I was completely steered wrong listening to a reviewer saying Tropical was the better campsites. They're not bc virtually every one is a pull thru and those are inherently less private. When I biked through the Sand loop I was completely bummed bc they are huge sites with vegetation all around the sites making them awesome for RVs and privacy. The sites are all pretty big in both loops.
The fact Tropical loop is marginally closer to anything is irrelevant and I didn't hear any noise when I biked through the Sand loop. I'd prefer privacy over marginal noise.
Now the kayaking. I have my own so I just used the shuttle service which was like $16. I don't think I'd do this run again bc it's honestly too stressful. The current is pretty strong so you can't stop for a second really to grab a drink or take a photo bc you'll end up somewhere you don't want to be and that could be in the marshy grasses where I saw alligators hanging out. Yeah, yeah, ppl say they won't bother you. They don't until they do, just saying. I've paddled Rainbow River and that was lovely, super pleasant - in both directions. It's just the current here is so strong and it's a gosh darn obstacle course so there's no relaxing, it's not 'pleasant'. I leaned to go under one of the 110 (didn't count but seems about right) leaning trunks into the river and tipped my kayak so I had to jump out. I have my own, remember, so it's a lot more narrow than the barges they rent out which tip over a lot less easily. So all my stuff fell out, yay. So scootching down in my seat became the preferable maneuver as opposed to a slight leaning which would surely cause another tipping situation. I wish they would come along and remove all the tree limbs leaning into the river, but also understand that's probably quite an endeavor.
Camping was fine, I have solar panels which did their job for a few days but I was pretty low on battery when I left. The tree coverage wasn't too extensive but it rained one day and was cloudy so that was part of the reason batteries didn't charge very well. It's interesting to note that this campground charges more for sites than the state campgrounds which actually offer water and electricity. Hmmmm This struck me as any other campground with just less amenities and the nearest grocery store was a good 14 minutes away so come prepared.