Do you love the outdoors and horses? If you're looking for a rustic but comfortable experience, horse camping in Jacksonville is the way to go. It's easy to find Jacksonville equestrian campgrounds with the Dyrt. Search horse campsites and discover top-rated spots, as reviewed by other campers.
$25 / night
This conservation area’s importance is magnified by its closeness to the St. Johns River and the Jacksonville metropolitan area. Its riverine bottomland hardwoods, pine flatwoods and sandhill communities protect approximately seven miles of the St. Johns River, which borders the east side of the property. In addition, the property provides storage of flood waters and preserves water and natural resources in the Lower St. Johns River Basin. One of the special highlights of this property is its two campsites within area 1 in the northern section of the property. Both are special spots. The Hammock campground is tucked back into the flatwoods with an ephemeral stream directly to the east of the camp site. The Riverside campsite is located directly along the St. Johns River with fantastic views of the cypress trees that flank the banks of the river. The Riverside campsite and the trail leading to it can be wet due to seasonal flooding.
Traveler
Just off the Palatka-Lake Butler Bike trail. Campgrounds are About 4 miles in on bikeable hard roads. Six Sites have picnic tables, lots of room, fire ring with grate, bbq grills, a latrine nearby. Etonia Creek is a couple miles from camp but a beautiful destination on its own
LegendLocated just about 20 minutes due northwest of Palatka – dubbed ‘Florida’s State Farmers Market’ where you will easily discover that this north central town is teeming with fresh agriculture every which way you look – Etoniah [pronounced: ET-oh-NI-ah, not E-TOE-nia] Creek State Forest is a little known gem(which is actually inaccurate as far as descriptors go as this State Forest is nearly 9K square acres) that many folks will bypass enroute to Gainesville, without even noticing the secrets that this pine tree lined park paradise has to offer. With tons of hiking trails and a nice southwest access point for some great fishing at Georges Lake (just further north is Mike Roess State Park, which is nothing short of amazing itself, but see my reviews on this SP elsewhere for the details) offers about 500 feet of lake frontage.
Named after the Etoniah Creek that runs through the northeast of this state forest, to discover the lone primitive campsite that is available, you’ll actually have to head clear to the southeast corner of the forest. You’ll discover all sorts of wildlife here from white-tailed deer and a dozen or so different hawk species, wild turkey and eastern diamondback rattlesnakes, to name a few. If you are into hiking and longing for some serious P&Q, then Etoniah has you covered with 3 different trails: (1) George’s Lake hiking trail, which is about a mile rountrip and will place you at an observation deck overlooking the lake; (2) Lake Blossom Trail is an even shorter½ mile loop around the tall grass marshes; and (3) Longleaf Pine Trail, which is part of the Florida National Scenic Trail and takes you to the southern end of the park, which is where the primitive camping spot is located.
As for the primitive campground itself, in order to stay in the stand-alone Iron Bridge shelter, you must book this really unique free-standing camping spot WELL in advance. This enclosed camping shelter is one part simple 4-walled wooden framed open-air lodge that is one half (lower) wood and one half (upper) metal screen encased unit all with a fortified roof and solid foundation. There is even a wooden loft built inside the structure that allows for 2 people to sleep comfortably well-above the floor as a well as a proper porch. We weren’t lucky enough to book this unit, so we set up our tent camp adjacent to the Iron Bridge shelter, which served us up just fine.
Insider’s tips: (1) Day use is from sunrise to sunset here and they’re pretty stringent upon locking the gates before and after these times; (2) Etoniah is part of a wildlife corridor that offers up safe passage for the black bear, so be sure to read up on how to prepare to encounter black bears in these parts(although none were spotted during our particular outing); (3) If you have horses and are interested in taking your steed for a nice ride, there is a fantastic horse trail that runs the circumference of this park and the sandy-dirt trails are perfect for horseshoes!; and (4) When you get tire of thinking about that next meal and don’t want to build a fire to cook something, then check out the local scene just due east in Palatka, where I would recommend you check out mi Jamaican bredren at Caribbean 450 for some nice jerk chicken, grilled mojo chicken, oxtail and some coconut water to wash it all down with.
Happy Camping!
Legend
Should you find yourself in north central Florida where the sun melts the unrelenting scorching hot humid days into a bright inferno dusk before sprinkling the night sky with shining bright holes to heaven in a moonlit nocturnal ceiling of utter darkness and are looking for the perfect spot to experience what the great Sunshine State has to offer, then I would recommend a nice little respite called Trails End Outdoors RV Park& Cabins. But be forewarned, if you are driving just a bit faster than one ought to on Highway 20 just west of Palatka between the drive-by towns of Hollister and Interlachen, you might just miss this hidden gem.
