites. Located beneath shady oaks and beautiful pine trees, Silver Springs’ vacation cabins accommodate up to six people. Each cabin has a full dining area, two bedrooms, one bath, stove, refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, gas fireplace (October 1 to April 30), central cooling and heating and a large screened porch. Fifty-nine spacious sites in two campground loops easily accommodate even large camping units, with a maximum recreational vehicle length of 50 feet. Tent campers are welcome as well. Each site offers water and electric hook-up, as well as a fire ring, barbecue grill and picnic table. The primitive group camping area, set amid shady oaks, is for organized groups only, with preference given to youth groups. The area includes picnic tables and fire rings at each site. Non-potable water is available and there are no shower facilities. For more information and to make a group reservation for primitive camping, please call the Ranger Station at (352) 236-7148. This number is for primitive group camping reservations only.
$24 - $110 / night
DOG1
$18 / night
If you desire a quiet, tranquil location for RVing with a small town atmosphere, lovely oak-lined streets to walk or bike, Sportsman's Cove is the place for you! You will enjoy the warm, friendly attitudes of the owner and staff as well as the year-round, seasonal and short-term guests.
$39 - $50 / night
On the shores of beautiful Lake Waldena in Silver Springs, Florida, nestled in the Ocala National Forest, is a restful, quiet camping resort. The best-hidden treasure in central Florida.
A turn off I-75 brings you to Travelers Campground, an Alachua FL RV Park!
With the University of Florida only 25 minutes away – Traveler’s is a favorite for students, family, and football fans alike.
Traveler’s is home to over a dozen rescue farm animals and exotic birds. While exploring our campground keep an eye out for macaws, pigs, horses, emus, donkeys, chickens, goats, cows and more. See our office staff for a souvenir scavenger hunt and animal snacks.
It’s no secret we love animals so don’t leave the dogs at home. Bring them along to play in our spacious dog park and make use of several clean up stations across the park for your convenience.
Alachua county is where nature and culture meet. Adventure-junkies can find 5 state parks and over 6 popular swimming holes all less than a half-hour away. Kayak the pristine Ichetucknee River or float around the popular Ginnie Springs. See wild bison and gigantic alligators at Payne’s Prairie Preserve.
With updated amenities, complimentary Wi-Fi and Cable, a friendly and 24/7 helpful staff, and large pool with sunning deck, you will find Travelers Campground to be your home away from home. We have a spacious and well-designed park, we are pet-friendly and offer full-hookup 30 and 50 amp service. Conveniently located on Interstate 75 near Gainesville, Florida.
Only a short drive away from the University of Florida on I-75 (exit 399), and its many fantastic venues including the Shands Cancer Center and the University of Florida Veterinary Hospital.
$69 - $99 / night
Grateful Hammock is on 8 acres of land in the beautiful Ocala National Forest. This is an intentional, progressive community of music lovers. Grateful Hammock offers primitive tent sites as well as RV/Trailer camping. There are 6 total sites, with up to 6 guests per site.
The nearby Silver River offers opportunity to see lots of wildlife including wild monkeys, alligators and a myriad of birds. The Ocklawaha River is also a great place to go for fishing. Horseback riding is available at Captain Jacks.
$40 - $75 / night
Traveler
We just purchased our 33’ Salem travel trailer and we used Island Oaks as our shakedown trip. Honestly, its going to be hard to top this first trip. My Wife and I traveled with our 2 young children and our pup. We never had to leave the park, they had EVERYTHING. Heated resort pool with tiki pool bar & music, beach front lake with a massive inflatable obstacle course, an on-site restaurant & ice cream shop, not to mention multiple fenced dog parks. I cant say enough positives about this place! I chose a pull through site and it had sewage, water, & electrical hook ups. They do offer free Wifi, however I would not rely on it, it was spotty at best. Dont think twice. Give this resort a try. It’s a hidden gem in the middle of nowhere!
Scout
Quiet and friendly place. Better for campers.
