Best Campgrounds near Wimauma, FL

I lived in this park full-time for 2½ years when Hurricane Helene submerged it under 3½ feet of water. The damage left the park without power for months, forcing us to move out and causing tremendous expenses. During that time, the park made no effort to assist or support the residents in any way. 

When I applied for FEMA assistance, I was told I needed a simple letter from the park confirming the extended power outage. They refused to provide it, even though it would have cost them nothing and could have helped residents like me recover some of our losses. 

Instead of showing compassion or accountability, they chose to do nothing. The staff at this park are unprofessional, unhelpful, and unwilling to take responsibility. It was a deeply disappointing experience, and I would never recommend living here.

Located just 45 minutes SW of the Magical Kingdom conveniently resting just a stone’s throw from I4, LeLynn RV Resort is a spacious, pet-friendly property that is definitely more geared for the RV driving or 5th wheel toting crowd. Surrounded by lakes in every direction – Little Lake Agnes sits directly west of the property, with its bigger sister Lake Agnes just further northwest, Lake Tennessee to the southwest, Lake Juliana to the south and Lake Mattie to the southeast, while Lake Helene can be found to the north and a smaller unnamed lake due east a smidge.  If you were surrounded by any more water, you'd be starring opposite Kevin Costner in 'Waterworld!'

While LeLynn RV Resort will accommodate you for about as long as you’d like, this place impressed upon me more of a layover than an actual destination. The community that we discovered here was incredibly friendly and inviting, but nearly everyone we met was enroute to some other, better place in the great Sunshine state ... and quite a few folks look like they have no business moving from this place any time soon. This RV depot somewhat lives up to its name as a resort as it does offer an inground pool that is lake facing (again, not that challenging to do here in Central Florida) along with decent (not excellent) restrooms & shower facilities, laundry-O-mat, boat ramp, metered LP gas, dump station, shuffleboard and horseshoes along with WiFi and cable TV options. If you desire kayaking, canoeing or fishing, you need only access the nearest lake of your choosing. There’s 220 sites with FHU’s offering 30 / 50 amp electric, water and sewage.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a handful: (1) IMHO the best sites are those that are lakefront on the property’s northwestern most perimeter; (2) While the parking accommodations are concrete pads that will provide a nice level plain for the stay along with a solid accompanying patio, there’s virtually no trees and hence shade anywhere on the property, so while that might not matter for a single night, if staying longer, you’ll likely want to bring your own shade with you; (3) Should you need to load up on supplies while on your trip, just due south of LeLynn RV Resort is a Publix that will cater to all of your grocery needs; and (4) While you’ll feel like you’re out in the boondocks in these parts (and trust me, you are), there’s a number of great little eateries like The Back Porch, Frescos Southern Kitchen, Purple Pit Stop, Polk City BBQ Co., Savage Tacos and Old Man Frank’s to choose from.

Happy Camping!

This Love’s RV Hook-up located off I4 just NW of Lakeland in the drive-by town of Auburndale is open 24 hours and has a number of dedicated slots for your overnight parking pleasure and if you are driving on 18 wheels and hauling freight, there’s a massive open parking area in the rear of the store just for you. In addition to providing about a dozen or so dedicated RV and 5th Wheeler slots with FHUs, there’s full fueling capacity in front of the store for cars and trucks as well as a much larger and taller fueling station along with CAT Scales in the rear for big rigs and RVs.

This pit stop has the typical roadside marketplace as well as an Arby’s embedded within the store along with a designated private shower area along with his / her restrooms that were just in marginal condition when we stopped by. There’s both a propane tank exchange as well as bulk propane for sale, RV dump service, WiFi, video gaming, Bulk DEF for sale and ATM onsite as well as a small doggie park in addition to offering laundry facilities. Should your RV need it, there’s a tire service here along with commercial truck oil change offering. As this spot is located right next to a very busy I4 heading out of Orlando towards Tampa, there’s a ton of traffic and the overnight parking for RVs is the closest to the highway, so filter in earbuds as a requirement if staying here.

While scoring criteria may vary from one person to the next, here are the 5 most important criteria that informed my rating of this overnight location: convenience (EZ on- and off-access), safety & security, quality (of facilities), peace & quiet and amenities (either on-site or nearby). Here’s how I ranked this particular overnight spot:

Convenience: 5 

Safety & Security: 3 

Quality: 2 

Peace & Quiet: 1 

Amenities: 2 

Overall, I scored this location a 3.

Happy Overnighting!