Best Tent Camping near Inverness, FL

So I will say this site has super clean bathrooms, nice tent campsites and freshly paved roads. The tent sites have hookups and very close to the bathrooms. The only downfall is there isn't a ton to do here so don't expect anything spectacular.

Colt Creek State Park is one of the newest parks in the Florida State Park System. Their RV/Tent Campground just recently opened in early 2018. RV spots are spacious. There is not a lot of privacy between spots but cover will grow in in time. Most sites are in full sun most of the day. Tent camping areas are on grass not gravel. very nice dump and wash area at gate to campground. They also offer equestrian, group, and primitive camping at this location. The equestrian camp is well used and quite large with standard amenities for horses and campers. There are 2 primitive sites along a 10 mile loop trail. Group site does not have a pavilion but does have port o lets ( no water or electric). There are 4 lakes ( no swimming) on the property kayak/canoe rentals, nice fishing ares and a dock. Lots of wildlife. Great for biking as well.

Nice place, relatively quiet. Little light pollution. Sites are very spacious. Close and clean facilities. Saw a good bit of wildlife: deer and wild boar. Hiking and biking trials. I regular tent sites (which are also hammock friendly). Also have cabins for rent. Prices are on the lower end, $17 a night for tent sites. Only reason for the 4 start is the reservation system has to be done through the county park and rec sites.

This is a beautiful campground with proximity to the Florida Scenic Trail. Ideal for tent camping, as the forest service roads were a little rough for our RV. Campground is along a beautiful and unique wet prairie. No cell service, no electric or water hookups. Worth a stay in a tent! Recommend using entrance off route 19 via forest service road 86.

The people are friendly and the fishing is great. Tent sites are primitive but there is a bath house.

One of our favorite places to visit. The springs are amazing. Camping facilities are nice. Would be 5 stars if they had some sites with electric hookups. Outside of that a great place for tent camping.

Nice spots for tent camping. Got surprisingly cold when I visited. Would’ve been 5 stars if it weren’t for obnoxiously loud and rude neighbors that were yelling/screaming until midnight. If you camp here, expect to hear lots of partying.

I typically avoid tent camping here in the summer months– early summer the trails are heavy with mosquitoes and summer rains bring a large amount of flooding. Though in the fall winter and spring this park is AMAZING. We were very lucky on this trip to have snagged spot at the high part of the riverside loop. Sites 20 and 21 typically stay dry enough for tents. Sites along the river side of loops are prone to flooding some holding as much as 4-6 inches of water.

 This trip was a short overnight to get rid of some pent up cabin fever. We loaded up a tent and the bikes, praying for dry weather. The mosquitoes were not bad, almost none, the the river was near flood stage and inches from overflowing its bank near the campground. 

The 2.5 mile loop from main entrance is perfect for biking, be careful near the pool area that is VERY crowded in the summer as many locals visit and it will reach capacity early in the day. You can rent bikes and canoes at the concession area near the stand if you did not bring your own. The grounds are beautifully kept, campground hosts are helpful, bathrooms clean and playground areas are plentiful. There are very nice pavilions and one air conditioned building available for rent for special events. If you are visiting in the summer call to make sure the site you booked is dry. 

We did see where one person got his travel trailer stuck on the mud trying to get into his site. There are very few tent campers in the summer so be prepared if you are tent camping to hear neighbors a/c running all night. 

I get products to test from time to time- today I am testing the INNO INH540 Bike Rack On first impression upon receiving– this is a heavy duty rack! Shipping weight is nearly 50lbs. and came fully assembled. This bike rack will fit both 1.25 and 2 inch receivers. We first tried to mount on my Jeep Liberty but we need to get a receiver extension as our spare tire prevented installation. So we mounted on our Dodge 1500 truck. I had to have my husband help me slip it into the receiver(was a bit awkward for me to do on my own).

 I was very pleased to find the unit came with a hitch lock that was keyed the same as the cable lock for the bikes. Rack came with 2 keys so we each have a key on our ring and can access without looking for it. 

The bars are adjustable and the rotating upper and lower cradles are well designed. The support bars also fold down when not in use. Another nice feature is locking pivot at base that will allow you to tilt the rack out of the way of tailgate to enable access without removing the entire rack. 