Traveler
Friendly staff and well maintained Park and facilities with great fishing and an amazing view of Lake George.
ScoutMy wife and I decided last year to full time RV. We were already living in Ocala and we wanted to remain in the area. We discovered Silver Springs RV and are so glad we did. Everyone here, especially the staff, was so welcoming and friendly. SSRV is definitely going to be home for a long time.
Ranger
This campground is really dark, quiet and pretty. The bathhouse was always clean. You can smell the well water in the bathhouse. Brings me back to my childhood memories. We rode our bikes to the observation tower, but we were not lucky enough to see any bison or wild horses. Still nice to see the open prairie. We had a big rainstorm and the back of our site did become a lake, but it was gone overnight. The bugs lit us up all hours, so make sure you different bug sprays.
GuideQuiet, lots of wildlife (wild horses, bison, alligators, deer, birds, turtles); plenty of hiking and biking trails with beautiful sunsets on the lake. Restroom facilities are showing some age but clean. Walk-in tent sites are pretty close to the Restrooms.
Guide
Campground is basic, very few sewer spots but there is a dump station. Big rig friendly, several pull thru spots, easy paved entry, gravel sites, I think all are 50/30. Plenty of space between sites. Clean bathroom, washer/dryer, soda machine. Very dark at night which I love. No lights except the bath house. Dog poo bag stations. Very friendly staff (Melinda & John, camp hosts were amazing) 1 mile from amazing kayaking. Great, woodsy hiking trails. Maybe 3 miles to Publix/Wawa.
RangerGreat state park well off the main road. Quiet and wooded with limestone pads.
ScoutI have stay at Island Oaks several times and we love it We had some issue when first stayed but I chalked that up to a teaching lesson. Now I have 30 amp extension and a longer 50 amp power cord. Yes it is a dry county on Sunday but that’s only one day. You will not be disappointed to stay there. They also have live music on Saturday and so far it’s never been disappointing You will enjoy it.
LegendLoved this campground. We had sites 22 & 24. Site 22 has lots of sun; site 24 was full shade all day. I thought site 20 was the best. All campsites are very roomy. Bring your paddleboard or kayak. We drove to Silver Springs park and put in. Lazy river ride for 2 miles where we got out at the River trail. If you do this, bring your kayak wheels as it is a 1 mile walk back to the campground (or 1/2 mile to the River Trail trailhead). Then went to pick up truck where we started. Highly recommend this campground. There are also lots of trails to hike, but it was so hot when we were there we did not do any but the river trail.
Legend
Like the opening for 'Waterboy' (starring Adam Sandler), when you first rock up to Twin Lakes Fish Camp, somehow you feel as though you are visiting family in the very deep south with the likes of Bobby Bocher (pronounced BOO-Shay) greeting you upon arrival with a dilapidated golf cart eager to show you around this fairly minuscule one lane, dead-end campground that is more swamp outpost than pine forested campground. While definitely geared more towards the slightly semi-permanent resident than the overnight camping crowd, you’ll find a mixture of heavily seasoned RV trailers that don’t look as though they’ve moved anywhere in the past several years(or decades) along with a small handful of cabin rentals. Sure, there are a few spots here and there that you might park a 5th wheeler, RV or even see a pitched tent, but those spots are far and few between, if available at all.
As you make your way down this single lane refuge, on the right, you’ll notice fairly tightly packed together RVs or 5th wheelers lining the tree-ensconced periphery, where on the left you’ll spot sites that have a bit more space to them and with less crowded confines. Also on the left, you’ll easily notice a decent inlet that is perfect should you be towing any form of small watercraft with you, be that a kayak, canoe or even small engine boat. As you make your way down this single lane, pass the river inlet boat parking structure on your left, you’ll spot the 4-5 cabins that are for rent before making your way to the very end of the lane, which you’ll discover the manager’s office on the right. It’s here where you’ll check in. Just beyond this spot is where the waterline begins, albeit for the first 20 or 30 yards, completely encased by Spanish moss of every variety hanging from ancient Oaks, Palmettos and the odd Pine. For dramatic effect, there’s even a partially sunken house boat (or two) in the rather shallow waters just off this small inlet, where you can easily walk on and cast a line or two from.
