Best Dog-Friendly Camping near National Forests in Florida

Professionally operated. Staff is fantastic! Amenities are great. Big dog park. New laundry room.

Large sites. Very nice pool. First rate laundry facilities. Great playground and dog park.

Easy access to I 75 Has nice pond with wildlife , cabins to rent and all services . Friendly staff and dog park.

Has by far not been my favorite. It’s divided into 3 parts. We are Accross the road with no swimming pool or dog park. The main camp has a pool but the hot tub is broken. The dog park they do have has been closed the entire time we have been here. The main camp ground is very crowded and close together but at least there is a lot going on compared to our side which is very very quiet except for the fair people who have started coming in. There is another pool in the third section but that has been closed forever. I also am not fond of the area itself. For some this might be great but if you have small kids I don’t think this is the camp ground for you. Luckily we have a membership because with the lack of amenities I would have been disappointed to pay the going rate.

After hours check in was EASY and we were able to call and speak with someone at 5:30pm. Friendly and kind hosts who care about their camp and their guests. The dog park was amazing! The cite was grass pull through but spacious! I loved the feel of this place.

We wereet at the entrance by a gentleman in a golf cart. He brought us directly to our site, and helped us get squared away. He recommended the local restaurant for dinner. Not a lot of options, but all the options were good!

Great dog park, 2 separate zones!!!

This is a golf/ lake community that is like the old TV shows. People walking dogs, riding golf carts, and meeting at the club house. We will return when we have more time to stay!

Staff is very friendly. Showers are very clean. Dog Park is nice. The Dyrt info needs to be updated however. No tents, no pop-ups allowed. We are a Ford Transit Conversion Camper built in 2022 and we're allowed a short stay only. That was what we were looking for so it suited us but we are by far the smallest rig in the place.

Would have given 5 stars if internet was decent but it was awful. Our rig is 42’ w/ 4 slides and had lots of space. Escorted to our site. Nice picnic tables. Pool area was clean and inviting. Big playground. Dog park was up in front by office so long walk when hot. Laundry was reasonable $1.25. Office staff were friendly. Starke is very small and not much to do. Sonny’s BBQ is good!! Gainesville is an hour away.

I have stayed here a few times. Very enjoyable and I always look forward to coming back. It's going through some renovations. New owners have paved all the spaces, the shower house has been redone, they are digging a beautiful pond in front. They have a little dog park, walking trails, off property is a nice bike ride, huge swimming pool, activities, laundry room and friendly people. At night the stars are amazing. Close to 1-75 and reasonable rates. This is a good place to stay.

I have stayed at Ocala North a lot over the past couple of years when I go to Gainesville for business. A lot of changes have taken place during this time. They are expanding the number of spaces they currently have, the pool was being resurfaced when I was there last. A new, larger dog park has added, shuffle board courts, bocci balls, pond with fountain light show and ducks. Not too far from society and shopping. At night I can see some stars. This is a very nice, friendly, resort, I enjoy staying here.

I can’t say enough about how nice this campground is. The folks working here are so overwhelmingly helpful. They will even fill your propane tank for you. The laundromat is impeccable and cost is reasonable at $2.00 to wash and $1.50 to dry. They have gourmet ice cream in the office! The lots are graveled and level. The roads are free of pits and east to navigate. The lots are more spacious than at most places. There is a dog park, too. No litter here. Not even a cigarette butt! We will be back!

Heading to the fairground in Clay County and looking for somewhere to call home tonight? Then look no further than Clay County RV Park, which provides across-the-street access to all of the amusements, live music concerts and 4H farming competitions that take place here on the county’s grand gathering grounds. While you may drive by this RV compound (which is literally surrounded by tall, screened fences that conceal this high school track shaped RV gravel parking lot), if you look sharp right when heading westbound, you’ll see the lone sign for this campground.

This spot offers up very affordable daily ($35), weekly ($30) and monthly ($25) rates and in the event that you don’t come bringing your own RV, Clay County RV Park will rent you one of theirs either by the night or by the week. In all, there’s about 70 back-in diagonal RV lots here at this pet-friendly despot with two very well-maintained restroom and shower facilities located at opposite ends of the park (far west and far east). 