To access Trails End Outdoors, you will head north on Willis Road and follow a series of quick turns and curves on this slow-moving jagged gravel road, but no worries, the good folks of this campground outpost have cunningly placed a sign to guide you along your way at any single point that you might drive in the wrong direction. After a few minutes of navigating what looks to be somewhat hidden residential areas with large country farm lawns and plenty of pasture for cattle and horses, you will eventually arrive at what looks like at first a country western ranch, where you’ll turn into the property.
Heading straight ahead, you’ll come across a massive open air hall-like structure that offers up an outdoor living room complete with chairs and lawn furniture, grills and BBQs as well as some rocking chairs. Just beyond this informal community gathering area to the left, you will see a raised pool that is quite inviting and has a nice wooden deck all the way around it- just the perfect escape from the blistering heat that this part of Florida is known for. The next two buildings will make you reminisce about the Wild West with its wooden facade country store-looking main office building, followed by a‘his and hers’ outhouse, the former of which is where you will check-in. And just beyond the main office to the north, you will glimpse vast open pastures full of farm animals hiding beneath the shade of ancient Oaks dripping with Spanish moss as though these trees had been growing long white beards for hundreds of years.
After checking in, depending upon what set-up you’ve signed up for, you’ll be directed back the way you came, where a small singular loop will take you around the property, first to the handful of scattered wooden cabins(cleverly named after famous cowboys like Wyatt Earp, John Wayne and Doc Holiday) that make up their own small cul-de-sac with each log cabin unit offering up a porch with rocking chairs and/ or patio chairs with nice tall lanterns in front of each cabin. If you continue down the lane, you’ll pass a number of conjoined trees that have fresh-cut wood, perfect for a roaring fire to be set later in the evening. Beyond the handful of cabins, you’ll arrive to the rest of the property that is reserved for RVs and 5th Wheelers. All of these spaces have a simple but effective layout with very long slots that have been freshly laid with larger black stone gravel, with the entire area very easy to navigate and pull into. Standard hook-ups are available with 30 and 50 amp electric along with septic and water. There’s no real privacy between all of the slots, so no matter where you go, while some slots have better shade than others, there will be unobstructed views between you and your neighbors.
Beyond the mobile camping parking area, there’s 20 or so open acres where you can pitch your tent. From an amenities standpoint, there’s a very good community bathhouse, just OK WiFi, as well as the communal areas that I described at the start of this review. Trails End Outdoors offers up a number of activities from fishing($35 per day), turn-key campfire set up(in 2 hour increments), ability to interact with horses and cattle as well as a(very) small pond with its own pontoon boat.
Insider’s Tips? Here’s a few: (1) If you are looking for a nice slice of nature while at Trails End Outdoors, recommend heading north to Oak Hammock Camp / Rice Creek Preservation Area or Etoniah State Forest Campground, where you’ll find some pretty amazing paths to hike or some decent horseback riding trails to gallop on; (2) Should you be towing watercraft and are looking for some decent places to dip your canoe or kayak into, you’ll be delighted to know that you are surrounded by a number of small finer lakes, of which I highly recommend Lake Ida or Mirror Lake, both just due west on Highway 20 or Jewel Lake, just NW, which has a very good boat launch; (3) Should you be looking for some restaurants in the area, I suggest you try out Hog Wild Burgers& Shakes for a couple of scoops of great ice cream, Nanna’s Country Cafe for biscuits& gravy or True Grits, well, for grits, what else?!; and (4) Should you need just about anything while out this way camping, the small town of Interlachen should have you covered with a pharmacy, Ace Hardware, post office, Circle K gas station, CVS, Family Dollar store or groceries at Hitchcock’s Market.
Happy Camping!
Guide
Camping area has only 6 spread-out spots that are pushed back off the road, so privacy is good. Site 6 is quite large with table, and fire pit with benches.
Note the roads are hard-pack and it is a Florida pine forest so it gets a bit muddy (and mosquito-y) on rainy days. Dump station is not fully paved so it too, gets muddy.
Traveler
You can do anything from
buying an RV renting an RV a camper tent if you're not from around there bill will help you out overall great customer service
TravelerHost did the best he could to make a wonderful vacation for our family site is exactly as advertised if not better
Guide
Great riverside campsite. Hiked in about 3.3 miles, but OnX user beware, trust the trail’s red marks, not the trail marked on most maps! Part of the trail was reblazed to go around a washed out section.
Otherwise, the campsite itself was great. It’s right next to the river, and includes plenty of space, a fire pit with cooking grates, and a picnic bench. Tons of squirrels, osprey, an owl, and I’m sure more if you’re able to hike a little quieter than myself and my 7 and 9 year old boys.
Only problem we had is it was a little tough to find nice dry firewood. Most of the log sized potential firewood was pretty green, but there’s plenty of tinder and kindling to make up for it.
There’s a stop on the way near the other campsite that includes some picnic benches, a (non-potable) water pump, and a bathroom with a roof and toilet paper. What more could you want?