With regards to amenities, apart from the swamp-like, down-home feel to this place, you’ll encounter fully-furnished cabins equipped with Direct TV, a small general store (that was closed when we visited), a tackle shop, WiFi (albeit incredibly weak), a recreation room (that didn’t have much but incredibly well-worn paperback books and a single fold-up table accompanied by the prerequisite ashtray), TV, scattered fire pits, covered picnic pavilion, small laundry room (that was closed while we were there), horseshoe pit, restrooms (that were anything but clean), full hook-ups with 30 / 50 amp electric, water and sewage as well as a designated dump station and a fish cleaning station alongside that fishing boat parking structure.
If you can get past the overall dilapidated condition of this place that transports you to a swamp-like wonderland, the upside is that Twin Lakes Fish Camp places you smack dab right in the heart of some pretty amazing fishing country. With Twin Lakes situated between Lochloosa and Orange Lakes, it’s the mouth of the famous Cross Creek that will return you right back here to Twin Lakes Fish Camp. Nearby, there’s the very quaint town of Micanopy, where you can load up on sundries and groceries as well as, if need be, travel further afield to either Gainesville to the north or Ocala to the south for many more dining and entertainment options.
Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) Rather than stay here, what I would HIGHLY recommend, whether you have an RV or are looking to pitch your tent, is to instead, seek another location for your camping adventures. If it were me, I would double-back to Paynes Prairie SP and book a spot there and simply come here to Twin Lakes Fish Camp to disembark on a fishing odyssey. Remember, it’s always important to note and differentiate a place that might be nice to visit versus a site that you want to call home for the night!; (2) Should you want to rent a 'jon boat', kayak, canoe or sumptknocker, you can easily do that here for $35/ day (and something tells me, you could probably talk the owner down a bit); (3) This place is fairly economical at $35 per night / $175 per week / $375 per month, but I would definitely recommend you look at the photos I’ve posted as well as do a bit of research on-line before booking anything here; (4) When you grow weary of cooking up ‘franks& beans’ for your next meal, and want to check out some local fare, just down the road is a very nice, quaint and actually somewhat upscale joint called The Yearling that serves up low-country delights like fried green tomatoes, fried gator bites and conch fritters in addition to main entrees like blackened red fish or shrimp & grits; and (5) While you won’t find any decent hiking in or around Twin Lakes Fish Camp, if you double-back to Paynes Prairie SP, you’ll find a ton of really great paths to both hike & bike.
Happy Camping!
TravelerThere aren’t many bad sites. Great trails and walking. BRING BUG SPRAY. I wish I had time to stay longer to see everything the park had to offer. I will be back!
TravelerThis is now my top 2 in parks for camping. The tent only spots are nice and secluded. You do have to walk maybe 100-200 ft from your car to the campsite. I was in site #24. Nice and open with a lot of trees for protection. Great fire pit. No power or water at this site… site #25 has those. The whole grounds were well kept and the trails were easy. At the observation tower you can see a lot of the prairie and if you’re lucky you can see wild horses.
LegendThis campground is nice the sites are nice sized and level. The campground is not located at the head springs where the glass bottom boats are and kayak rentals. This makes it even better. The campground is quiet. It's a 15 minute drive to the head springs.
We had our own Kayaks so we put in at the head springs and paddled down to the campground. It's a 2 to 2 1/2 hour trip or more because of all the beautiful landscape and the wildlife. At the campground exit to get out of the river you have to have wheels to transport the kayaks back to the parking lot. It's about a 1 mile hike pulling the kayak.
