Best Dispersed Camping near Sorrento, FL

Recent Dispersed Reviews in Sorrento

10 Reviews of 8 Sorrento Campgrounds

• 

  Stuart K.

  Legend

  

  Dec. 25, 2024

  Davenport Landing

  Magnolia-Shaded Cul-de-Sac Primitive Camping

  Located a hefty trek down a winding gravel road west of Route 19, you’ll have to maneuver around divots and potholes along this narrow gravel, dusty roadway for the better part of 2 miles before arriving to a small sign on the left-hand side of the road that indicates you’ve arrived at Davenport Recreational Area – so finding this place is relatively easy. Unless you make the unwise decision to turn into one of the small handful of options beforehand that would have you drive down a patch of road that likely you are not authorized to, my only advice would be not to exceed 15 MPH on this road as the poor condition of the road could do damage to a lower-lying vehicle. Once you come across the Davenport Recreational Area sign, take a right and slowly (as the road conditions worsen as you get off the main road) follow the narrow tire-rutted pathway to a fork, where on the right you’ll see TRAILHEAD marked on a tree to your right– here you want to turn left instead and follow the pathway to its conclusion, which is a round-about that you will have no other alternative but to stop and park your vehicle.

  Here at literally ‘the end of the road,’ you’ll be greeted by a dozen or so medium-sized Magnolias that blot out the sun’s rays and cast an unusually spooky shadow on this area, made even more dramatic by all of the Spanish moss falling from the tree limbs of these magnificent trees. While the ground here is flat – welcome to Florida, where for the most part, that’s par for the course – but barren and comprised of a combination of dirt and sand silt, which isn’t so bad when it’s dry, but when there’s rain, we’re talking some pretty messy mud-like conditions. As for what you’ll find here at this natural cul-de-sac, there isn’t anything. Literally. No picnic tables. No fire ring. No stand-up grill. No potable(or for that matter, non-potable) water spigot. Nothing. There is what looks to be a small wooden sign that likely was filled with information at some point in time that might have educated you about your stay here, but even that had nothing on it, apart from a single hand-made sign above it, indicating: “You are trash, if you leave trash,” which I wholeheartedly agree with. In all, perhaps there’s 5-6 individual spots that you could make a campsite from.

  If you are a true primitive camper who really wants NOTHING to complement or aid their outdoor survivalist experiment, then you have hit the primitive camping jackpot! Apart from the solid peace & quiet you’ll experience here, there’s an amazing little access point here to the Ocklawaha river that runs through this neck of the woods – which used to be a riverboat stop where steamboats would stop to fuel or disembark enroute to Silver Springs via the St. Johns which this tributary eventually connects to. Apart from being a scenic access point to the river, if you are looking to catch and eat your meals, then this will certainly be an added bonus. The steps down the ravine to the river basin are somewhat steep, but for anyone towing a light-weight kayak or paddleboard, me thinks you could likely manage to bring your watercraft down here and easily access emerald-green waters shouldered with an abundance of spade-shaped lily pads to grab some great oaring.

  When we stopped by, there was a team of fisherman there – not camping, mind you – but having a great afternoon nonetheless of ‘hooking‘ em’ and according to these local anglers, the fishing was great. Apart from this and the shade that the mighty Magnolias provide, the only other amenity that exists out here are the few trails that you can jump on to get a bit of hiking in. One word of caution, from my fishermen friends, is to be on the look-out for ‘Coyo-Dogs’ (a cross between canine species where a dog mates with a coyote) and black bear, both of which have been known to frequent this area, especially at night.

  Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) There’s a 1.2 mile interpretive hiking trail called Davenport Landing Trail that will take to you to the former steamboat landing, which makes for a medium-grade hike with some interesting history; (2) If you have an explorer’s mindset, you’ll be richly rewarded here as there is a small gravesite from the Civil War that you can find along with middens along the Ocklawaha River hiding traces of the Timucuan Indians that once populated this area; (3) For fellow arborists, in addition to finding these amazing Magnolias that seem to be especially planted here for you, additionally there’s sweetgum and red maple trees; and (4) You definitely want to keep your eyes peeled for alligators in this area, where while we didn’t see any right at the ravine’s base, we were told that plenty were sunbathing right around the bend in the river from where we were.

  Happy Camping!

• E

  Entropical Breeze E.

  Scout

  

  Jan. 26, 2024

  Trout Lake Primitive Sites

  Nice secluded sites

  Set of primitive spots near lake. Main road entry is packed dirt; smaller access road to sites is two-track about 1/4 mile through woods — very narrow tree clearance. 4WD recommended. Just barely scraped a FWD Promaster through the trees, into a pullout just before sand started. Poor cell service even with booster. Plan on returning after antenna upgrade. Not the cleanest but passable.

• M

  Michael S.

  Guide

  

  Nov. 13, 2023

  Lake Dorr

  Area Unsafe and Had to Leave. Please avoid.

  Attempted to stay at this campground but left because it felt unsafe. Spoke to a local that warned of violence, robbery, and killings in this area of the national forest.

  Got stuck in sand on the way out and had to wait for a tow truck. Tow truck driver carried a gun because of how unsafe the area is and warned us not to stay.

  Please avoid the Ocala NF!

  If you do decide to come to this campground, avoid north part of Ron Paul Drive. You’ll either get stuck in sand or have issues to low/tight trees. Drive further south of the other side of Ron Paul Drive.

• J

  Juan-Carlo C.

  Scout

  

  Sep. 4, 2023

  Davenport Landing

  Sketchy

  There are some permanent party there seemed like 2 dudes in a truck with a big tent mad sketchy looking I wouldn’t recommend straight out of a horror movie

• 

  Destiny R.

  Scout

  

  May. 4, 2022

  Blue Sink

  Blue Sink

  Most beautiful place to stumble upon. You may need ATV or creative backpacking to get there now. The Forestry Service recently chopped down trees and covered the easy access roads.

• 

  Sam S.

  Guide

  

  Jan. 14, 2022

  Davenport Landing

  Yes, this is a place to sleep if you need it

  I would not come back here again. There were obviously some long term residents that had set up shack here, and while they did not make the campground feel unsafe, they were trashing up the place. For example, at our site there was a literal burning pit of garbage that we had to set up next to. We had to douse the fire just to not feel nauseous. Suffice to say, we left very early the next morning and never looked back.

• D

  Dylan D.

  Scout

  

  Jan. 1, 2022

  Davenport Landing

  Nice….but.

  Really nice area unfortunately there’s a homeless commune.  we set up camp earlier in the day when there was only a few people hanging out wasn’t until a few hours later when I realized that they were living there. Then the rest of them showed up. It got super rowdy. Not to mention the whole area smells like burning plastic.

• M

  Mike D.

  Scout

  

  Nov. 28, 2021

  St. Johns River Dispersed Spot - Ocala NF

  Hidden Gem

  The roads to get here are bumpy. Right next to the river and the trees open up so you get a great view of the stars.

• D

  David P.

  Scout

  

  Feb. 4, 2021

  Davenport Landing

  Quiet spot

  Pulled in around 9:30 pm. Big open spot. Last 100 yards driving back in were very bumpy but no problem with our van. Not sure about a larger RV. But great Tent/van spot.

• 

  Frank E.

  Scout

  

  Aug. 28, 2019

  Davenport Landing

  Generally quiet primitive camping with water access

  Pprimitive, no reservations, gets some traffic visiting historic site.