Best Tent Camping near Youngstown, FL

Nice primitive campground located near 30A beach. The road leading in is sandy and gravely. The site was for tent camping and offers a picnic table, grill, fire pit, food/lamp pole and a porta house (which was fairly clean, considering). There was also a pier close by. The bed was gravel and uncomfortable but they were actually repairing it while we were there, so it should be quite comfortable for your stay! No hookups or water. We stayed at campsite #1 which had plenty of trees for shade and was closest to the water, but they all looked nice. The beach is right across the bay so it's a short drive to the ocean. Quiet and clean, we stayed four days and had a neighbor for two of them. He seemed respectful to nature and gave us no issues. Overall would stay again, just remember there is no shower to get off all that sand and sunscreen!

I initially had a reservation at one of the primitive camp grounds, but my reservation was cancelled due to flooding that closed all three primitive camp grounds. Better yet, I got an RV spot on the day of arrival. Great pull-through sites with fire ring, picnic table, water, and electricity. Pitched my tent on the banks of Sand Pond.

The two-mile Campground Trail, part of the Forest Service's Trailwalker Program, winds along the banks of Cyprus Pond, through the mixed hardwood/pine forest, and around Sand Pond. This is a nice and easy, well-maintained, level trail.

Was lulled to sleep by the croaking of bull frogs while watching the moon rise from my sleeping bag. A thoroughly enjoyable stay.

We were initially assigned to site number 10 which was small but fine because we were tent camping. After a quick set up we started walking around and found site number 16 open by the water with a breeze. We drove up to the front confirmed availability and moved camp. Keep in mind this is not the beach, it is a lake but also has a trail along side where we walked the dog which was nice.  Ground is gravel but not difficult to stake. Bathroom facilities were very well located in the middle of the inner loop. Our site was on the outer side of the loop but paths to the bathroom are easy to find because there are reflectors making it visible with a flashlight at night. We only stayed one night but would definitely come back and bring bikes so we can check out the cute little beach town nearby.

I liked this forest and thought it was very pretty. Good distance to beaches, although I didn’t see a way to walk to the beach - we drove. I would not chance the forest roads in a sedan. You might be okay if it stays dry but if it rains you will not be in good shape. Lots of roads and trails to explore.

Pros and cons of each campground

Campground 1 Pros: can park in your site, further apart, no highway noise Cons: only have access to a tiny part of the lake, breeze kind of blocked by trees

Campground 2 Pros: beautiful lake view and easy access to water, prettier view, more breeze Cons: traffic noise, cannot park in your site

Both campgrounds have a bathroom (I did not use so not sure of conditions). Every site has a fire pit, bbq pit, picnic table, and lantern pole.

Would definitely camp here again.

We called ahead to reserve tent sites and ensure they had electric and water on every site. Upon arrival, we were told all sites to the right edge (water side) and right of the road were tent sites. However, the first half of this row has electric for rv’s only. Moving down the row, the sites had no electric or water hookups. The last sites were in complete sun and next to a boat ramp. All the sites had trash on the ground and none had picnic tables. The showers were just curtained off from the bathroom with no privacy, hook or bench. The staff was unwilling to help and we left without staying.

Awesome campground with good amenities. Each site has fire ring, picnic table, water and electric. Most sites had good flora between sites, offering a little privacy. Restroom and shower facilities with a coin operated laundry.

Ranger Rob shared a secret, two campsites cannot be reserved and are always available first come first served. I got to spend two nights in one of those and it was great.

I found the hiking trails to be quite strenuous and not well-maintained in spots, but that's part of the adventure. I even took a tumble down a steep hill but made it to the primitive camp sites just to see them and get down to the river.

Small, well maintained park and sites, with 30/50 amp and water hook ups. A pleasant surprise when we arrived, after miles of rural driving! GPS took us the correct way, but seemed we were lost! Staff greeted us at entrance, gave us a map and explained how to get to our site. It was raining, and our site was back-in and downhill, mostly level with gravel, a picnic table, has a fire-ring with grill grate. Bathhouse is clean and impressed how the trash area and dump station were placed away from campers. The dock/pier, and boat ramp, are at the back part of the campground, The amenities are nice and there is outdoor cleaning sink behind the bathhouse, sitting area overlooking the river, the fish cleaning station, fire pit area, trails, and canoe/kayak drying area. 3 concrete sites, as well as tent sites. Lots of spacing between most of the sites, some are waterfront. Wildlife is plentiful and the trails are a great way to enjoy it all! We will come back! And it’s only $20 a night!