You can also do a longer trip an paddle further to Rays Wayside. It's less busy paddling that part of the river. You will need to leave a vehicle parked at Rays Wayside to get back to the headsprings. There is a company for $10 per person that will pick you up there and brings you back. Silver Springs charges $55 per person.
I was in site 53 and there are trails you can hike from behind many of the campsites. There is a cracker house village and a great museum with artifacts and giant skeletons of big creatures. Lots of fossils and arrowheads. The Museum is only open on weekends.
The bath houses are very clean and if cold out nice hot heaters. There is a washer and dryer at the bath houses too.
They sell firewood and ice at the campground. You use a QR code scanner to purchase it. The wood is nice and burns like wood should.
I went to Silver springs as a kid and always thought of it as a tourist trap. I never had a desire to camp there yet I will say I have changed my mind and have already booked for next year.
Florida residents have a one month booking advantage which started this past January. If your a Florida senior resident you get 1/2 off the price. The campsite hang tag gets you into the headspring for free.
The park is nice I will visit again.
Guide
Nice place and nice people. Lucky for us it wasn’t that busy. Otherwise you would be packed in. Over all a nice place. Lots of road noise from the interstate.
Guide
We enjoyed our stay even though it rained. We went to see the springs and it’s was gorgeous!
GuideLarge gravel sites with a nice amount of trees and foliage between sites. Bathhouse on our loop was excellent with plenty of hot water. Museum only open to public on weekends.
GuideJust a beautiful state park, with that old Florida feel. The sites are big and have plenty of space between them. The the park staff we interacted with were very friendly and informative. The glass bottom boat tour is an absolute must, we had such a wonderful time and the boat captain had lots of interesting information. We have a 4 year old and a 10 year old and they both really enjoyed the boat tour also.
GuideCampsites were large and private. Quite area, would have loved to stay longer. Restrooms were clean
GuideWhen I called, they were closing, they accepted me as a late arrival with details on where my site was. Clean and quiet. They have rescue farm animals on the property, they have a dog park, pool and clean shower/restrooms. I’m already planning a repeat visit with a longer stay…
Legend
We weren't expecting a lot when we pulled in. You pass the lots with the seasonal campers & mobile homes- some were nicely kept & others not so much.
We found the office & lake area & it's great! The boats & kayaks are free for campers. You just have to sign one out at the office.
They have a large pavilion & 2 wooden docks- one with a covered seating area. Swimming is in the lake & there were some people doing that during our stay.
Fishing was fair according to my fisherman. The grounds are very nice & so is Lake Waldena!
People that are seasonal are very friendly. Aside from karaoke night at the pavilion Saturday night(I think it was a party for a seasonal who was leaving the next day) it was very quiet.
We had site 3, which is labeled as a prime site. We had a concrete pad, but the other sites did not. There were 4 sites with water & electric only. Site 1 looked like a nice tent site. 18 sites which I think are for temporary campers. The rest are permanent camper sites. Site 1-13 had a view of a marshy area with the lake beyond.
We had sandhill cranes roaming around the campground who visited once in a while. The site itself was wonderful! We enjoyed the view & sunset every night. The sites aren't too close, but side by side with no foliage between. Traffic noise from Hwy 40 wasn't noticeable.
The reason only 4 stars? The bathrooms were awful! They need an update, a paint job, something. A deep clean would be good too. I would rank the cleanliness as state park clean, which is sketchy clean. Put in a new bathhouse & this campground would be stellar!
GuideI love these big, well shaded spots. 30 or 50 amp depending on the site. No sewer but there is a dump station. Water pressure at the site was a little low. The bathrooms & showers were clean with super hot water. Tons of trails to hike and see the wild horses and bison. There’s a boat launch to the lake with tons of fish. Very nice rangers. Super dark at night & was very quiet when I was there. Lots of wildlife. Close to Gainesville shopping.
GuideCampsites were huge and private. Super quiet campground. Very clean. The ranger was super helpful and friendly. Beautiful park to explore. I suggest renting the kayaks and exploring. Totally worth it!
