Best Campgrounds near Lake City, FL

This campground has lots of shade, a group site and electric sites.

This was our fifth year staying at this campground(CG) for a two-month stay at site 60A. For the monthly rate, you pay electricity, which was not bad. We even got a bit of snow in January—a surprise for the area! Another unexpected change was the sale of the golf course and CG to Jennings Communities, which also owns two other CGs along the I-75 corridor in Florida. Senior management was on-site frequently during our stay, discussing upcoming improvements and anticipated price increases. They also introduced new on-site CG managers, while the current work campers continue handling grounds maintenance and activities. We’ll see how things evolve moving forward.

With 16 campsite each being semi private you will love the sounds of t h e wind in the trees and hawks flying over. Each has tent pad, In ground grill and picnic table.

This is a great stop with some history. Small campground and quiet. They are currently doing some road repairs. Chicken is at the camp store. Check-in it at the camp store.

Beautiful stop. Rain forced a 3 day stay. Camp host beyond helpful and understanding as we’re on a Ural motorcycle. Walk-in with onsite large wheelbarrow no problem.

This hike-in only campground is but one of two such campgrounds that you’ll find here at Phillips Branch Crossing in Jennings State Forest. To reach Mule Landing Campground, you’ll have to first park in the Phillips Branch Crossing parking lot and from there, you’ll just want to follow the Dunns Farm Trail, passing the first campground (Dunn Farms) after about 1/3 of a mile in, where you’ll need to keep hiking for another mile until you reach the banks of the slow-moving Black Creek. You’ll wind around and ascend a slight incline before reaching Mule Landing, but trust me, if you are looking for one of the best private hike-in campgrounds, you’ve just arrived.

Like every primitive campground I’ve ever experienced, this one is no different and offers very little in the way of amenities, but what this place lacks in accoutrement, it more than makes up for by the simply pristine slice of nature that you’ll find yourself surrounded by. There’s enough room here for 2, maybe 3 small-to-medium sized tents with fairly level ground that is softened by all the downed leaves. There’s a single fire ring with a fold-over grill grate and a handful of logs to use for firewood. You’ll discover that there’s also this really cool bartop table with a matching bench that is perfect for whipping up a cocktail or eating dinner from. You’ll discover what looks to be like a trail heading west and away from the campground, but when I took it, this deadends, which might make me think this was created as a latrine of sorts. There was also a large 10 gallon blue Lowe’s plastic bucket that had been strategically left behind in case you wanted to bring some water from the nearby creek up to cook with or even drink (providing of course that you treat the water first). Oh, and there’s this simply sterling wooden bench (that I think our friends at TheDyrt planted here) overlooking the Black Creek at a place called Osteen Overlook that offers a great vantage point, which reads: “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few are Dirt.”

Insider’s tips? There’s just a few here:(1) You really want to stay on the trails at all times as there are both deer ticks and rattlesnakes in these parts that, trust me, you don’t want to come into contact with; (2) While you might be thinking about biking on this long trail to make quicker time getting to Mule Campground, you can’t bike on any of the hiking trails here – but even if you could, take my word for it, you wouldn’t want to as the terrain is tough with decent inclines and declines, on top of what can be some rough footing on account of the tree roots; and (3) From this CG to Black Creek is only about 60 or so yards that you’ll have to navigate a set of handcrafted stairs and while we couldn’t find a decent place for a kayak or canoe to land here, I’m sure that there’s a spot nearby if you looked close enough – so rather than hiking in, you might be able to simply float your way here, but I would definitely call the FL State Ranger and inquire about this.

Happy Camping!

Owners very nice, excellent walking and exploring near pathed walking trail. I tried Verizon, T mobile and AT&T for Internet all sucked. My starlink mini was slow and dropped often they have a lot of shade. Worse part we paid $46 a night water and electricity no sewage but we out in van to explore the town and the owners re rented out spots out! Big hassle but it was an honest mistake they offered other spots but being internet was so bad we thought we had the best spots they refunded us.

We stayed here at site 15 in January 2025. The sites all appeared level and most could fit sizeable RVs. We camped in a 25ft Travel Trailer. The sites were clean and the campground was quiet.  I did make a video of the individual sites so others could see what they look like for planning purposes at.    YouTube.com/@MapleCamps 

Site 15 was not private, as it is on a big open field, but you don't have any neighbors staring right at you. It faces the playground, but its about 150 feet away. The open field allows for fun games that need a bit of space: frisbee, throwing a football, Skittle Skattle, corn hole etc.  There are plenty of hiking trails within the park, as well as nearby at Big Shoals state park, Little Shoals, and Gar Pond to name a few. I also did a blog about the campground if interested at      maplecamps.wixsite.com/blog

This campground is also conveniently located near I-75 and I-10

Older Florida park with roots in the CCC and Forestry Service. Large park with hiking, bike and equestrian trails. Along the Santa Fe River there is a swimming hole, suspension bridge, old buildings and a small museum. Magnolia loop would be the best loop for RVs, but spots can be had. Facilities are clean, albeit old. Camping loops and pads are hard sand. Sites vary in size and level. Separation between sits is not bad but suffered in hurricane damage. Some sites appear a bit tight with overhanging trees.

We had the pleasure of visiting recently, and to my surprise this small campground exceeded my expectations! I traveled with two children, and they had a blast the entire time! This place had everything we needed and more. My daughter says her favorite part was fishing and swimming in the river. My son‘s favorite part was riding around on the provided bicycles and playing darts & cornhole by the communal fire pit. I was thoroughly impressed and will definitely be back. Not to mention, the camp hosts are unbelievably nice and did a fantastic job, keeping the campground clean.

Easy check-in after hours, nice place on golf course. Easy to get around in 42 ft 5th wheel and nice spacing between pads. Nice sized dog park.

I stopped here to stay overnight on a Thursday as I was passing through. There was only one camper but did not know that until I left the next morning. It was quiet and felt secluded. The sites were close as you would normally get in an established campground but there was plenty of brush to separate each site.

It’s quiet, peaceful. Sites are large, fire rings, picnic tables, grass! Not well lit, no bath house, no propane, no pool. They have plenty of ideas though.

First time, only been here a couple of days because of evacuation from Milton. Sites are nice size and some include a cabana. I suspect gets pretty busy during season. Strange there is no office.