The rack will hold 4 bikes up to 35 lbs each or a total of 140 lbs. We have mountain bikes with less space on crossbars of frame so was a bit tight to get loaded. Loading was much easier once we did it a couple times and got used to where we needed to place the cradles. Street bikes load with no issues,(we borrowed the neighbors bikes to test and to show off our new INNO bike rack– they were jealous)! 

Order yours today from https://www.innoracks.com/ You will not be disappointed!

Tent camped at a site in loop one. Weather was nice, though we were warned it can get a bit muddy when it rains. Crowds were a bit higher on the trails during Saturday afternoon but Sunday morning was much more quiet and we saw lots of wildlife.

Quiet, 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.

What a lovely campground!

Everything is quiet and even though the sites are close to each other, there's lots of privacy (at least among the tent sites).

There appears to be a lot of people actives on water and on foot.

Staff has been very friendly.

We stayed here over the winter and we were pleasantly surprised! The spaces were relatively private, and the bathrooms were neat and tidy and there was water and trash on site. We tent camped and after enjoying the springs we went and had dinner 5 minutes away! This is a great spot because you feel secluded but you can run to a lot of nice restaurants and grab groceries nearby! We will be back. 

Except for the noise of the highway, you would never guess you were 10 minutes from a major metropolitan city. The campground is very private with lots of trees and palms separating sites, especially in the tent loops. The tent sites are walk in, with some closer than others. I took site #23 for the night, which was set back just enough to the private, but not so far as to really haul my gear. Each tent site has a numbered parking space as well. There seemed to be about 10-12 tent only sites and the remainder of the 50 sites had hook-ups for RVs. The bathhouse was clean and modern, and well taken care of. 

A two mile hike will take you the visitors center, from which you can climb the observation tower to look over the prairie and have access to several trails. It was really wet when I was there which meant that several trails were partially closed. But I still managed to hike several miles over several trails. I never did see the Cracker Wild Spanish Horses or the bison, but did see lots of signs in the form of poop. I also didn’t see any gators, but did get to see lots of birds of various size and variety.

Horrible for tent camping. Didn't own an RV. I'm just traveling through, and I went off of what information was listed. This place is pathetic. Not as advertised. Trash is not taken out regularly. One table on the ground, and it's not a picnic camping table. Tent campers have no showers or restroom. Freeway is very close and noisy. Campground is not really for campers. I'd stay away. This place is appearing fraudulent. Owner does not run this property accordingly. Seems like just a place to store RVs. Not for camping in tents or RVs. Stay away. There's much better camping across the state, regulated and maintained.

If you’re tent camping in the tent-only walk-in sites, site 60 is definitely the most private (farthest from the lot but still a short walk in on a paved path). Bathrooms are two single stall/shower combos, but never too crowded. Campground is good for paddling, especially for renting from the concessions (they have single and tandem kayaks, SUP, and canoes). It’s a drive and a separate entrance to get to the head springs area of the park, though there is a small roped off swim area by the boat ramp. We went before tubing opens (April 1 each year), so the Rainbow was less crowded and stunningly clear and emerald.

This park is more than just a glass bottom boat tour. Within the park radius—> You have the “Silver Springs Attraction”, the state campground with all it’s hiking/biking trails, Silver River kayaking/paddling , a small museum and lots of history at this park. Then within an aprox 6mile radius (easy biking) you can enjoy Majorie Cross Greenway,Florida Trail, Swamp Lake trails and the state park equestrian trails. Wow! RV and tent sites -some with full hook up and really nice cabins. This was some the best kayaking up and down river....both ways were a joy to paddle. (Watch our kayaking the silver river video on our YouTube channel...resident manatees are often seen on river!!) We were here in a 34 foot Class A with only 2 bikes and 2 kayaks Happy Camping www.travylcouple.com

I rated this park a four, only because it's not really meant for a long stay for tent campers or for a lot of activities. There is a beautiful lake that you can canoe/kayak/boat on, and a great trail that runs along side of it, but it is super close to I75. I am a heavy sleeper, and actually appreciate "white noise" but for others tent camping, it may be inconvenient. I would recommend this as for a one night stop for travelers or for RV's only. There isn't a visitors center and check-in is by honor code. Dogs are allowed so this is always nice for me! There is also dirt biking trails, which is something you don't always see and nice to have. Other that water activities there wasn't much to do on site. Locally and near by is the Dade City Battlefield, which was really interesting and historic information about Florida. There is also an ancient oak tree in the middle of the park which was beautiful! I'd recommend visiting if you stay at this park.