Traveler
This campground is located on Private property, and is gorgeous! If you find it and come, please be respectful and Bear aware. It’s a small community and we are grateful for it. Sometimes you want to camp in a nice and quiet place. It’s 30minutes to Juniper Springs or Salt Springs where you can swim in crystalline waters.
“Beauty isn’t about having a pretty face, it’s about having a beautiful mind, heart and soul”
We found out tribe ♥️☮️🧚🏽♂️
LegendIf your idea of a magnificent campsite includes the opportunity of waking up to an endless blue horizon eclipsed by the sinking sun at dusk, then look no further than this very quaint, out-of-the-way boutique lakeside gem. Located on the outskirts of the Ocala National Forest, Pine Island RV & Marina offers up 9… that’s right, count‘em up, just 9… lakefront RV slots. IMHO, the best spots are #1 and #2 or #7… but hey, EVERY SINGLE SLOT faces an unobstructed view of blue bliss, so you’d be lucky to get any one of these waterfront vistas. Let’s just say, book your slot early as the pickins’ are slim here.
Jennifer, the on-site manager, who has served this wonderful little outpost for the past 3 years was nothing short of sweet, helpful and very informational. She informed me when we visited that the entire place is in ‘upgrade mode,’ but I was quick to inform her that the views needed no improvement. Look for an expanded general store, where today you’ll simply find a billiards table, stand-up bar in one corner, while the rest of the store is lined with camping gear, basic groceries, toiletries, sundries, snacks, cold beverages, games, books, fishing gear, etc.
Amenities: Waterfront RV Sites, RV Rentals (they have 3-4 to choose from), Marina, Boat Slips, Boat Ramp, Camp Store, Bait Shop, Wine & Beer Bar, Kayak Rentals, Recently Remodeled Bathrooms & Shower Facilities, On-Site Laundry, Ethanol-Free Fuel, Firewood and Camping Supplies, Billiards, Corn Hole, Outdoor Area w/ Picnic Tables, Grill, Fire Pit. Individual Sites include Fire Rings, Picnic Tables and 30 / 50 electric Amp.
Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) With only 9 waterfront slots to choose from, you want to book as early as possible; (2) While there is a proper boat launch, you will note that while Lake George is the second largest lake in all of Florida, it is also one of the most shallow, meaning that if you’d like to launch right in front of any one of the camping spots, you can, but you definitely want to be wearing some aqua socks or something as the rocks here are both slippery and sharp; (3) When you get tired of trying to figure out what the next meal is and don’t want to turn to your cooler or on-board mini-fridge for the solution, then you are going to be hard-pressed as there really isn’t too much in the way of ‘foodie paradise’ out in these parts – the nearest restaurants include: El Amigo Mexican Restaurant, Mystic Bistro, La Esperanza Mexican and Palmeras, but all of these are just mediocre (at best) – the only place we did find that was definitely worth it, albeit a 30 minute drive from Pine Island RV & Marina, is Drifters Riverfront Bar & Grill, which has typical glorified bar food (think burgers, wings, sandwiches, fried everything, etc.), but their seafood offering was actually pretty dang nice; and (4) If you are on the lookout for decent trail hiking, then head back from whence you came to discover Lake George Conservation Area, where there’s some decent, albeit non-descript trail hiking to be had.
Happy Camping!
Guide
Can’t really be closer to the park than this. Campground itself is nice. Good showers. RV spaces are a bit tight and there’s very little enforcement of assigned spots. WiFi only available next to the store and very little cell reception. As the name implies, lots of families.
Guide
Just a corporation with an RV park. Nothing special and a bit overpriced for the location.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular glamping campsite near Hawthorne, FL?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Hawthorne, FL is Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park Campground with a 4.7-star rating from 32 reviews.
What is the best site to find glamping camping near Hawthorne, FL?
TheDyrt.com has all 21 glamping camping locations near Hawthorne, FL, with real photos and reviews from campers.