Here are some amenities you should expect: water, sewage and electric (20, 30 and 50 amp) hook-ups, dog park (and even a place to give your four-legged furry friends a bath of their own at each of the bathhouses), complimentary WiFi and all of the gravel-strewn evenly flat parking lot that you can rest your RV for the night, all within the very safe and security fenced-in confines of this RV compound. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) While this place is welcoming to animals, it is NOT kid-friendly (as there is absolutely nothing to keep the kids or anyone entertained within the RV compound); (2) Despite the security one feels with the tall, shaded fences that encircle this RV lot, one feels more like they are incarcerated than they do enjoying a bit of the outdoors; (3) This place has a tremendous amount of rules and regulations one must follow, which feels completely over-the-top, so mind your P’s & Q’s here; and (4) If you are looking to experience some of the best nature in the area, be sure to check out either Camp Chowenwaw Park and Black Creek Park and Trail, both conveniently located just due northeast of Clay County RV Park. 

Happy Camping!

“Unfortunately, we do not allow any pets in our park and/or campground. I can recommend the following parks in the area that are pet friendly: Trimble Park, Magnolia Park and Wekiwa Springs state park.”

This place is gargantuan and has so many roads and alleyways that I got lost navigating the place at least a couple of times. And just when I thought that I seen all of Southern Palms RV Resort, upon exiting the place, I realized that there was even more of Southern Palms right across the street where the expansive RV parking lot continued. 

Located on the outskirts of Eustis here in the Sunshine State, this place has just about everything you could be looking for – from parks, shuffle boards, evening themed dancing and lakes to bike paths, swimming pools and bocce ball. But wait, there’s more… there’s also: clubhouse/ lounge for large group gatherings, whirlpool / spa / jacuzzi for those late night relaxing moments, fitness center to get your workout in, showers / restrooms that are just decent, ballroom for those evening dance parties, WiFi that is pretty superb, basic and expanded TV cable packages, picnic tables galore, BBQ grilles as far as the eye can see, the whole place is pet friendly, a horseshoe pit (where Joey is the local hero), mail center, game room complete with billiards table, a dog park that is always jam packed with man’s best friend as well as a laundr-O-mat (bring your quarters!) an extensive library (without its own Dewey decimal system) … and the list goes on, but I will end here. 

Downside to this place is that, well, it’s a mega mall of RV’s, campers and semi-permanent, yet mobile housing solutions, and there’s a lot more people and accommodations than there is really space for, so it is quite overcrowded and you will definitely hear your neighbors at all times of the day, in addition to all of the scootering traffic going by your ‘campsite’ whether day or night. So if you are simply looking for a place to stay for the night enroute to somewhere else, this is not a bad place, but given the overpopulation and the fact that every single amenity offered, while great for some, makes me feel like I just left home to go somewhere else where they have everything that I just left at home. 

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few… First, if you are looking for a great meal and something out of the ordinary, head on over to The Dam Smoker and you will discover some pretty outrageous BBQ, which you can order and eat there (or order by the pound and go find a nice lakeside bench to enjoy) albeit in some very modest settings. Second, if you’d like to escape your asphalt slab for a nice slice of nature, then head over to Long Leaf Pine Trail, which has a decent hike, or check out the wildlife at Hidden Waters Preserve, both of which are near Lake Joanna.


Happy Camping!

We love to primitive camp and with our dogs. You can do both of these hear without a problem. The only thing is that the campsites we stayed at are not secluded enough for what I like. There is no real divider between campsites next to you or straight across. BUT for someone who likes ot be a little more secluded, I still did enjoy our time here. It forced us to mingle a bit and we met some lovely people. Our dogs barked a bit only because they saw other people and pets they wanted to say hey to. The people we met here showed us a great trail you can hike on that brings you to some awesome caves, yes in Florida, that you could explore in. So all in all it was a win for us!