Best Equestrian Camping near Newberry, FL

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.

Sandy trails for horses, watch out for rattle snakes. Trail go on for miles and has a huge sand hill near by to ride horses on and cross over i75.

I went for my birthday and we had an amazing time, clean bathroom and shower facilities and plenty of space between campsites. If you are not a fan of horses, I don’t recommend this location, but if you do this is a wonderful spot (despite some of the smells, it wasn’t terrible though). The sounds of horse ringing in the morning was hilarious and fun. The sounds of coyotes at night spooked our dog, but we got through the night with some comforting and cuddles. I highly recommend this site for anyone who wants an adventure with some dogs and horses as well as bike and hiking trails.

We really enjoyed this park. We camped at a tent only site which was private as there weren’t many tent campers while we were there during the week. Stayed at site 31 which is probably the furthest walk from parking but the most private. We saw wild bison, wild turkeys, deer, snakes, and several different species of birds. Disappointed we didn’t see any wild horses but will most definitely be back. Beautiful part of Florida.

Sites and facilities are nice and clean. The host were very nice and helpful. Has equestrian area and post at each hotel site. Most sites are well shaded. A good number of sites looked hammock friendly, but be sure you have the 2 inch straps. Easy access to hiking and riding trials. Short drive into both Belview and Ocala.

We stayed in site #38 it's a shaded site with water & electric. There is a picnic table & a fir pit the fire pit was a little to close to the camper to have a fire. It is a very quiet and woodsy campground. There isn't much real close by so grocery before you get there.  There are some hikes in the park that are good you can see wild horses near the lookout tower sometimes and along the paths.  There is a dump station onsite.

There are several places to go observe the wetlands, shorebirds and gators can be seen. If you drive to North Paynes Prairie you will see lots of Gators, Bison and wild horses and certain times of the year White Pelicans. The trail along the lake & creeks are loaded with gator once you head to the back lookout tower you will see Bison & Wild Horses. We counted 150 gators in a mile & a half. If you google horse stomping gator in Paynes Prairie you will see a great video. 

On the way to the North Prairie you pass Sweetwater preserve it's loaded with all kinds of birds from Woodstorks, Herons, Egrets, Hawks, Ibis and Sora's. You can spend hours there watching the birds. There are some gators but nothing like North Prairie.

Watched the sunset for the picnic area on the lake.

Small near horse and bike trails, strict rules.

I came for a night since it was close to other parks I wanted to visit, but I do think I’ll come back and have my father in law bring his horse with next time. Campsites are close together and it is a little open, but the trails are decent and it’s clean. There were more lightning bugs than mosquitos!! Bathrooms weren’t the best, the hosts are very polite, and the other campers were also respectful. Don’t pass it up if you have a horse who is itching to get out!

Great place to view buffalo, wild horses, and all the birds of the swamp. Super quiet camping area. Clean restrooms and large sites.

This park has 8 trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding. We were able to see wild horses, bisons, snakes and gators. Great for fishing and kayaking.

Nice campground. Clean and well maintained. Very shady site, but tons of mosquitoes. We went in late October. Nice preserve to walk or bike to. Observation tower. Saw wild horses in the prairie. Visitor’s Center very helpful with information.

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.

Awesome campground to stay at! Gate access during closed hours for the public. Campground visitors get access code upon check in. Owners show you your site. All sites are close to bathroom with showers. Quiet campground. Walking trails within campground and horse back trails!

Only 14 spaces, so very small, but nice. Lots of space between sites. Lots of Hike, bike horse trails are very nice and easy to navigate. Very clean bathroom/showers. The only negative is that it's not far from the raid, you can hear the traffic and it's somewhat busy.

Beautiful campgrounds. More hiking and wildlife and history and wildlife. From bison to wild horses and dont forget the alligators! Vast landscapes wetlands biking hiking and right outside Gainesville for fun and food. Rich in culture and history. Beautifully maintained. Also a great stop off when traveling as its located in between north south east and west. A must for all ages.

Agree with pretty much everything described in the previous review.

Sites are about $9 or 11/night (don't remember), but with taxes and fees came to a little over $13. There are 3 sites here, all a nice distance away from each other. Has a park like feel, lots of grass and trees.

Each site has a horse corral, garbage bin, picnic table, and a lump on the ground for a fire. You don't need to have a horse to camp here. We put our lab in the corral.

Lots of ticks here, beware!

Some unsavory daytime activity here, but they kept to themselves in the day use are and overall there was nothing that made us feel we needed to leave. A sheriff drove through one of the days we were there.

Some hiking in the area but everything was so overgrown and ticky we just stuck to the roads to walk the dogs.

There was a toilet some distance away from the sites.

Good cell reception.

Agree with previous review to take the right side at the y when entering.

I love these big, well shaded spots. 30 or 50 amp depending on the site. No sewer but there is a dump station. Water pressure at the site was a little low. The bathrooms & showers were clean with super hot water. Tons of trails to hike and see the wild horses and bison. There’s a boat launch to the lake with tons of fish. Very nice rangers. Super dark at night & was very quiet when I was there. Lots of wildlife. Close to Gainesville shopping.

The stay here was amazing. We called the phone to reserve a spot and was told to pick a spot that was available. We picked a spot overlooking the back horse field and what an amazing view! The morning sunrise is beautiful and the evening the sky disappears into the earth. One thing to remember is you can pay by mailing a check or paying cash on site. Also a very quiet community here so you can rest with windows open with no problem.

Definitely one of the more popular destinations in the area because of the buffalo and wild horses, so this park camping and RV parking gets a lot of attention from rangers. The facilities are very clean and staff are courteous, grounds are well-kept and events (like baby alligator educational sessions) are above-par.

Not their fault (the state sets pricing) but primitive campsites are the same price as reserved ones with hookups, $18.

There is plenty of hiking in the park, but it’s also close to other inexpensive trails around Gainesville.

This is now my top 2 in parks for camping. The tent only spots are nice and secluded. You do have to walk maybe 100-200 ft from your car to the campsite. I was in site #24. Nice and open with a lot of trees for protection. Great fire pit. No power or water at this site… site #25 has those. The whole grounds were well kept and the trails were easy. At the observation tower you can see a lot of the prairie and if you’re lucky you can see wild horses.

This campground is really dark, quiet and pretty. The bathhouse was always clean. You can smell the well water in the bathhouse. Brings me back to my childhood memories. We rode our bikes to the observation tower, but we were not lucky enough to see any bison or wild horses. Still nice to see the open prairie. We had a big rainstorm and the back of our site did become a lake, but it was gone overnight. The bugs lit us up all hours, so make sure you different bug sprays.