TravelerWe were at site 5. When we arrived and hooked up the 30amp breaker kept flipping. We had just left crooked river and hadn’t had any issues. We told the camp host and she moved us to site 4 for the night. After 2 nights they told us the 30amp breaker was replaced and we could go back to site 5. Site 4 had someone coming. When we went back and began hooking up the breaker once again flipped. We contacted reserve America to see about a refund. It’s over 100 degrees and we aren’t willing to camp without ac. We told the host and ranger that we had contacted them and that we were leaving. The ranger said they didn’t replace the breaker (even though the host text us that they did). They were very friendly and tried to accommodate as much as they could. They did say they will have it checked out again, so hopefully future campers won’t have the problem.
GuideHave waited six months into our RV life to start reviews for fair comparisons. Spent 7 nights. This is one of the oddest places we have stayed. On arrival we were thrilled. Less than 10 sites all tucked in the woods, seemed like paradise. Sites are huge and private. But the woods seemed….dead. In our week there we only saw a handful of birds and a squashed dead pygmy rattlesnake. There was something just a bit sad about it. Do have some hiking trails and short boardwalks.
ScoutThis campground was an absolute gem. Sites are spread out and HUGE!! Several trails and plenty of room for kids to play on site!!! The only thing preventing me from giving five stars is we got the only site that had electric and water on passenger side so we had to run electric under our rig. If we would have been in a class B or C you could go nose first. They have a dump station on site and access in and out of park is super convenient. We didn’t get to check out bathrooms so I can’t speak to those. Park was super clean and they provide a trash can at the edge of the site. We will definitely be going back when the temperature drops a little!!!
LegendWe like this park a lot because we like large sites, peace and tranquility. We only got to stay there 2 nights.
RangerNice concret pad that was very level. Sites are roomy. TAKE BUG REPELLENT... MOSQUITOES ARE BAD. Electric and water hookups with a sanitary dump station. This was a perfect stopping point on our way to the southwest coast of Florida as it was directly on our travel path and very reasonable in pricing. We will definitely remember this Campground and use it in the future due to convenience.
TravelerIt was dirt roads not really trails ,the bathroom looks like it belongs on a horror movie the river camp spot is beautiful the forest one had deer drinking from the stream
Legend**Campground Review: **
Bayard Conservation Area is located in Green Cove Springs Florida and is maintained by the St. Johns River Water Management District. It is a track of land that has many hiking trails that traverse through shaded pine forests, hammocks, marsh, and river areas.
We have day hiked here many times, but this trip we were going to do some primitive camping at one of the campsites. There are several areas to park and then hike in. The campsites are a few miles from the parking area. They include a fire ring and a picnic table. The campsites have several different settings, but we chose the river view. On our way to our campsite we were able to spot many animals including: deer, otter, turkey, and wild pigs.
The area is kept clean and is quiet with the exception of a bit of noise pollution from the surrounding area. However, this does not distract from the experience. We enjoyed our overnight backcountry trip and highly recommend Bayard.
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**Product Review: **
As a Dyrt Ranger I receive products from time-to-time and this time I am testing out the Pureland 30L Guard Backpack sold by Outdoor Element.
There are so many things to love about this backpack. The extensive cording and hooks on the outside made attaching extra items a breeze. I was able to store my trekking poles and Jetboil on the back with no problem. The hip pockets were an added plus and fit my cellphone inside of it easily. The room inside of the backpack was able to hold everything I needed for an overnight trip– including my bulky sleeping bag. The only two things that took away from the backpack was the inside zipper and the water pouch. The zipper on the inside of the bag came off the track with only a light pull while the bag was empty. It did not have the integrity that the zippers on the outside had. My 3.0L reservoir would not fit all the way in the provided pouch and hung out the top a bit. After the whole trip, I sincerely love this pack and will be using it for all of my hiking and primitive camping needs!!
TravelerWhen we arrived to host greeted us at the pay box. Host showed us around the place. Host is very friendly and knowledgeable. The host did explain the fees because online says on thing and when we arrived price was different. The rest rooms were nice and clean. Showers hot. Very quiet except for some traffic on road near park. We stayed more towards the front. The place is big enough to maneuver a big rig around the areas. We enjoyed it. Stayed 2 days.
TravelerThis campground was arranged by my kids scouts group. It was beautiful but maybe that’s because there wasn’t a lot of human traffic. A few people brought their horses out there which was nice to see. This park seems to still be in development which was perfect for me because we didn’t have a lot of movement. There wasn’t a whole lot of wildlife that I saw personally but I loved listening to the birds singing. I wish I would’ve taken advantage of the trails but I explored just a little way away from my kids and turned back around. During our stay, my only annoyance were the wasps in the bathroom. The spiders we stayed away from lol but found a pigmy rattlesnake that we caught in a bucket and walked it a little further away from the bathroom and camping site. I’d like to go there again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Jacksonville, FL?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Jacksonville, FL is Cary State Forest with a 3.8-star rating from 8 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Jacksonville, FL?
TheDyrt.com has all 5 equestrian camping locations near Jacksonville, FL, with real photos and reviews from campers.
