Best RV Parks & Resorts near Port Charlotte, FL

I’m staying in the Palmetto Ridge loop which is the only paved loop & I think the only one w/sewer. The Big Flats & Old Prairie loops are gravel road, tight, no privacy & very small sites like for popups, vans or small campers. The Palmetto Ridge pull thrus are gigantic. I would say the vegetation gives semi privacy but they aren’t on top of each other so it’s not like you’re looking right at your neighbor. There is a picnic table & a fire ring. Gravel sites but pretty level. My site was 50 amp. Not sure how many are. Bath house & laundry facility appears clean. Pet friendly. The outpost is literally like 3 miles into the park down from the entrance & Palmetto loop. The store was nice & there was a food truck. It was a little spendy but good food. The river was low so the kayak rental & boat tours were shut down. Tons of great hiking & even some elevated bridges for site seeing. Tons of gators, birds, deer etc. There is also a scenic drive in the park, a “fisherman’s loop” & a few picnic areas. There are cabins to rent but I didn’t see them. Also never saw a playground if you have kids. Very dark & quiet at night.

Our stay here was a bit weird. Since it was March in Florida (and nearly impossible to find available campsites unless you reserved 11 months in advance), we called ahead to see if there was room. When Carl learned we only had a 17-foot camper van, he agreed to “fit us in”. Yes, there was a slot that we backed into and we had room to erect our screen room on the concrete pad next to our van but there was absolutely NO privacy between sites. Many of the people here were long-term residents and not generally vacationing campers. Although information says the rates range from $30-$60 per night, we paid $50, cash only. There were no restrooms on-site, but we were able to use the clean restrooms at the county park across the street (but had to make a mad dash across the busy road to get there). It suited our needs for two nights to enjoy small and quirky Matlacha, including walking distance to kayaking opportunities, but we wouldn’t choose to stay here again.

Fish Eating Creek Outpost : Trails and canoe/kayak shuttle provided Water is a bit low right now. There is a 2 mile trail beginning in the campground. There is also a 6.7 mile trail within a short drive from the campground. I have included a map for this trail in photos.

(70 yr olds in 17’ trailer. Our rating of a campground is influenced by the following: The general ambiance- sort of wilderness feel the campground gives us. A selection of campsites which offer some visual privacy. Cleanliness of whatever type of the campsite and whatever facilities are offered is important and usually noted in my review.

Overall Rating: 3 Price 2023: $ 38 Usage during visit: Light Site Privacy: Open between sites Site Spacing: Fairly good Site surface: Most are paved . Some are soil/grass. Reservations: Accepted Campground Noise: Quiet during my visit Road Noise: Not noticeable Through Traffic in campground: No Electric Hookup: Yes Sewer Hookup: Some Dump Station: Yes Potable Water Available: At site Generators: At some sites allowed Bathroom: Flush Toilets Showers: Yes. Double Curtains Pull Throughs: Most if not all are back ins Cell Service (AT&T): 3 bars Setting: Open park like under large, scattered mossy trees . Recent Weather: to 50s for lows and to 80s for highs. Solar: In many sites should be good solar. The sites in P Loop probably will bony have adequate solar. Host: Yes. Staff friendly.
Rig size: Large rigs Sites: Perimeter sites are nicest in my opinion. Sites under the mossy trees are going to offer some shade.

P1-6 are my favorite sites here. They offer RVs more of a camping kind of atmosphere as they are a little more secluded. Not all have electric/sewer, so better check. They are under trees with moss hanging from them. Not all sites in P1-6 will accommodate a tall rig!

I live local and have been staying here in the pull through area a month until I transition to 100% travel trailer life. I have 2 50 lb+ dogs and there are many other people with dogs, plus a dog park. Park is very well kept, beautiful gym, pool, hot tub, and private island on backside to fish and other games like horseshoes. Love this place! Maintenance is A M A Z I N G!!!!!!!! I will be staying here again for short and extended periods and feel more than comfortable to recommend to friends and family. Laundry facilities and bathrooms are fine too. Dryers dry a full load of towels in one cycle, was pretty impressive! Also plenty of area to ride a bike a couple times around the park. It is also close to gas, grocery store and really good restaurants. Two thumbs up!!!

We camp Koreshan because it is literally less than 10 minutes from our house. We can set up camp and stay throughput the week even if the kids have school. It’s hard to book a weekend at any Florida campground in season so plan ahead if you want a Florida State park. This campground has short trails to hike through beautiful bamboo forests. A ramp for putting in your kayaks or SUPs as well as kayak rental. Locations to fish the river. You are a 20 minute drive to the beach from here. Very centrally located to shopping and farmers markets. Koreshan has a farmers market there at the park I believe on Sundays. The campsites have a fire pit and wood is sold at the entrance. It is a historic site of the early settlers of the area from the late 1800’s so there are historical buildings on site to tour. It is a pet friendly campground. The only reason I give this campground 4* rather than 5 is because of the road noise from Hwy 41 that it is off. It’s quite peaceful until you get a motorcycle racing up and down the highway at 2am. They do have specific sites if you wish to camp in hammocks. If you google the campground you should be able to find out which sites those are.

Clean, well-maintained campground consisting of 30 spots spread out along the edges of a boomerang-shaped island. All except for 3 sites are waterfront. Sites 22-30 and 8 boat slips are on the South end with a large parking area, boat launch, picnic area, and bath house. On the North end there is a larger bath house and picnic area along with sites 1-21. There are a few drive thru sites (11 & 19-22) and the rest are nicely angled. The concrete parking pads are level and the pea gravel is well tended. All sites have 30/50 amp electric, water, covered picnic table, and fire pit. No sewer at the sites. Dump station near the exit. There isn't much shade due to immature trees and palms. Nice fishing pier and a lending library near the middle. For kayakers the launch ramp is good and some sites on the inland side have good slope and shallow water to launch from directly. Sites facing the river are in the restricted waterway area near the locks so no boats are allowed. This is a nice quiet place to decompress.

So I grew up camping a lot and like to be more primitive/ private. The campsites are close together, with little privacy. It’s also located right off the highway, so you get all the noise. All day and all night.

Now, for canoe and kayak trips, I guess it’s a good spot. There’s a lot of folk that come just for that. The staff is very friendly. They drive around maybe once a couple of hours. They are pet friendly. A long as your pup isn’t running around the whole property. I’m pretty sure every site has water and electricity.

• firer ring -picnic table
• BBQ pit