The best EQUESTRIAN camping near
Matlacha Isles-Matlacha Shores , FLORIDA

Ended up here after our first choice was flooded out.

Pros:

Lots of amenities and a camp store. Even if you're 'primitive' camping, there are amenities at the entrance of the property.

Close to Peace River for fossil hunting - we found LOTS and the camp store sells all the gear you need.

Cons:

Loud vehicles at all times goin' real fast with shiny lights and various Toby Keith songs bumpin' (no shade on Toby Keith, but I'd rather not hear Red Solo Cup at 1am when I'm camping)

Perhaps the most ecologically diverse state park in Florida, Myakka River State Park has lots of nature viewing opportunities. Located just east of Sarasota you’ll find lots to do without having to leave the park. However, because of the age and condition of the campsites, for an exceptional camping experience, you'll want to choose your campsie carefully.

There are 3 separate and distinct campgrounds at Myakka River State Park. Depending on whether your tent camping or have an RV, you really want to pay attention here. Old Prairie Campground(sites 27– 48) and Big Flats Campground(sites 1– 26) are the oldest. These sites were not necessarily built for large RV’s although you can get into some of them with an RV up to 30 feet. Palmetto Ridge Campground(sites 49– 90) is the newest and will accommodate RV’s of any size and has sewer hookups. The other 2 campgrounds do not. 

We can’t imagine going to another Florida State Park and seeing more of nature than we did here. While riding our bikes along Park and North Drive, and taking a drive early one morning to the Outpost to get some cell service, it was a Florida safari! I’ve never seen so many alligators in the wild. From babies to big daddies, they lined the river and the edge of the lake. We saw black vultures by the dozens, turkey vultures, turkeys, and deer. There was a family of raccoons that visited each night to see what we might have left out for them. They had no luck. And the variety of birds in and around the lake was amazing. There were several that we hadn’t seen before.

To read our complete review visit https://lifestyleover50.com/myakka-river-state-park-campground-review/

Amazing place. Everything you could want in a campground. Multiple activities you can’t cover in a short stay.

https://youtu.be/VtDII1KEQgY

Drove through the not much action as far as campers. Had 2 areas for group picnics. Plenty of trails. No Driving to sites. For those who want rustic this would be a place worth checking into.

We stayed here 6 nights in Palmetto Ridge Campground which had full hookups. It is an extremely well maintained park with large roomy sites in the campground we stayed in. There are two more campgrounds available in the park, but they were not sewer equipped and also too small for our 40' 5er. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay here and will definitely be going back in the future. It is about a half hour drive to either Siesta Key Beach or Turtle Beach from the park so it is very convenient for that.

Took 5 days to go backpacking in Myakka State Park, which is an awesome park!! It was my first backpacking/primitive camping trip and it was an awesome experience. The hike there alternated landscapes- prairies, swamps, foresty- so during certain areas it was very bleak and boring, but that's apart of it! We hiked to the 2nd closest primitive campsite, Honoroe I believe (not sure in spelling it right). It was the PERFECT campsite. Except that it was 4.5 miles (total) to a water source- we went to Bee Island as it was the closest. We will probably end up going back to Myakka and choose a different site. This trip took place almost 2 years ago so unfortunately I no longer have photos of our trip.

Peace River is the place to go in SWFL if you have toys! Trails, mud holes, beaches. My small kid particularly like the “raccoon restaurant” hill which is the dump but fun to ride over. I was concerned to see no helmets being worn by anyone especially it being so crowded but that’s a personal decision. Our 4 camper site is a good time because we enclose our own little space. The community showers/bathrooms are gross so just use your own or the woods. They have fun entertainment; bands, ice cream social, bingo, a food truck. If you haven’t done your research the Peace River is full of alligators in the spring/summer time. They didn’t bother us but they also didn’t seem too afraid of us either. In all this campground is fun but it’s not what you want if your looking for the calm, beautiful nature camping vibe.

Beautiful site and campground.  Huge site, very clean, and restrooms were very clean!   We rode our bikes to the river, gift shop, and restaurant.    Had a great time!   Very friendly.

Myakka is not far from home and a great spot to visit for overnight trips or day trips!  There are bike rentals I have taken advantage of, plenty of walking trails, and you can rent airboats.

General store on-site as well.  Walk to primitive camp sites.